The Akron brand. Uh-huh. 11 years of declining enrollment, decimation of once good engineering program. Rampant violence around the campus perimeter. A football program that attracts hundreds to its home games. A Bball program that rarely fills more than 3,500 seats at home. What conference would want them?
We’re in an era of college sports where kids are getting paid and able to leave whenever to the highest bidder. Do you think a conference cares about anything other than winning programs? That’s what Akron does in basketball.
You're implying that just because Akron wins basketball games that means they're slated for a bigger conference. If that were the case Boise State would have been a Power 5 football team a long time ago. The Akron "brand" is so strong they just changed their logo a few years ago. Nobody gives a shit about Akron outside of the MAC.
Be angrier, please. How do you think Xavier went from A10 to Big East and VCU went from Colonial to A10? Wichita from MVC to American? Belmont and Murray from OVC to MVC? These conferences aren’t plucking losing programs.
You forgot Creighton and Loyola Chicago moving up too. However, those two and the ones u mentioned have a thing in common ... no football (not counting Murray's forever crappy FCS program). Akron, for some reason, want FBS football. Stumbling block to move up to C-USA, American or Sun Belt. They move up to those leagues, gotta waste more money on football.
And, of course, the City of Akron itself is its own stumbling block.
Northern Illinois just moved its football program to the Mountain West with basketball and other sports going to the Horizon. There aren’t really any limitations to conference realignment anymore.
NIU football has decades of winning, knocked off Power 5's during the regular season, sent its HC's to greener schools, made a small name for itself nationally and UA mbb has done well, Zip. Arizona will mollywhop them like every other team has in the tourney. Stringing together a few MAC tourney titles isn't impressive in the slightest anymore.
Joining the now 1-bid A-10 (not that that they would stoop to UA's level) while placing football in an FCS league, scholarship or the Pioneer, sounds like a brilliant move. I'm sure being in the bottom of the standings in all sports while not having FBS paydays will help UA's outstanding bottom line.