The Big 12 expansion saga took another turn Tuesday, one that likely has Colorado State fans giddy.

In a meeting with commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the conference’s board of directors unanimously instructed Bowlsby to evaluate schools that are interested in joining the league, board of directors chairman and Oklahoma president David Boren said during a teleconference.

Colorado State is widely considered to be one of the candidates if the 10-team conference does eventually decide to expand. In May, ESPN.com reported that CSU president Tony Frank has been in contact with a member of the Big 12 composition committee, dating all the way back to last summer.

During Tuesday’s teleconference, Boren said interested schools will be evaluated by their fan base, TV following, access to media markets and academic standards.

“It will be an ongoing process. We’re just finished with the meeting, and I don’t know that I’m prepared to put a time frame on it right now. But we intend to be active very soon,” Bowlsby said. “We have been contacted by a number of institutions, and my guess is that after this news breaks we’ll be contacted by them again.”

Bowlsby added that the evaluation process will likely come in two stages, initially with some preliminary work, followed by “fact finding” and “perhaps even a negotiation stage.”

When asked specifically if Tuesday’s decision meant the conference is more likely than not to expand, neither Boren nor Bowlsby confirmed as much.

“It’s a forward step. It’s a positive step. It’s not yet a decision if any particular university or college — or even a definite decision about when we expand or the way, the form this would take,” Boren said.

Added Bowlsby: “We very seldom take votes, but on this one we did take a vote and everyone was supportive of it. I think what that means is they’re supportive in concept and there’s a lot of work left to do.”

Sean Star: 970-669-5402, sstar@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/seanvstar