VCU being in the MAC would benefit them the same way that Gonzaga benefits from being in the West Coast Conference. The WCC is way better than the MAC most years, but in Gonzaga's case , still significantly below their overall prestige. Obviously with the emphasis on $$$ some smaller conferences will go defunct, others will expand. I think the MAC has more longevity than the A10 perhaps just because of football.
Take this year as an example, VCU is fourth in the A10. If they jumped to the MAC they would almost certainly be dancing even with a mediocre team by their standards. Switch out VCU for a school like Liberty and the same premise applies.