I don't have any inside information. I do think that the people on the academic side who don't care much about athletics would still like to be part of an academic/research consortium like the Big10's. I think it would add prestige on the academic side which is something they seem to care about a lot. I was responding to your statement that they would think it is all just a PITA. I think many would think it worthwhile to be a part of the academic side of the Big10. Many fans seem to think that football will be the only thing involved in conference affiliation. To this point, the Big10 has considered academics and research to be very important, up to the level that they have a prestigious consortium that includes every member. The ACC used to value academics, but as far as I know have never had any such affiliation. Then they added Louisville, which was obviously only for football and basketball.
I haven't met Cabrera and don't know too much about him. I would hope that a person in his position would not be pushing and advocating internally for the direction of the football program. He should depend on the AD and athletic department to determine what would be best for athletics and make recommendations to him. If joining the Big10 was such a recommendation, then he should consult with the academic and research areas to get their input into the value of the Big10. If a decision to join the Big10 was made internally, then he should push and advocate externally for the school. I just think he has too many things to do to get involved with reading and analyzing contracts, potential schedules, etc. The university president should rely on departments and department heads to handle the grunt work, he should be overseeing and managing the entire organization.
That isn't to say that GT or any ACC school will leave the ACC. There are still significant hurdles in place and there is no public indication that the Big10 nor the SEC are actively looking to add more teams. I am only saying that academically it would be a step up to be in the Big10 vs the ACC.