to me, a power conference is a conference that can consistently compete for a championship and have 3 or 4 teams that can push those teams during the regular season. You can call it media bias, but media attention is what defines who is relevant and provides a huge advantage in generating revenue and attracting talent. The Big12 as it exists now, much less without TX and OK fails the first part, only the SEC and Big10 currently can do that. TCU getting to the final for the Big12 and Cinci getting to the playoff (both getting crushed) doesn't mean they are competing consistently. Expanding the playoff to 12 helps for a short time, but after the newness wears off, the networks will tire of airing blowouts that get ratings along the lines of the Fastlane Bowl and changes will be made, and those changes will not be good for anyone but the P2. Once the reshuffle happens, assuming it happens similar to what you propose, the national tv money is going to shift more to the P2 because they have the brands that sports fans nationwide, not fans of particular schools, will watch. In addition to the money, those conferences will get the media attention that attracts the top players who want to be seen nationally. The ACC/Big12/PAC could create a market, and maybe have a better overall level of competition, but it will be a minor league because they won't have the depth of talent or resources needed to compete consistently and maybe more importantly, to generate the national fan interest to engage the media machine to make them relevant.