For a 30,000+ student public school without a football program or a religious affiliation, we are actually quite fortunate to be in the A-10.
1) A-10 has turned out to be our NCAA-qualifying "sweet spot" - just easy enough to garner 20+ wins nearly every season and be at or near the top of the conference and just tough enough to supply the necessary rigor and metrics (NET, KP, Top 100 wins, etc) to garner (qualify for) an at-large bid almost annually. That's where you want to be. I'm quite sure this (at-large bids and the associated prestige/revenue/scheduling/national press/recruiting advantages) is what UR envisioned when they made the jump to the A-10.
2) A-10 provides a favorable geography - driving distance (i.e. crowd support/enthusiasm) to many rival games -- UR, GMU, GW, Davidson, even Dayton -- and the conference tourney.
3) A-10 provides a favorable NCAA units payout structure - keep 75% of annual unit revenue earned
Ultimately, for most schools, especially those without big-time football, making the NCAA tourney in men's hoop is the big prize/goal each year.
Dayton, St Louis, Richmond, Rhody, and St Bonny are not as sexy as AAC members Cincy, Memphis, Houston, Wichita, Temple, this is true. However, the ultimate prize occurs on Selection Sunday each year and the A-10 has delivered (to us at least) beyond our wildest dreams (9 NCAA selections in the past 10 NCAA tourneys held).
Sometimes in life you need to know who you are, stay in your lane, carve out your own (successful if not glamorous) path. and stick with what works. The A-10 has been a home run thus far for VCU athletics (and all who follow/support it).