I do find it ironic that TCU puts on airs now that they are successfull in athletics. I remember them going 1-10 with Sullivan and being thankful for the WAC invite. Losing Houston to a start up C-USA didn't hurt much for anyone in my opinion, especially when you had the established WAC there a the time. I remember Hoss Brock's comment when the Cotton Bowl was going to invite Houston to the Classic in the 70s " You don't want them- half of their fans sleep in an RV across from a 7-11 and the other half go and rob it...." Needless to say it wasn't received well.
Rice and SMU would have had issues in the ACC- but it still is nice to speculate about the fun that could have been ( but never was likely).
"Everything is funny as long as it happens to some one else"- Will Rogers