From UH's scout board via Chip Brown...full paragraph posted in link
LATEST ON BIG 12 - FOCUS ON CINCY AND UH (NOT SO MUCH ON BYU)
I'm hearing Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Oklahoma president David Boren and Texas president Greg Fenves as well as the Big 12's TV partners have been working overtime since the Big 12 began "actively evaluating" two to four candidates for expansion.
And for those wondering why the Big 12 made a public cattle call for potential expansion candidates back on July 19, I'm told the league did so to avoid any claims of tortious interference that could be made by the leagues of any schools the Big 12 spoke with.
As long as schools in other leagues were the ones seeking out the Big 12, any legal claims of the Big 12 being a home wrecker would be diminished, I'm told.
After talking to sources in the Big 12 as well as TV industry sources, it sounds like the Big 12 will expand by two - and not four - because there's a chance a couple schools currently in Power 5 conferences might want to join the Big 12 closer to 2024, when most all of the P5 leagues have Tier 1 & 2 TV rights packages expiring.
If the Big 12 was to expand by two right now, I'm told by most of the sources I spoke with it would be Cincinnati and Houston.
Cincinnati has been perhaps the most consensus candidate for the Big 12 since July 19, when the league's presidents and chancellors announced the league would be actively evaluating expansion candidates. The pros for Cincinnati are its location in a football-crazed state, with solid TV markets (and college football ratings), located in the middle of the country, making travel manageable while serving as a regional partner for
All Things Conference Realignment / Expansion