iirc, the ACC moves to add Fla State and later Miami, etc were at least partially spurred on by the so-called Syracuse rule.. or Big East rule re: the BCS. That is, if the conference champ is not ranked 15 (or was it 12?) or better for X years in a row the conference could lose its autobid.
It was put into place because Syracuse was once champ and ranked mid-teens and stunk up the joint in the BCS bowl game and didn't bring fans or TV ratings. But, interestingly.. the ACC was put in jeopardy of this front several times and was "saved" by adding a team that could satisfy the requirement via grandfathered-in rankings from prior years.
So the reason I mention this is because, perhaps, similar contingencies are in place for the Playoffs (which are a product of the BCS bowls, after all). And the Big XII could certainly be thinking along those lines adding several teams that have been ranked high in recent years.