http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/collegesports/2016/08/25/big-12-expansion-update-next-step-interviews-three-getting-attention

Carlton is proving to be the guy who's coming out with the most up to date info in this whole saga. His is a Twitter feed to watch ... though these big scoops always seem to go to the national media guys right at the end.

All the video chats with the Big 12's Interview 20 are completed, and now the conference is getting closer to the hard decisions about expansion.

Multiple industry sources indicated the next logical step will be culling the candidates down to a manageable number for final interviews. The sources indicated that invitations and a public announcement are unlikely in the next two weeks, with a likely timeline of mid-September to mid-October ahead of a scheduled Big 12 board of directors meeting.

Wow, this is dragging on ... anyone else getting expansion fatigue?!?  I take some comfort that he's only citing "industry sources," which I take to mean TV partners.  Any other guesses as to who "industry sources" might refer to?

For now, a news vacuum has existed for the last two weeks. Part of it was a byproduct of the interview process. More important, the Big 12 wants it that way. Schools have signed non-disclosure notices. Much of the communication now is being conducted between Big 12 lawyers and their school counterparts.

Sources say the most probable scenario was for the conference adding two schools, although a group is still open to expanding by four. Either option is seen as more likely than choosing to stay at the current 10.

Let's hope so ... because I think we've come to establish pretty confidently that the "no expansion" idea is mainly a product of the "no BYU = no expansion" theory.   Do you take his phrasing to mean that even expanding by 4 is more likely than not expanding at this point?  Or just that one or the other together is more likely than not expanding.

three schools are getting the most attention now.

Iowa State president Steven Leath said last week that BYU was generating the most comment, pro and con, and sources confirmed that remains the case. As reported by the Austin American-Statesman, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is now making calls on behalf of the school to Big 12 power brokers, a sign the process is becoming even more serious. And a possible tweaking of the school's honor code may also be necessary to address Title IX concerns, two sources said.  

Rumblings over the last week seem to confirm that this is progressing well for BYU on the HC issues.  Carlton finishes his article with the following.

The biggest concern about Houston isn't so much Texas geography, sources indicated, as a concern by some presidents about the impact of Lone Star politics in the process.

Cincinnati might check the most boxes of any of the contenders, good in a lot of categories if not necessarily great. The one concern: Can the Bearcats deliver their own market with Ohio State two hours down the road?

I'd personally love to see the Texas political game backfire on Houston.  Those guys pulled out the knifes when we were actively bleeding from a PR standpoint when the LGBT letter came out.  Little love will be lost here if the RED Cougars are left out.