I appreciate your response, but two of your answers are non answers.
The political angle with the ACC is overblown. We’re not part of Tobacco Road and get no help there, but that’s not why we’ve sucked for 20 years.
On recruiting, you should elaborate. I’d be interested to hear. No one who’s advocated for the Big 12 as an option has explained how we’d sustain Top 10 or even Top 15 recruiting. It’s a huge concern and it can’t be waived off. My position is that we will not beat out the P2 schools with similar NIL when we’ll have worse matchups, less TV/streaming visibility, and less prestige. Why play for Miami in the Big 12 when you can play for FSU, Alabama, OSU, Michigan, UGA, etc. in prime time? We’d get good enough talent to compete in the Big 12, but we’d get smashed in the CFP anytime we made it.
Also, in my opinion, perception matters. If we choose the Big 12, the perception will be “Miami’s not good enough for the P2. They had to run away to a weaker conference to win.” Our rivals will run with it, and sports media will eat it up.
To me, a Miami that’s a consisten top 3-4 team in the P2, with CFP appearances is far more respected, formidable, and in national contention than a Miami team in the Big 12 that gets smashed every time it gets to the CFP because of the talent deficit.
I also agree that realignment is going to continue for awhile. I just don’t think we can afford to make a choice that will diminish our perception, recruiting ability, and regulate us to the CFB g-league. Maybe Yormack turns out to be a visionary and transforms the Big 12 into a conference at parity with the P2. He’s a smart guy, but we can’t afford to take such a risk.