I know there has been a lot of speculation out there, but there are a few facts to consider.
I posted this a while ago, but am too lazy to find it now. The gist was that the MAC had about $7M in football TV revenue, but the AAC had like $70M. It was an order of magnitude difference. And, of course, the top feeders had TV revenue in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Since I don't think we are losing anyone from the MAC, adding mediocre P5 teams, I don't think, will elevate the MAC. It will just diminish those mediocre P5 teams.
The best strategy for UB, in my opinion, will be to get to the best conference they can. AAC or C-USA seems more reasonable, but if something crazy happens and they can go higher, I'd endorse that 100%. Yes...the football stadium is not close to what it needs to be. And the donor base isn't there currently. I am sure those in the various conferences know this. But do they have the vision of what UB athletics could become?
Buffalo is a sports rich town, with a rabid and loyal fan base for the Bills and Sabres. That's attractive. Can UB create an athletic product that can tap into that fan base on a consistent basis? So far, they haven't, for a variety of reasons. But sports fans are already there and many, many, many people in the region have a degree from UB (or a family member with a degree from UB), since the school is so large. If I am an executive from another conference, UB has a lot to offer (overall) if you have a vision.
Go Bulls!