Why is everyone, including the Chicago rag's author of the article, stuck on the idea each P5 will want the same amount of teams in each conference?
If TV is driving the bus, (with the 65 passengers on board - 5, of which, are employed by the transportation cartel), then it's more of a chance each P5 conference will not have equal membership.
Although, I do see Big12 being forced to at least go to 12 and have a CCG...."force" not by P5 legislative governance, but "force" by economic governance.
So it looks to me that at least 2 G5'rs will make the big stage.....but really it will be more.....as I see B1G going to 16, which will cause a mini-domino effect throughout the rest of the P5.....so.....I see at least 4 G5'rs making bank in a P5 conference around the upcoming years the B1G will be negotiating their tv contract (2016).
And do I see Big12 or ACC dropping out of the Power ranks?.......nah!.....so there will still be a P5, not P4, at least for the next 10 to 15 years.
....and what I'm hoping for is, in the aftermath of B1G's tv contract, the remaining of this first 10 years of the new college sports era morphing from "P5+BigEast/G5/rest-of-div1" to "P5/SP2+BigEast,wcc,a10/rest-of-div1+maybe a G3,2,or 1".
SP = Semi-Power....and I see that as the American and the MW with somewhat different memberships than currently due to what I said earlier about "at least 4 more G5's to P5"....some CUSA teams will probably be a part of the SP2 as members of AAC and MW.
Exciting times, my friends.