I don't feel the OVC really indicated they would drop us. In fact, I would think the opposite, given the conference name. We left the OVC because the new rules came out in Football that expanded the # of teams and allowed the independent schools who petitioned (mainly one GAS, who was refused entrance into the SoCon) to play in the post-season. JT knew that the OVC was a 1-man, one-bid conference with EKU, so we probably never would get into the play-off. So we left on our own initiative & created "cake" schedules to guarantee ourselves 7-wins, lots of home games and a spot in the post-season. Also, we could schedule local MAC schools and reduce travel & they would count as a win. JT was able to build a team that played exactly the style of ball that he wanted (aka GAS). Very smart.
Think about it, you never have to recruit players or design offenses/defenses to win a conference, only your own staff likes/dislikes ...you just play to win. We would never have joined the Gateway had EIU not left and GAS not been accepted into the SoCon & the NCAA refused to sanction the Great West, making 8 more good independent schools arriving over the next 2-years (as SDSU & NDSU have shown) and taking our chances again down to nothing for a post-season berth.
