Lloyd and Arizona's AD have not had the best work relationship behind closed doors. The "not reporting" to the AD is probably icing on the cake for him.
Also, it's much easier to be the top team in the west than jump into the ACC and share a backyard with Duke, NC State, and others.
To add onto your point, MDOT finally finishing HWY-76 from Red Bay to Fulton is huge. Having a 4 lane highway between HSV and Tupelo is a potential starting point for some of the Defense Contractors moving their manufacturing facilities to Tupelo/North MS.