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Well said about NMSU.

Now that doesn't mean their study wasn't good. But what applies to a school like NMSU who is one of the flagships and rivals with UNM and UTEP in FBS and in an area where there are few conference choices can be very different than what is relevant to an Eastern Michigan, ULM or San Jose.
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Exactly. For NMSU, it’s not just money games but continuing rivalries with UTEP and UNM that go back decades. NMSU is not a Div I-AA move up from the 90s so their situation is entirely different from a school like Idaho. Unlike most schools mentioned, NMSU has a basketball program with tradition that’s well supported in Las Cruces and Southern New Mexico. Even if they drop to FCS, the travel won’t be any better in the Big Sky and they’ll never see UTEP and UNM ever again in Las Cruces.

They faced the same dilemma in basketball when they became the only FBS school in the WAC. Going to the Big West or Missouri Valley was not going to save them any money compared to the WAC. They decided to be a big fish in a very small pond.