University of Oklahoma President David Boren, left, laughs as Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby listens as they speak to reporters after the second day of the Big 12 sports conference meetings in Irving, Texas, Thursday, June 2, 2016. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

By Phil Stukenborg of The Commercial Appeal

IRVING, Texas — Officially, Big 12 expansion discussions are expected to continue through the end of the summer as the conference presidents and chancellors analyze data received from consultants this week.

But prospects for adding to the 10-team league seem to be somewhat guarded based on comments from league officials at this week's spring meetings at the Four Seasons Resort and Club.

For the University of Memphis and American Athletic Conference brethren Cincinnati, Houston, UCF and UConn — schools generally considered, along with BYU, the top candidates to join the Power Five league — the tone is disheartening.

From Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Texas athletic director Mike Perrin and Oklahoma president David Boren, there's a sense that 10 might be a more workable number than 12.

"I think you all interpreted that I have a theological dogma about (being an expansion proponent)," Boren said Thursday night. "It really relates to other broader questions of putting us in a competitive and good economic situation. We want to make sure there's absolute (value)."

Perrin said Wednesday he thought "the prudent thing" for the conference to do was remain at 10 teams, adding he didn't think "the Big 12 has to do anything right now."

"I think we are positioned well in all respects — well positioned on television, well positioned on the playoffs."

Boren, who was on the league's composition, or expansion, committee said the prospective candidates must be carefully analyzed.

"How do they fit athletically? What is their fan base? What media markets are they in?" he said. "Obviously, we want to look at where do they stand academically. What's their level as a research institution? To use a financial term, we want to make sure they're not dilutive."

Earlier in the week, Bowlsby, after meeting with the league's athletic directors, said there was "a lot riding on playing a full round-robin (schedule) in football (with 10 teams) and a double round-robin in basketball."

"I think we're going to be a little bit slow to depart from that," he said. "We now have the data analysis in front of us to know a little bit more about what structure is optimal for us in terms of getting teams in (the College Football Playoff). But we walk away from a lot when we move to some of those structures."

Those structures, according to consultants hired by the Big 12, indicate the league would have a 10-15-percent better chance of placing a team in the CFP if it expanded from 10 to 12 teams and had a league title game. Expansion, a conference television network and a league title game have been on the agenda this work.

"I think it's appropriate to go slowly on (expansion) and to make that decision in conjunction with some of the other things we have to consider over the coming days and the next few weeks," Bowlsby said. "There's an awful lot riding on the way we conduct our competition in our major sports. We don't want to give that away in any sort of way that doesn't provide at least equal, or more, rewards."

Despite the less-than-encouraging outlook for expansion hopefuls, a CBS Sports report Thursday provided promise. The report indicates the Big 12 could earn an additional $1 billion through expansion over the course of its remaining television rights deal if it adds four teams. Two teams would add $500 million over the course of the contract, which runs through 2024-25.

That report was not addressed by Bowlsby or Boren at the early evening press conference.

"When it comes to expansion, my principal concern is keeping us in a very competitive position with the other conferences, not only a competitive position athletically but also academically and financially," Boren said. "What are the methods of doing that? Expansion is one potential method, it's not the only method. I have no theological position on expansion."