basketball is a no brainer for geography, rivalries, and fans. I think you include basketball as well, as that give tremendous scheduling flexibility, including mid season "conference tournaments". Non revs can do the same, and schedule out for travel expenses, but more importantly, the ability for students to be students as there is nothing out there that implies that those kids will be making any form of big money. Schedule football and basketball for the networks, and schedule the rest based on history, geography, students, and the fans. With a setup like that, you can have as many schools in the "conference " as you want, or as many that makes sense to the networks.