The old Big East's problem wasn't a football/non-football split by itself; it was the fact that you eventually had an 8/8 split in voting. On one hand, you had Syracuse, Pittsburgh, UConn, Rutgers, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Louisville and USF, and on the other, you had Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, St. Johns, Marquette and DePaul.

When ever it came time to expansion - i.e. East Carolina, UCF, Memphis, Temple, etc. - you would always have universal disagreement with regards to separate beliefs for the conference. The C8 would never allow East Carolina or UCF in as full members due to lower basketball prestige; the Football-8 would never allow in Memphis or Temple due to, at the time, lower football prestige. Neither side wanted to give the other a higher voting right than the other, thus the long standstill from 2005-2013.

As previously mentioned, C-USA made it work for a number of years, quite effectively, with Charlotte, DePaul, Marquette, Saint Louis, and USF (until they joined FBS) as non-football members, coupled with Cincinnati, Louisville, Southern Mississippi, UAB, Houston, Tulane, TCU and Memphis.

Wichita State, by itself, will not disrupt the functionality or purpose of the American. Even if Dayton and VCU were included as well, those three would not be able to disrupt the vision and future of the league either. It's a strong add, plain and simple (and overdue, IMO).