If the goal is to get an elite, the Big East is the way to go. Good recruiting area, no elites and a much better chance of getting a higher seed in the playoffs which in turn will help you get those deep playoff runs. You can get an elite from 1AA, but in my experience it really just depends on who else applies. And realistically, you probably need at least a NC win, if not multiple in a row to make that happen and jump over another reasonably qualified 1A coach.
If you can recruit, well, schedule good but winnable OOC games to get a higher seed in the playoffs and show some consistent level of success, youll get there eventually. Same with the power conferences but harder to get that high playoff seed if youre consistently losing 1-2 conf games a year to elites.