My dad and I were talking about this earlier today. The Sun Belt's footprint actually isn't bad for OU with Marshall, App State, JMU, ODU, etc. With the MAC adding UMass, the MAC's footprint is no longer as friendly to OU, and I'd imagine the MAC is looking to expand around UMass a bit more as well. The next TV deal will probably see the Sun Belt jump the MAC in value, so I wouldn't be surprised if Ohio is indeed exploring the Sun Belt.
Wasn't the same said about NIU to the MW initially?