It looks like the Big 12 has finally cut all the fat from that list of expansion candidates.
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The Big 12 has been seeking to add two members, but they gained national criticism when their list of candidates ballooned to 20 teams. Those teams included programs like Rice, UNLV, and New Mexico; no offense guys, but the Big 12 is supposed to be a Power 5 conferences, and those programs don't scream future "powerhouse" at all.
Thankfully, the Big 12 reportedly has cut their list to under 10 teams, as reported by TMGSports. Those teams: Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, UConn, USF, UCF, and BYU are confirmed, while two more unknown teams are reportedly still in the running.
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One of those teams definitely isn't East Carolina, as the Pirates confirmed on Wednesday that they had received a rejection notice from the Big 12.
This was a much needed move by the conference. There is doing your due diligence by seeking out the right candidates, but the Big 12 hurt its reputation by looking at teams that didn't have a chance to make it at all.
Hopefully the Big 12 just gets this over with soon and adds Houston and one of Cincinnati, Memphis, UCF, and BYU. Those are really the best candidates at this point, and the quicker the Big 12 gets to 12 teams, the better.
