The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel raised some eyebrows last week when he proactively stated that UConn was ‘back on the table’ for potential Big 12 expansion when discussing the topic with West Virginia play-by-play man Tony Caridi. With some additional news this week from SI’s Peter Thamel corroborating that the Huskies are now in the race, I reached out to Tramel to discuss firsthand what he’s heard on expansion and specifically what he knows about UConn’s opportunity.

What was discussed seems like only good news for a power-five institution, that is currently stuck in the group of five. Tramel, who is currently in Miami getting set to cover the first semifinal of this year’s College Football Playoff between Oklahoma and Clemson, stated that the conference, should it expand, wants to move east because of the previous addition of West Virginia.

He gave a glowing review of the Huskies football program under head coach Bob Diaco, however, that’s not the only reason the Huskies have the conference’s attention.

“There’s a lot of things about Connecticut that I think appeals to the Big 12,” Tramel said. “Certainly geography is an issue, but the fact that it is a state university, a solid academic institution, a good athletic school, particularly basketball and is in an interesting market, allows Connecticut to at least sit down at the table and make a case that they belong in the discussion.”

Perhaps the biggest note that Tramel mentioned is these are not just his thoughts. He only brought up UConn after talking with some from within the conference.

“Yes,” Tramel confirmed when asked if this information is from school presidents and athletic directors. “However, nothing is for certain or is anyone even championing UConn [right now], but definitely UConn is on the list.”

Based on our conversation, despite the hefty raise Tom Herman just received, it seems Houston would not be an option as there is ‘a lot of anti-Houston sentiment in the Big 12.’

Who would be the other potential candidates then? We’ve all heard the names.

“Cincinnati, BYU, Boise State, less likely would be one of the Florida schools, Central or South,” Tramel noted.

One of the issues that many have thought prevents UConn from being a viable option for the Big 12 is geography, but it seems that a solution for sports other than football have already been discussed should the Huskies be added.

“You might be able to work out a deal for basketball that Connecticut and West Virginia plays a two-game road trip when they come out west,” he said. “When one of the western schools goes east, they play both West Virginia and Connecticut, so there’s ways you can work around it. It’s not ideal, but it’s sort of the landscape we’ve been given and you need to make the best of it.”

Any expansion would not see a change for the Big 12 by the time the 2016 season rolls around, but Tramel did say we could definitely see a 12-team Big 12 by 2017, which is the largest the conference would consider.

“I don’t see any way they go to fourteen,” he said. “They actually like the conciseness of ten, but the way politics are right now in college athletics, the ten does not work very well in terms of football.”

Although full sign-off hasn’t occurred from all members to proceed with expansion, the conference is close. What occurred again this year in the final CFP rankings, may have pushed the Big 12 over the edge.

Even though Oklahoma is playing on Friday, the Sooners did drop from three to four in those final rankings. What does that mean? Well, had Stanford not missed a two-point conversion and went on to win in overtime against Oregon in mid-November, OU could have very well been dropped to five and the conference could have been shut out of the playoffs for a second consecutive year. The mere fact that Baylor dropped from three to six a year ago and OU dropped this year, further signals to the conference that change needs to occur.

What’s even better for UConn fans is all signs indicate that the Huskies are seriously being considered.

“Don’t discount what I said earlier about the prestige,” Tramel reinforced. “The conference really would like a state, flagship university. Connecticut has a very solid academic standing and is the ‘University of.’ They may be a New England state, which sounds foreign to the Big 12, but from a prestige and academic standing, it also sounds pretty good.”

Listen below for the full conversation with Berry Tramel in this week’s Media Spotlight: