I don't tend to think that BPI has anything to do with larger politics and maintaining a common thread of admitting larger schools. The NCAA doesn't get their money from ESPN during the tournament. The tournament is not carried or produced by ESPN.
Actually, I don't disagree that we have a chance at hosting an NIT game if that is the route we are left with. I think we have a very good chance at hosting at some point. Also, I don't disagree that we should try to achieve a higher BPI and RPI as seeding can only get better the lower those two metrics are for us.
The whole disagreement for the use of BPI was that it was specifically designed, according to those I've read from, to help give some of the smaller schools a more level playing field in helping recognize how they play versus only who they play. The committee will still look at other metrics like Sagarin ratings, SOS, KenPom etc...