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I think comparisons to the old Big East and the current AAC are a bit of apples/oranges. The Old Big East faced an identity crisis as it continued to lose most of its most visable football programs to the the ACC, B10 or B12 (remember when TCU was a Big East member for like a day?) All expansion centered on football programs, some of them questionable in football, and most horrible in basketball. Meanwhile, they kept pushing more and more money away from the basketball side to the football side in an effort to keep up with the jonses. What they ended up doing is taking teams like Georgetown, Nova, St Johns and Seton Hall who helped make the Big East a basketball power and dwindling away any semblance of power they had.
At this point, I think most current AAC teams understand their place in the bigger picture. Sure most hope that one day some shakeup will allow them to join the ranks of Texas, Ohio St, Clemson or Bama, but structurally they are all flowing in the same direction. The old Big East was centered upon improving/maintaining their foothold in football with little regard to basketball. The current AAC realizes there are few, if any, potential additions that can improve their football situation, and any improvements must come from within. Meanwhile, there are several schools that value basketball and I'm sure would like a higher level of competition. When Wichita St joined, the makeup and direction of the league was clear. If UD/VCU were to join, it remains clear. Weather that direction is a better fit for UD/VCU than the current A10 or any other possibilities is a different direction, but they TV payouts and such can be controlled much better by UD/VCU than they were by Nova, Gtown, etc... in the old league.
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