Jeeber nailed it. This has little to do with realignment (it would be nice). This has everything to do with keeping up with the conference and recruiting.
Exactly. The stadium has been needed a facelift for a long time. When you are competing with Reliant and Toyota Center for the sports dollar in the city, you need to make the stadium look alot better. Plus, if I was recruit and saw the stadium as it is today, I would wonder about the commitment the school has to athletics. If I was a basketball player and saw Hoffheinz, I would ask why we play ball in a bomb shelter.