Houston & SMU, where to?

Where should SMU & Houston go to? Big East? MWC? CUSA? Things to consider:

1. Money. Payout from the Big East is uncertain. Payout from the MWC will be about $1-2M. Payout for CUSA will be about $2M.

2. Competition. I am using mcubed analysis of the team's entire team's competitive history. Lower is better.

Big East
Cincinnati = 66.4
UConn = 71
USF  = 50.1
Temple = 75.7
Navy = 68.9
Memphis = 69.8
ECU = 61.5
Tulane = 82
Central Florida  = 60.2
Big East average = 67.2888888888889

MWC
Air Force  = 57
Boise St. = 34
Colorado St. = 71
Fresno St. = 67
Hawaii = 64
Nevada = 65
New Mexico = 76
San Diego St. = 54
San Jose St. = 77
UNLV = 81
Utah St. = 69
Wyoming  = 61
MWC average = 64.6666666666667

CUSA
Southern Mississippi = 53.4
Louisiana Tech = 66.6
Rice = 82.7
UAB = 89.6
UTSA = ?
Marshall = 82.7
Tulsa = 63.5
UN Charlotte = ? 
UTEP = 87.6
Old Dominion = ?
Middle Tennessee = 86.5
North Texas = 81.9
Florida International = 94.5
Florida Atlantic = 88.9
CUSA average = 79.8090909090909

3. Fan Base. For this I am using Nate Silver's analysis in the NYT from 2011.

Big East
Cincinnati = 322757
UConn = 618724
USF 5 = 520627
Temple = 226483
Navy = 237222
Memphis = 235656
ECU = 348391
Tulane = 101701
Central Florida 6 = 506679
Big East total = 3,118,240


MWC
Air Force  = 213946
Boise St.  = 483489
Colorado St. = 199506
Fresno St. = 251472
Hawaii = 295024
Nevada = 187221
New Mexico = 171154
San Diego St. = 242126
San Jose St. = 60292
UNLV = 136687
Utah St. = 65129
Wyoming  = 302935
MWC total = 2,608,981

CUSA
Southern Mississippi = 361613
Louisiana Tech = 179991
Rice = 126901
UAB = 236825
UTSA  = ?
Marshall = 225810
Tulsa = 119686
UN Charlotte = ?
UTEP = 114592
Old Dominion = ?
Middle Tennessee = 169621
North Texas = 202188
Florida International = 178669
Florida Atlantic = 145469
CUSA total = 2,061,365

4. Regional Population growth. All of the above are based on the past. Now I want to factor in regional population growth to suggest future movement. To simplify things I will just look at the states within the conference congressional seats gains and losses.

Big East = net -2 (+2 for Florida, -2 for Ohio, -1 for Louisiana, and -1 for Pennsylvania)
MWC = net +2 (+1 for Nevada and +1 for Utah)
CUSA = net +1 (+2 for Florida and -1 for Louisiana; Texas was not included as this is the native state for SMU and Houston)

Thus far the Big East has the edge in fan numbers (#3), the MWC has the edge in competition (#2) and regional population growth (#4), and CUSA has the tentative edge in payout (#1).

5. Unqualifiable. Food for thought.

Big East: instability.
MWC: access to the Pac12 by playing in Pac12 states of Colorado, Utah, and California. There is no way the B1G, Big XII or the SEC will consider either SMU or Houston. The ACC is just too far away, and the AAU North Carolina schools along with UVA will be too snobby to invite either programs. The Pac12 is hemmed in with limited options for expansion and should they want Texas, SMU and Houston could both be considered. In addition, the Bowl payout deal from the MWC gives the competing team a 50% share.
CUSA: ego of having to swallow their pride and go back to CUSA could be a factor. However, there are some good rivalry in CUSA like Tulsa, Southern Mississippi and Louisiana Tech that could be a draw.

Overall I think the MWC has a slight edge of appeal for SMU and Houston over the Big East and CUSA.