Going this route allows the 4 to shed the bottom of the MWC and strive for the top of the AAC and maybe a remnant or two from a future imploding ACC.
No way you can do that with the bottom of the MWC.
UTSA, Memphis, USF, Navy…. Each would be a coup if they could pull it off, from both a football and population perspective compared to what they’d shed from the bottom of the MWC.