David Boren, Oklahoma President, Discusses Big 12 Expansion

If the Big 12 fails to grow from 10 teams, it won't be due to a lack of interest.   

University of Oklahoma president David Boren revealed Thursday the conference has heard from about 25 schools interested in joining, per OUInsider's Joey Helmer.

ESPN.com's Jake Trotter reported Tuesday that Memphis, Colorado State, Houston and Central Florida are among those looking for a door into the conference. According to ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach, Memphis is making a major play:

The Big 12 is the only Power Five conference that doesn't have a conference championship game in football, but that doesn't mean Big 12 expansion is inevitable. CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd reported Monday that Boren was getting resistance to the idea from his own board of regents at Oklahoma.

Boren also discussed the possibility of the Big 12 joining other major conferences and launching its own television network.

"We need to find out if we need a Big 12 Network," he said, per Helmer's Twitter account. "Big 12 is doing research to make sure it's not leaving money on the table. We're not at a decision-making stage. We're at a fact-finding stage."

The Dallas Morning News' Chuck Carlton noted the Longhorn Network also complicates matters, since Texas would unlikely abandon the network without a fight. And as long as the Longhorn Network is around, the chances the Big 12 expands and creates its own network are slim.

According to USA Today's Steve Berkowitz, the Big 12 earned $268 million from its last fiscal year, which was well behind at least the SEC, which made $527 million in annual revenue.