Big 12 commissioner: Conference is falling behind rest of Power 5

Football coaches and athletic directors from the Big 12 conference are expected to discuss the idea of expanding the conference to 10 teams this week.

The addition of two new programs would bring the membership to 12 and enable the conference to play in two six-team divisions. The increased revenue is attractive to commissioner Bob Bowlsby as the Big 12 tries to keep pace with Power 5 conferences like the SEC and Big Ten.

"If we do nothing, we'll be substantially behind a decade from now," Bowlsby warned. "If they ask me, 'Should we let this linger on another six months,' I'll say definitely no. We need to move ahead and make decisions. I just think we need to move ahead expediently."

Bowlsby has done his best to avoid weighing in on expansion talk, but its fairly clear the conference would be best served by adding two programs. The Big 12 could then implement a championship game, a move that would certainly strengthen the conference's case annually for inclusion in the College Football Playoff.

Oklahoma qualified for the national semifinals last season, but 2014 saw the conference co-champions TCU and Baylor passed over for the playoff.