So, there's *still* some reason to hold out hope.
For the uninitiated, the Sun Belt, CUSA and MAC have a political advantage over the MWC and C-TBN conferences, which is that they hold the majority vote and could choose to eliminate any financial benefit to the school gaining the BCS berth, or to its conference... just distributing the estimated $86 million equally.
By doing so, of course, that would largely negate the ability of the MWC and C-TBN schools to create an ever-widening gulf between their haves and our have-nots.
Of course, that is, unless MWC and C-TBN were willing to cut a deal, wherein they would expand to 16 schools each, and thus, with 32 votes, obtain the political advantage after all.
That assumes that the democratic vote would be based on individual schools. I leave open the possibility that the vote will be one vote to a conference, but even in that case, the remaining CUSA schools with a vote could simply dissolve their conference before exiting, which still would provide to MWC and C-TBN some political muscle to get what they prefer.
But there *is* a deadline... we need this put all of this to bed before July 1, before the newbies officially arrive and get a vote.