fuzzy, first, "mega-dittos" on most of what you said above.
Perhaps even more than appreciating the content, I appreciate the tone. Hopefully, I won't put you on the defensive if I offer a slight disagreement, and then I'd like to build on something you said...
1. It's one thing to say "I think we're in a good position just as things stand, positioning ourselves as the most attractive candidate for AAC expansion in the future." It's a different thing to say, "I recognize we're in a bad position, but what can we do? We have no influence."
Where the former is concerned, while I disagree with the premise... let me come back to that... I agree with you that the former is a legitimate long-term position and one that isn't inherently self-gratification-driven.
Notice what I said please: "We're in a real pickle here. A real one. Not imagined. Almost no one with any common sense is oblivious to that."
In saying that, I ruled out those who accept the "we're in a good position" premise. So, I did not actually talk about them... the oblivious... in that post. I wouldn't and didn't paint those people as only caring about themselves. But you can read into what I said that I do "paint them" as ignoring their own common sense. I feel a little sorry for them because I perceive them as the personality type that tends toward a feeling of powerlessness... in the vein of (but not so extreme as) Stockholm Syndrome, in that in the midst of their feeling powerless, they exaggerate every small/shallow something to feel good about to salve their conscience. Feeling like they have no influence, they cower to whatever authority or "the man" tells them and make the best of it psychologically.
2. Let's talk about that premise now--i.e., that we're not actually in a pickle..
You pointed to the recruiting disadvantages. True.
But I contend that there is a more substantial aspect to the problem staring us in the face that echo the same dire consequences:
Every year that an American or MWC conference gets the access bowl, they reap the financial benefits... and with every year they do so, they widen the gulf between us and them... the top tier of Go5 and the bottom tier of Go5... more and more.
In other words... sitting on our hands is the best option if you're content to see us become the best program among the bottom tier... of the bottom half... of D-1 schools.
I don't know how else to put it. We're at pivotal point. We need to be in contention for the major bowl and its financial benefits NOW, not later at some imagined date in the future when Texas and Oklahoma (the clear opinion leaders within the Big XII) flip-flop and decide the Big XII can expand after all, and there becomes some hope that the ripple effects give us a shot to fill an AAC slot. We cannot afford... literally... to put this off. We need to do whatever can be done to be a year-in-year-out contender that the CFP 13 looks at.