I would argue wehave not seen the success everyone would like to see in athletics and IMHO it is because we are in the MAC...period. We have a Big 10 basketball arena but are obviously not Big 10 caliber. We have an ex-Big 12 football coach but again we are obviously not at that level either.
One of the consistent facors I see over all the years (even with the money spent and coaches coming and going) is we are still in the same neighborhood and play with the same friends we played with 50 years ago. And, most all of the friends we have added since the 70s have been at or near the bottom of the standings much of the time (read EMU). The neighborhood is deteriorating and not getting better. You wonder why we are sinking with the rest of them? Try something new and stop repeating the same errors over and over again.
Growing up, my mother always told me "You are judged by the company you keep". I think this is true in our case; having EMU and Akron in football and Toledo in basketball is a big problem as far as national perception of the MAC works.
But there's only one problem with the logic. We are not the cream of the crop in the MAC, and to bolt to an even STRONGER conference, well we'd look like Marshall. I don't think leaving the MAC is the answer at this point. Until we prove we're deserving of "worthier" foes, we gotta beat the ones we have at the current time.