Conference Realignment: Louisville Still a Big 12 Expansion Target?

The Big 12 seemed to end its expansion efforts when it invited and accepted West Virginia as its 10^th member, but one report indicates that the Big 12 could still invite Louisville.

The Oklahoma reported on Monday that the Big 12 could be interested in expanding to 11 teams with Louisville, despite Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas saying otherwise.

A Big 12 source told me that despite what Neinas said Friday, the conference has not settled on 10 as an ideal number, The Oklahoma's Berry Tramel wrote. In fact, there could be a push to also invite Louisville soon and bring the membership to 11.

Neinas has said that the Big 12 is content with 10 teams and is done expanding for now, but that could conceivably change. In that scenario the Big 12 would take Louisville as the 11^th team and then hopefully convince Notre Dame to join as a non-football 12^th member.

While there might be a push to get Louisville as the 11^th member, it still remains doubtful that this would happen anytime soon. For one scheduling for 11 teams could be a bit of an issue and there are questions to whether the Cardinals really are worth those scheduling headaches.

Further almost all reports out of the Big 12 indicate that Texas really wanted a 10 team conference and a six year grant of rights period. Right now the Big 12 has both, so why exactly would Big 12 power broker and Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds want to change any of that?

Additionally it remains extremely doubtful that Notre Dame will move its non-football programs into the Big 12. As IBTimes reported last week, a lot of that was simply Notre Dame floating out some information to the media to put the ACC, Big 10, and Big East on notice.

A source indicates to the IBTimes it is far more likely that Notre Dame either stays in the Big East or joins the ACC than joining the Big 12.

Louisville is likely appear to jump ship from the sinking Big East conference, but right now a move to the Big 12 is doubtful in the near term future. That won't stop the Louisville administration from trying, though.

Honestly, I don't know that answer, I think a lot of conferences are going to have a lot of movement, Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich told the Louisville Courier-Journal. I just think we've always got to do the best thing we can for the University of Louisville. We always will exercise and look at our options. We'll always keep them in full view of what we can do.

Want to reach this writer? You can email John Talty at j.talty@ibtimes.com or follow him on Twitter at @jtalty.