"Doing something we don't like" is not a blunder. You can disagree with it, but there's logic behind it. Again, they've been doing it for years and there's been no displeasure voiced by the coaches.
If there were a blunder, it's that they don't sell specific rivalries and matchups well enough. I get the scheduling of the last day of conference play for travel. I get the ticket sales approach you're citing for the OU AD.
On the other hand, the league needs to do better at selling the big games for TV outside of just Akron vs Kent, which they do a great job of selling. BG vs Toledo should be sold. OU vs. Miami. Etc.... When they get a chance for a league TV slot, they need to at least try to schedule to get the best possible showing every time. Obviously you can't predict who will have great years in advance, but you can try.
It's embarrassing for the MAC when they instead end up with a game being shown on ESPNU live from EMU, NIU, or Miami where there are maybe 1000 people in the arena. Or during football when they're at EMU, hosting Army a few years ago, and they had 5,000 people in the building on a Saturday. Stop giving the schools that don't sell TV exposure until they earn it. The ACC does that with Duke and UNC getting the most exposure. The MAC can do the same thing.