This is another in a long series of head scratching decisions by ESPN. ESPN and the SEC raided the Big 12, and which I guess helps ESPN because the Big 12 was primarily a Fox network. But for that raid to really be successful, ESPN needed to finish the Big 12 off by helping the AAC raid them. It would have only taken 2-3 teams to end the Big 12, depriving Fox of a lot of content. Instead, ESPN is standing on the sideline
Instead, ESPN has sat on the sidelines, letting the Big 12 gut the AAC. UCF, Cincinnati and Navy will be gone, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Temple go football independent and join the A10 rather than destroy its hoop program in whatever the AAC becomes. On top of that, the Big 12 is much more likely to sign with Fox and any other network after what ESPN did to it.
Why did ESPN bother with the raid? ESPN needs a lot of content, and at the end of this raid, it will have increased the cost of a regional league in the SEC while crushing the value of its filler content (the AAC) and driving off a borderline P5 league (the Big 12).