This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Some degree of hope is better than none, and Tuesday's news that the Big 12 Conference is getting serious about expansion can be viewed only as a victory for BYU.

The 10-school league is looking into adding two or four members, and that puts BYU in the heart of the discussion. The possibility exists that the Cougars will just end up disappointed as the Big 12 sticks to its basic geography, but they have to be among the top contenders.

The likes of Houston, Cincinnati and Memphis also are in the picture, but when it comes down to an evaluation of football tradition and the overall athletic programs, BYU should rise above the others — or at least make the cut to two or four schools.

What's obvious is that regardless of BYU's level of attractiveness to the Big 12, the conference needed to expand to give the Cougars any shot of joining. This whole issue has been out of BYU's hands — until now, and administrators soon should be getting an opportunity to make their pitch.

As I've said all along, the Big 12's waffling about expansion has been agonizing for BYU fans, forced to hang on every word regarding which direction the conference may go. The emotional swings have been exhausting, I'm sure. The vigil only intensifies now, but it should be encouraging that formal evaluations will begin and that BYU undoubtedly is in the conversation.

I'm sticking to my belief that independence has been worth the effort for BYU, compared with the option of remaining in the Mountain West. It's also true that the Cougars need Power 5 membership if they want to compete at the highest level of college football, and they deserve to be in that realm.

The agonizing really may be just be starting for BYU followers, but the Big 12's basically saying, "Game on" in terms of expansion means they'll genuinely have something to worry about, and that's an advancement.

Twitter: @tribkurt —

More online

The Big 12 presidents have directed Commissioner Bob Bowlsby to evaluate schools that are interested in joining the conference, stopping just short of announcing plans to expand. › http://www.sltrib.com/sports