When Oklahoma president and Big 12 board chair David Boren reeled off the five criteria the league would use to evaluate expansion candidates, athletic competitiveness, fan base, media market and overall reputation were all self-explanatory.
The fifth category Boren listed, however, seemed less so.
After all, what exactly do academics have to do with athletic affiliation?
According to a pair of Big 12 professors, quite a bit.
"You have to bring something more to the table beyond academics -- but academics do matter," said Keith Gaddie, a professor of political science at Oklahoma.
"You're judged by the company you keep, and you want to marry up, rather than marry down.