It was here this week in the bright lights of Las Vegas that the Western Athletic Conference commissioner would preen his feathers and trumpet the new era of a league expanded to 16 teams and stretching unprecedentedly over five time zones.
But the bash was crashed before it could even begin by Tuesday's announcement of ABC Sports' Super Alliance - a college football bowl alliance that didn't invite the WAC.
So there was a solemn Benson, surrounded by reporters yesterday.
"It's hard for me," he said. "The rich get richer. We just want to be part of the family."
The new agreement, effective following the 1998 season, joins the Pac-10 and Big Ten Conferences with the Southeastern, Big 12, Big East and Atlantic Coast Conferences - plus independent power Notre Dame - in the alliance's mission to produce a "true" national champion. It's the first time ever that the top six leagues will be brought together in a bowl package.
The message to Benson was clear. The WAC is a minor player, lumped with the new Conference USA and lowly Big West and Mid-American Conferences.
"They have separated Division I-A into two classes, and I don't think that's healthy for college football," Benson said.
The Super Alliance will comprise four bowl games, one of which will match the two highest ranked teams for the national title.
Playing in the four games will be champions from the six aforementioned conferences, plus Notre Dame (should the Irish qualify by winning at least nine games) and an at-large entrant.
Technically, the WAC could provide the at-large team, although the league has produced only one top 10-ranked team at the finish of the regular season (Colorado State in 1994) since Brigham Young's national championship in 1984.
Admittedly, Benson said, the WAC "doesn't deserve" a Super Alliance automatic bowl bid.
"We deserve to be treated in a way that is part of the family, from the promotional stand-point," he said.
"Why should the ACC receive special treatment? Take out Florida State and it's no different than the WAC."
Most troubling for Benson is the cash flow created in part by the Super Alliance.
Even under the current bowl alliance, which excludes the Pac-10 and Big Ten, some leagues are generating more than $10 million in bowl revenue.
Last year, the SEC deposited nearly $15 million. The WAC made $2.2 million.
In two years, spurred by ABC's four-year $296 million contract with the Super Alliance, Benson predicts a conference such as the SEC will make close to $20 million in bowl revenue.
"And we'll still be at $2 million," he said.
"The financial disparity between the haves and the have-nots is widening further."