Harlan thought there was no way the conference would fall apart which is why he tweeted what he did. Utah and its administrators thought the conference TV deal would be worth $50m+ per team and pushed the negotiations that direction, ultimately leading to the downfall of the conference. They were wrong and ended up tucking their tail between their legs and accepting the perceived "lesser" option in the Big 12.
Nothing about what's happened over the past year screams that the Utah admin is "extremely self-aware".