And yet, league CEOs did not discuss expansion candidates (“We couldn’t do that if we wanted to,” Bowlsby said), and Schulz added that there was not a consensus reached “yet” on key topics, adding, “I feel like we’re converging.”

“We’re open to the idea of looking at the number of schools in our league, a championship game and what a conference network might look like,” Schulz acknowledged. “… We want there to be a 10-0 vote and all institutions to say, ‘We think this is best for us.’ It takes awhile to get there.”

It may take longer than Big 12 fans want. Bowlsby said Thursday the league’s spring meetings May 31-June 3 in Dallas are a “stake in the ground” for some of the big decisions, but amended that on Friday.

“We’re four months out, and I hesitate to forecast that right now,” he said. “This thing has a lot of moving parts, and lots of conversations need to take place.”

Expansion did come up — Bowlsby said each CEO was asked to express how he felt about certain topics in what the commissioner described as a “granular discussion” — but the subject apparently didn’t last long or have much substance.

“There may not be an ideal number for the conference,” Bowlsby said. “Many options available are compromises.”