The nine remaining Big 12 athletic directors held a brief conference call Thursday to define the parameters for stability and assessing their approach to expansion, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com.
The source said the athletic directors discussed what number of teams would make the most sense for the long-term stability of the league without making a final decision. The ADs plan on meeting again next week, according to the source.
The Big 12 athletic directors wrapped up two days of meetings in Dallas on Wednesday where interim commissioner Chuck Neinas met with each individually.
Missouri is the latest Big 12 school in the spotlight, considering whether to stay in the conference or move to another league.
It has been reported that Missouri was eyeing a move to the Southeastern Conference when it looked as if Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech could be heading to the Pac-12.
The Big 12 has already lost Texas A&M to the SEC. A source told ESPN.com's Pat Forde that the SEC is in no rush to add a 14th member.
Regarding possible expansion of the Big 12 -- with or without Missouri -- Neinas said there was still no telling how many schools might be added. The presidents of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have said they are most comfortable if the league gets back to 12 members, while Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds advocated 10. Neinas said there was even some sentiment for staying at nine.
BYU, TCU and Louisville have all been mentioned as possibilities to join the Big 12. But Louisville, a source told ESPN.com, is interested in keeping Big East together with service academies to fill void left by Pitt and Syracuse, who are heading to the ACC.
Senior writer Andy Katz covers men's college basketball for ESPN.com. Information from ESPN.com senior writer Pat Forde and the Associated Press was used in this report.