AAC: Central Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Navy, South Florida, Southern Methodist, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa

ACC: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Notre Dame as a partial.

SEC: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt

They have a 50% share in the PAC.
They have a 50% share in the Big 12 (T3 advantages with Texas and Kansas)
They have about a 40% share of the Big 10.

If you look at a map you will find that they have 100% of the top P5 and G5 product in the following states: Alabama (2), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (1), Florida (5), Georgia (2), Kentucky (2), Louisiana (2), Massachusetts (1), Mississippi (2), Missouri (1), North Carolina (5), New York (1) and would be 2 if Army joins the AAC, Tennessee (3)

Here are the states where they share product. These counts will be in a fraction with the product they own completely on top and the total number of product in which they only own 50% or less on bottom: Indiana 1/3, Iowa 0/2, Kansas 0/2, Maryland 1/2, Ohio 1/2, Oklahoma 1/3, Pennsylvania 2/3, Texas 3/7, West Virginia 0/1

So let's assume that in the final realignment ESPN is satisfied with the conference placement of the ACC, SEC, and of the AAC and that they don't wish to promote or demote any of the schools in those conferences. Of the States that ESPN has less than 100% of control which constitute the most profitable investment in order to completely have rights to those states?

1. Texas: Baylor, T.C.U., Texas Tech and Texas are all 50% shared more or less. To effectively control that State ESPN needs to add Texas and Texas Tech in full. They can maintain complete control over Baylor in the AAC. T.C.U. could be a full P4 addition in an ESPN held conference, or they could also be fully controlled in the AAC.

2.
A. Since they already control as much as they will in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana the best ESPN could hope to do is pick up an addition in Iowa. Iowa State could serve as a market sharing addition if added to a P5. That would make for the most effective entry into the Iowa market. Otherwise in the AAC they would merely be a presence in Iowa.

B. They could own all of Oklahoma and Kansas if they desired to pursue them. Since Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will want to move together and ESPN already has Tulsa this is an easier pick up. Make a juicy offer for the pair and they make obtaining all of Texas even easier. Especially if....

C. They also make a strong play for Kansas and let Kansas State slip into the AAC.

3. Controlling a state as a network allows for more leverage in the procuring of the highest advertising rates. In Texas that can be lucrative.

So the objectives should be Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Iowa State if they want to solidly market the region.

West Virginia may be picked up as a solo if need be.

That's a total of 7 Big 12 schools.

Put Texas, Texas Tech, and West Virginia in the ACC with Texas as an independent and relegate T.C.U. and Baylor to the AAC and the state of Texas is completely accounted for.

Put Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas and Iowa State in the SEC and Kansas State in the AAC and Oklahoma and Kansas are completely accounted for. Add Iowa State and you have a presence in a key Big 10 state.

The SEC and ACC move to 18. The AAC picks up Army to go with Kansas State, Baylor and T.C.U. and they move to 16.

4. If ESPN truly wanted to wield effective power they would encourage a joint academic association between the AAU schools of their three conferences:

From the SEC (6): Florida, Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
From the ACC (6): Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Texas, Virginia
From the AAC (1) : Tulane

That consortium would equal the AAU members of the Big 10. By forming such an association schools would not be reticent at all to join any of the 3 ESPN held conferences.

Associations of note but not AAU then become: Notre Dame, Syracuse, Boston College, Army, Navy, Miami (which may become AAU soon), Kentucky, Georgia, N.C. State, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Clemson, and Tennessee.

By focusing on additions in this manner it becomes quite clear that ESPN can benefit all of us through scheduling alliances, academic associations, and by having complete control over the entire Eastern Seaboard from Virginia to Miami with all of the Southeastern states into Texas thereby controlling the entire Gulf of Mexico region into the Plains as far as Kansas and Missouri.

And for that solidarity we all benefit in payouts due to not having to split ad revenues within our region with another network.

So when questions arise about why take a little brother, total control of each state is essential to maintain the leverage and of all of the 7 additions suggested only 2 would be redundant. I'd say it is worth it! At the very least we need the Texa-homa schools.

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An addendum: With the Big 12 gone eventually the PAC and Big 10 will have to have a kind of merger. When that happens the AAC could be elevated to the 4th P Conference. They would also make an excellent device to pick up left over PAC schools following the Big 10 / PAC merger. Washington State, Oregon State, Air Force, San Diego State, Boise State, U.N.L.V. and a couple of more could help to form a 20 school AAC that would comprise the 4th power conference.