than the South. Also, comparing Connecticut's situation with Virginia's situation is a little misleading given that Connecticut is 5,543 square miles and Virginia is 42,774 square miles.

It is possible (with the right HC) UConn could have great attendance for home games like it had for the 2010 season (the year UConn went to the Fiesta Bowl). Then again it is possible the home attendance that year was a fluke too. It was smart to design Rentschler Field so that it could be easily expandable to 60K. However, it doesn't mean the school will have an easier time influencing the state to part with the money necessary to expand the stadium. It is fine if a conference wants to add a school based on potential. However, that potential must be turned into a reality at some point. Otherwise the conference could have buyer's remorse.

I somewhat disagree that a conference's image is only carried by the top teams. Yes, the top team do have great influence on how a people perceive a conference. However, most people still want the top conferences to also be very deep too. Not only from a content perspective for the conference network, but for when one of the faces has a "down year" and another member can quickly fill the void so the conference doesn't miss a beat. At least it seems true for SEC football, ACC basketball, the Old Big East basketball, and Big Ten football/basketball. Right now ACC football has 5 faces (Clemson, FSU, L'ville, Da U, and VT). If one of those schools has a down year and an "outsider" tries to take its place, then the public isn't so quick to embrace the "outsider" with open arms.