Jake Trotter interview with DesNews.  Sorry if these are re-posts, but there was another significant and informative article from KC paper that was missed by CBers, so I thought I'd highlight these two.

Here's an interesting article looking at the "Combo geographic partner deals" from a Okie State website.  After reveiwing football record metrics (important, but not the ONLY important metric ... cmon man!) he postulates:

But there's something about these four candidates that makes me think that IF (and it's still a "BIG IF") the league expands we won't see both BYU and Cinnci added. You wouldn't consider UConn and CSU if they weren't intended to be partners for BYU or Cincinnati. It's not like the league is worried the top two candidates might say no if invited. So that makes me think the league intends to lean either East or West.

So under that theory, which is a better option? Cincinnati and UConn or BYU and CSU?

I go with the first option based purely on potential. There is no team here that comes in and wins right away. So which two are best set up for success?

I think BYU has limitations as to how successful it can be. For one, I think they would have a hard time getting a lot of the top athletes due to the religious restrictions at the school. People think more highly of the program because we remember the exciting upset wins at the start of the last few seasons. And it's not like they've been playing a Power 5 conference schedule since they went independent in 2011. They average 5 games against Power 5 a season over the last 5 years. Even the SEC plays more a year than that (zing). And there is nothing about Colorado State that makes me think they can become anything more than another Kansas.

Cincinnati however was on a run of successful seasons. They were 47-18 between 2008 and 2012 (that's with a 4-8 season in 2009). The dip in wins started in 2013. That's two years after the Big East started to fall apart and Cinnci was left behind amidst all the conference realignment. To me Cincinnati has the best chance for real success. Big 12 money and recruiting could allow them to recover back into a successful program after a few years. As for UConn, they've been bad for awhile, but I still think they have more potential for success than Colorado State.

I'm about to get off the ship and not be able to post much, but it would be REALLY INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE if someone could peruse my data sheets and come up with these two seperate "geographic partner" comparisons for the data points (like adding BYU and CSU fanbase sizes, sum of enrollment, average of academic and other rankings, sum of FB attendance, markets, etc ... and comparing those sums to the same numbers for Cinci/UConn.)   Here's the link again to all the spreadsheets ... https://t.co/R2WpkDVrwc I may get around to that in a few days to a week, but will be busy in Seward, Anchorage, and Seattle for the next few days ...

The more I think of those 4 being added the more I think them going to 14 is possible.  ESPECIALLY for a Conference network with more CONTENT and geographic/regional appeal.  All four are pretty strong academically and all have significant "upside."

Also the Jake Trotter interview with the Des News is interesting in that it adds yet another voice saying that Sunday Play is an issue that's workable (Berry Tramel and Paul Feinbaum have said the same thing):

JT: BYU has the best football tradition of any non-Power 5 program out there, with the exception of Notre Dame. Since 1980, only Nebraska, Florida State, Ohio State, Miami, Florida and Oklahoma have won more games than BYU, which obviously also captured the national title in 1984. The Cougars also have a strong following, both locally near Provo and around the country.

DN: Sunday play, geography and TV rights have all been highlighted as detractors to BYU's resume. How big of issues are these, and can they be overcome?

JT: They can all be overcome. The question is, will the Big 12 consider it worthwhile. The Big 12 would have to reconfigure its scheduling for several Olympic sports, notably women’s soccer, baseball and softball, to fit BYU’s policy of not playing on Sundays. BYU’s location offers another logistical challenge, as it’s almost 2,000 miles from Morgantown, West Virginia, to Provo, Utah. These are definitely issues for the Big 12. And why BYU might not be a lock as a candidate.

DN: It appears that a strong football program is (by far) the most important thing the conference is searching for. How important is a strong basketball program, or other athletic teams?

JT: Football is the driver in expansion. Strong basketball doesn’t hurt. But it won’t be the determining factor.

DN: BYU has a reputation for being "tough to deal with." How fair is this stereotype, and will it hold the Cougars back from an invitation?

JT: Yeah, I’m aware of the reputation, except I’ve yet to have anyone actually explain to me why BYU has that reputation. So I don’t put a lot of stock into it. BYU might have ruffled feathers during its first flirtation with the Big 12. But the Big 12 is doomed if it bases expansion decisions on which program it finds most low-maintenance.

And here are some bonus reviews of the rumored 4 leading candidates: with their odds of inclusion: 

http://www.hookem.com/2016/05/23/big-12-expansion-tour-byu/   3-1 odds

http://www.hookem.com/2016/05/24/big-12-expansion-tour-cincinnati/  5-1 odds

http://www.hookem.com/2016/05/25/big-12-expansion-tour-connecticut/ 10-1 odds

http://www.hookem.com/2016/05/25/big-12-expansion-tour-colorado-state/  20-1 odds