i'll just agree to disagree on that. i think every fan would find playing all the closest other D1 schools would be far more enjoyable. if live in that area - can travel to more games. you know more fans of other schools. friends fam co-workers. fans might even go to games they aren't fans of either team, just cause it's so close and same conf as their own school. TV deals are still very large because there are big schools in every region and would have 20+ team conferences, and viewership is just as good if not better cause it's rival nearby schools fans would actually care more about.I agree it’s a money grab, and bad for the non revenue athletes. I would push back and say that it doesn’t negatively impact the fan experience, kinda the opposite for me personally, but again that’s just a big ten fan perspective.
you might not get this angle as much since you already are playing all the teams closest to your school.
but you might be slightly more excited to play Cincinnati and Pitt opposed to...Rutgers and Maryland? at least it'd be games you could actually drive to, right? and maybe know a few more people that are fans of those teams. your situation just isn't best scenario for showing it. but still it'd impact you in positive ways i bet to some degree.
(actually MD and Rutgers might still be in your conf even in geographic realignment ha Michigan is just in a tricky geographic location to be near a ton of schools)