University of Cincinnati makes final cut for Big 12 expansion

The University of Cincinnati has made a list of finalists for expansion into the Big 12, according to Sports Illustrated and TMG Sports.

Out of 20 teams considered, the list has been narrowed to between “six to eight”: UC, Houston, Memphis, South Florida, Central Florida and BYU, and possibly two other schools from the All-American Conference, where UC currently resides. East Carolina announced Wednesday it didn’t make the cut. TMG Sports said the league was most interested in AAC conference teams.

The Big 12 has been a 10 team league since 2011, when Nebraska and Colorado left for the Big Ten and the Pac-12. Missouri and Texas A&M left in 2012 for the SEC, but were replaced by TCU and West Virginia.

ESPN's Brett McMurphy reported in August the conference planned to add two teams, if it added any at all, with a slim chance of it adding four to bring its total to 14.

League commissioner Bob Bowlsby and University of Oklahoma president David Boren said it hoped to make a decision during the league’s board of director’s meeting in October.