Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced the conference's intentions of expansion by 2017 on Tuesday following the live events at Big 12 Media Days in Dallas.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and Oklahoma president David Boren announced the Big 12 board of directors gave Bowlsby the green light to "actively evaluate" universities with potential of joining the conference.
Several universities have contacted the Big 12 and expressed a desire to join the 10-team league, and rumblings of the confernce's expansion have been heard for months. Tuesday marked the Big 12's official mutual interest.
"We will look forward to receiving back from (Bowlsby) the information that he gathers as he evaluates the interests of all of those who have contacted us, the other universities," Boren said via teleconference.