By all accounts it's the former. What I've heard is that with NIL and a weakened NCAA and a clearer divide emerging between conferences, and also with some annoyance that their last coach bailed on them and immediately took their crosstown P5 rival to the playoff, the extremely wealthy boosters decided, "Money is openly king now? By god that's SMU's music!" Just like a socially awkward rich kid, they're gonna buy themselves some friends. If I'm ESPN, I'm mildly annoyed.