The conferences have long suffered a failure of imagination. I'll argue that there has only been three truly BIG IDEAS throughout the past 25+ years of realignment:
(1) Pac-10's original plan to add Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and OK State.
(2) SEC adding Texas and Oklahoma
(3) B1G adding USC and UCLA
Everything else has been nibbling around the edges. SEC adding A&M and Mizzou, Pac-12 adding Colorado and Utah, ACC adding SU and Pitt, B1G adding Nebraska, then Maryland and Rutgers... yawn. Incremental moves to achieve incremental gains.
By the late 2000s the ACC should have made a bold move to become THE conference on the east coast. Should never have stopped at SU and Pitt. Should have added Rutgers, UConn, Villanova (and upgraded to FBS), and sold their soul to get Penn State to join.
But they didn't have the leadership who could sell a vision like that.