I don't mean today, I meant as time passed. They could have gone independent in the late 70s/80s when there were a ton of other independents. They could have easily been a Big East program, had they elevated their program just a little during the 80s.
From there, who knows? Rutgers in the Big Ten still doesn't make sense to this day. Cal is in the freakin' ACC. But I was just wondering aloud how Toledo failed to build on its successes from the 60s and 70s, that's all.