We need OU and UT to be legit contenders every year. That’s all that matters for the perception of the B12’s strength. Any team can be #3, so we might as well clear out any hurdles keeping us from that spot.
This.
I don't think that's true in the long term. ISU expanding to (and consistently filling) a 70k seat stadium full of crazy fans would be good for the league. Same with TCU, Baylor, OSU, etc. Recruits want to play in big games, they don't want to freeze their balls off in Ames in front of 30k fans for an easy win.
I'd by this if we didn't literally have the previous 23 years of evidence to the contrary. The last two seasons, the only school that has benefitted from Iowa State being good is Iowa State. K-State, TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia have all been a lot better in the recent past, than they were in 2019 & 2020. There is a finite amount of talent in this region and you're never going to convince us that having someone else coming into Wichita and Kansas City to take the players, that the bluebloods in the middle of the country don't want, is good for everyone else.