Bag the Football only stuff. It's time for a true East/West 16 team all sports conference, but with only semi-limited overlap with scheduling, other than a championship game. With this arrangement, the only other conference that has much of a chance for the auto bid from the group of five is the MAC, but it would take a pretty special year for them to get it. Play nine conference games in football, with the seven from your division, and two crossover games a year. Conference USA is a shell, so is the Sun Belt. The Mountain West is pretty weakened as well.

TV contract is less than it was, but better than it is now. Can offer games in all four time zones, from sea to shining sea.

Would probably need some sort of grant of rights to keep Cincy and UConn home, at least for five or six years while things stabilize.

Schedule Basketball as home and homes within divisions (14 games) and each other opposite division team once. Bracket and seed the top four from each division. Who wouldn't go for semifinal matchups in the conference tournament of Uconn(1E) v. SDSU(2W) and Cincy (2E) v. UNLV (1W).

East Division

Cincy

UConn

Temple

S. Florida

C. Florida

ECU .

Memphis

Navy

West Division

BSU

SDSU

SMU

Tulane

Houston

Fresno St.

UNLV

BYU or Air Force or Nevada (or even USU or SJSU)

Navy is slightly problematic. They might decide to just forget it since it is now for all sports. Another Conference USA team could come in if necessary. (Tulsa could come west, and Tulane could go east).

Anyway, that is the best of what is left, I think. Travel is manageable. If you don't want to schedule minor sports with cross divisional play, you don't have to. Better than going back to the Mountain West and Hair Thompson.