That word is Geography.

My thoughts on how I see the MW becoming stronger than today all circles back to the geography of the conference.
I think we will see the progression, not right away but over the next few years.

Here is why I think this could be possible.
First: Protection from expansion by the PAC-12 and Big 12. This is really big in my opinion because there is really no school in the MW for the PAC to grab that add anymore value and the Big 12 will bridge to West Virgina and the AAC is the one that will add value to the Big 12 (Cincy and Memphis for example).

Second: The MW doesn't have any other FBS conference other than the PAC-12 to recruit against. All other G5 conferences except the MAC has mulitiple P5 and G5 conferences to recruit against. One thing I've seen from last year is the increase in transfers from PAC/P5 conferences to MW schools. While the transfers may be athletes that didn't quite pan out, they are more athletic than the normal 2 star recruits most MW schools have and can add more depth than any other G5 conference.

Third: 8 of 12 schools are land grant and/or are either first or second for state funding and fan attention. Contrast that with many of the schools in the other G5 conferences who are either 4th or below in the pecking order.

Fourth: Population increases in the Mountain and Pacific states will provide a better TV contract as more people are migrating to Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico or natural increases in population. With basically another 5 years left on the existing TV contract, we shall see how this pans out for the next TV contract. Especially as the MW is the only other FBS conference in the Western US.

If the AAC gets raided, then this really accelerates that progression.