I agree that NIL is the principal issue here, but I still

Think the idea raises more questions than answers, at least to its practical approach.

1. Will the Power 5 be content to play amongst themselves, or will they want other opponents?

I suggest that based on history, the answer is more likely to be the latter. In that case, they will need to bring other institutions along. My best guess in that case would be that they also take the American and possibly the Mountain West for some geographic balance.

2. What happens with various other programs?

Navy and Hawaii are football-only members of the American and Mountain West, respectively. Do they break away with those conferences? And if so, what happens to their conference affiliations for other sports? As to other independents, BYU seems a natural fit if you're taking the American and Mountain West as well. What about Army? Remember, in this scenario, the other service academies -- Air Force and Navy -- would be splitting along with the Power 5.

3. What about the Big East?

True, the Big East doesn't play football, so not a concern there. However, the men's basketball tournament is the crown jewel among NCAA-sponsored events, and Villanova won that tournament in two of the last four years that it was played. Without the Big East, the NCAA may have at least an arguable claim that its men's basketball champion is on par with the champion produced by the Power 5.