The benefit of being able to create a football only conference is flexibility to make an autonomous decision in your own best interest and it was the way the NCAA operated until a decade ago when some folks wanted to squeeze the Sun Belt which at the time had five full members playing football and two associate members for football with a third coming in.

Until 2004 six football schools wanted to play each other, they were a conference without regard to where their other sports played. It remains the rule in FCS. This is an FBS only rule.

But for the 2004 legislation, when MWC and CUSA wanted to merge their football operations, they could have done so without having to address the other sports. Under the rules adopted in 2004 they had two options. One merge into one gigagantic league for all sports, or remain two independent leagues in all sports with one ceasing operations in football and all the members taking a football only membership in a conference controlled by other schools leaving them at risk of expulsion since they would not have equal membership.

This is simple deregulation that the P5 purportedly supports.

Say a group of MAC and Sun Belt schools each reach the conclusion that not enough of the schools they are paired with are serious enough about football and the disconnect is severe enough that they want align with each other.

Under current rules they cannot have a full participating football league unless they have 8 members playing all sports under the league banner.

Repeal the 2004 legislation (even retaining the 8 members to be a conference portion but repealing the all-sports portion), those schools could form a football only league where each has the same equity membership while they seek out appropriate regional association in other sports.

Eight full members for all sports is an artifice of added regulation with no effective purpose other than forcing schools to remain in affiliations that are not always the best for their circumstances.