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What's the end game here?

Are we going to have a SEC/ACC conglomerate owned by ESPN/Disney, and a Big Ten/Pac 12 conglomerate owned by Fox? Are they going to have two separate playoffs, where maybe the champion of each play one another for the NC?

That is a possibility.  I think the actual goal of Sankey is to create an upper division of CFB that operates outside the NCAA and the old bowl system.

How long until the conferences go the route of addition by subtraction.

In my opinion, that's probably long overdue. Especially if the TV wonks are gonna call the shots.

I can imagine some ESecPN exec telling Slive that he needs to lose Vandy, msu, USCe, etc.

How long until the conferences go the route of addition by subtraction.

That's an intriguing question.

Much ink is being spilled on the subject of how the Big Ten might respond to the SEC's action by adding this that or the other program.

But the SEC expanding to 16 teams is not the problem.  The problem is that the two teams being added are helmet teams, so the SEC, which already had a better helmets-to-duds ratio than the Big Ten (per Medina's analysis somewhere on one of the the threads devoted to realignment-related topics), now has made that ratio even better.

The Big Ten could easily add Iowa State and Kansas.  Both are AAU schools.  Both are in or adjacent to the Big 12 footprint.  But Kansas has the worst football program in the P5 and Iowa State's history has mostly been spent as a loveable loser, Matt Campbell's recent success notwithstanding.

Non-AAU member Notre Dame and 1500-miles-WSW-of-Lincoln USC would seem to be the best programs that might be added.  But they are not sure things, to say the least.  Is the Big Ten ready to expel members to have a shinier, if smaller, roster of teams?

From afar, it seems like probably not.

For purely objective reasons and not accounting at all for the fact that my team might be one on the chopping block...

...I'm against expelling members.

So am I.  For the same reason I don't like the growing reality of mega-conferences made up by adding helmet teams.
Purdues, Indianas, and Northwesterns are a valuable part of college football just like Oklahoma States, Kansas States, and TCUs are.
Now, Baylor, that's a different story.

Has there ever been a team expelled from a conference?  Seems like Temple was kicked out or at least threatened to.  And there are lots of non-competitive football teams that are sterling in other sports like Kansas and Syracuse. 

Bowlsby now saying he has documented evidence that ESPN was trying to make backdoor deals with B12 members and another unnamed conference (AAC).

That move would essentially dissolve the B12, meaning Oklahoma and Texas would not have to pay exit fees or worry about the GOR, and could join the SEC at will.

Another portion of that is ESPN owns 100% of the AAC media rights, vs the 50% they split with FOX over the B12.

The mouse is a dirty little rat.  Either that, or Bowlsby will be sued for slander.

It's getting ugly.

So many weird things about this.  
As utee says, this is not the kind of thing to go public with, calling out your biggest source of revenue.  Unless it was intended to be confidential and ESPN leaked it to SI.  
Two, it's hard to believe ESPN would be dumb enough to ever directly contact a school.  Their contract is with the conference and to get involved with an individual member would be tortious interference.  Maybe Bowlsby got wind of some backchannel communication?
Whiskey, did you find somewhere it was the AAC?  I know the AAC has been spouting off about being proactive and aggressive.
I wouldn't be surprised if ESPN may have told the AAC that adding some of the Big 12 members would increase their value.