You said if they don't expand they won't exist in 10 years. What other conclusion is there but the teams they expand with would save them? Hardly a strawman.
If there wasn't a chance they needed to go to 12 we wouldn't be having this conversation - so it's pretty safe to say that the Big 12 and their partners don't value any of those schools at the average Big 12 number.... or they would have done something about it.
The Big 12 will not exist in 10 years if it does not expand now. A 10 team league fully dependent on 1 member for market share is not viable. Getting to 12 or 14 teams and expanding its footprint gives it a chance, that's all. If teams are added and they make the playoffs 2-3 times in the next 10 years, the Big 12's future is solid. If nothing changes, and Oklahoma makes it a few more times, with maybe TCU or Baylor jumping in, the Big 12's odds are not good. If Texas and Oklahoma become powerhouses, drowning out the other 8 members, the Big 12 has 0% chance of survival.
If you had to assemble the Big 12 from scratch from all the non-ACC, Big 10, Big 12, and SEC programs, how many of the current Big 12 schools would you pick? I might pick 6 or 7. I am sure Iowa State, Baylor and Kansas State have figured that out too. 10 years from now, if Texas bolts, the Big 12 is no longer a major conference. How many of the other programs will be saved? The SEC will take Oklahoma and maybe Oklahoma State or Kansas. And that's it. On the other hand, if, 10 years from now, Texas bolts from a 12 or 14 team Big 12, Oklahoma is more likely to stay as the anchor, and the league will still be a viable major conference. And if Texas doesn't hold the cards 10 years from now, they are less likely to bolt and other leagues would be less likely to take them.
None of this is rocket science. That is why Texas likes the status quo, and Oklahoma wants to expand.
Yet Whaler believes that he knows more about the Big 12's future prospects than the President of Oklahoma.