Am I too late to get into this?
So here's how I'd go about doing this: I'm trying to put together a conference that could get a major TV deal done and consistently have three to five teams in the mix for at-large consideration. I'm also looking for programs that can boast strong fan support for basketball through thick and thin, which will usually mean no FBS football.
So I'll start out with
VCU (because, you know, this is VCU Ram Nation). We have a big student body, a big endowment, strong fan support, and a history of success. We could absolutely be the keystone member of a strong conference, as could
Dayton, a school with a history of success in a decent-sized metro area. And since it would suck to not be in a conference with either of our rivals, we'll drag
Richmond along out of pity so they don't end up in the SoCon.
From there, I'm looking to add schools in big markets with lots of potential for growth. Despite being somewhat of a geographic outlier,
UIC (University of Illinois Chicago) gives our conference a foothold in the Midwest and a presence in the third-largest city and media market in the country. This is the first "outlying" team I'm going to pick, but I have my reasons. They have a big student body (30k) and a big endowment ($2.28b), an on-campus arena that can seat about 8,000 fans, and most noteworthy,
no football to overshadow the rest of the athletic department. Everything is working in their favor to be able to sustain success once they find a coach that can get them to the next step. That potential for continued excellence is what gives them the nod over Loyola-Chicago, and being in a stronger conference top-to-bottom should allow them to attract a good coach who could build that program into a consistent competitor.
Drexel also gives us a foothold in a huge market (Philadelphia) that loves its college basketball. They boast a large student body and a sizeable endowment, and although they lack the NCAA Tournament pedigree of their city siblings, I feel they have the most to offer of the schools that would be available to us (Temple has FBS football and plays in the American, so they're not eligible). Saint Joseph's is comparably small and La Salle's sketchy finances make them a risky addition.
I'm going to go a bit more southwards for my second "outlying" pick. Louisville, KY is the single biggest market in the country for college basketball, and even though Kentucky and Louisville are off the table,
Bellarmine is not. They have a long history of success in Division II and are located in between two states that are absolutely fanatical about college hoops; between UIC and Bellarmine, this conference would have a pretty strong presence in the state of Indiana. The small enrollment and small endowment might turn some heads, but the location would more than make up for it.
Staying with the theme of growing markets, we'll probably want a school or two in the Carolinas.
Davidson seems like an obvious choice, but I'd also add
College of Charleston to give Davidson a travel partner and really put strong roots into a fertile recruiting territory. Washington, DC is also a huge and growing market, so we'll go ahead and add
George Washington, a school that has shown flashes of brilliance over the years.
Heading South again, we'll add
Belmont to give us a presence in Nashville. The Bruins always seem to be able to put a competitive squad on the floor, and I'm willing to bet they'd welcome the step up in competition.
There's a reason
Fordham is in the A10, and that reason is the same reason I'm adding them here. New York is a huge market, they have the resources to spend on athletics, and their alumni have deep pockets. They haven't been particularly competitive in Men's Basketball, but if they're willing to stay in our conference, we get far more out of their addition from the market presence and recruiting access than they take away from generally being non-competitive in hoops.
The 12th member was a challenge, but I'd like to put another member in the Ohio Valley region, so we'll round it out with
NKU (Northern Kentucky). No football for the Norse, who are located just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. A rising program that made the NCAAs their first year eligible after transitioning from D2, they already have a gym that seats 9,400 and a growing student body.
That gives our conference 12 members and a maximum driving distance of just under 14 hours (UIC to CoC); hopefully that fits the standards of geographic consideration. We have members in DC, NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago, the Carolinas, Louisville, Nashville, and metro Cincinnati. Any TV network worth their salt would definitely take notice of a conference comprised of these schools.
TL; DR:
VCU, Dayton, Richmond, UIC, Drexel, Bellarmine, Davidson, CoCharleston, GW, Belmont, Fordham, NKU - schools that have the resources to compete at a higher level, the location to draw a large, consistent following, the track record of success on which to build a brand, or all of the above.
(edit: a word)