You make some good points. Those things were good enough to get us a C-USA invite, but I don't think it's enough to get us a Big East invite. We aren't competing against Belch schools anymore. We are competing against C-USA, MW, and MAC schools now.
You're right about Boise State being the only remaining non-AQ school that consistently competes for BC$ bowls. Utah and TCU have already been snatched by the AQ conferences, and the Big East (ESPN/NBC) and Mountain West (CBS) are fighting over Boise State right now. They are fighting for Boise State because they are the only available non-AQ football program that brings significant value to a tv contract for the product they put on the field.
Our MBB program hasn't made the Big Dance since 1991 and hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since 1989. Our recent MBB improvement isn't a ticket to a better conference. Even if we win out this season and fall in the WAC finals, I don't think we would get an NCAA at-large bid due to our weak schedule and lack of $$ wins.
Our football fan base has made great strides, but it isn't nearly big enough to write our ticket to a better conference.
I don't know of any school that has earned an invite based on academcis. I think academics is just something that can disqualify a candidate but not earn them an invite.