It's really hard to create 4 balanced pods AND protect rivalries
What made the original SEC divisional format worked was that they put 3 of the "big 6" in each division. It wasn't perfect but from a resource perspective, you would expect competitive balance over time.
Tier 1 - Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee
Tier 2 - Arkansas, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Kentucky
Tier 3 - Miss St, Vandy
Adding A&M and Mizzou tilted the balance to the West because A&M has Tier 1 resources while Mizzou was Tier 2.
The alternate plan would have been to move Auburn to the East and keep Mizzou to the West, but it would be unbalanced as well.
Now with Texas and Oklahoma, you have two more Tier 1 resource programs.
West Pod - Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M (3 tier 1, 1 tier 2)
River Pod - LSU, Mississippi St., Missouri, Ole Miss (1 tier 1, 2 tier 2, 1 tier 3)
Central Pod - Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt (3 tier 1, 1 tier 3)
East Pod - Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina (2 tier 1, 2 tier 2)