Academic rankings in MWC, CUSA, and WAC:
Rice 17
Tulane 50
Southern Methodist 68
BYU 71
Tulsa 88
TCU 110
Utah 126
Colorado State 128
All other teams are Tier 3, Tier 4, or not ranked.
Boise State is the most notable flunkie (not ranked).
Rice, Tulane, SMU are not candidates for expansion to BCS.
Colorado, rumored to be desired by the Pac 10, is ranked 77 (which is behind BYU).
Univ. of Texas is 47, which of course is excellent for a public university.
Colorado and UT would be prime pickups for the Pac 10. But Texas is unlikely. You would think the next most credible choice would be BYU or Utah. Utah because it is a secular research university in the West, and close to the West Coast, and brings in the SLC market. But Utah is a commuter school with only recent support from the community for football. BYU is the larger school with larger following and brings more $, but is politically unpalatable for the West Coast liberal elites, and would cause problems with Sabbath desecration.
Tulsa is a possible, but unlikely, candidate for Big 12 expansion.
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