Reports: BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF Submit Applications To Join Big 12 Conference

(This article has been updated to include the new information reported on Thursday)

According to multiple reports on Wednesday, including The Athletic, both Cincinnati and UCF have officially submitted applications to join the Big 12 Conference. Late Wednesday night, Brett McMurphy tweeted the other two schools in the mix, BYU and Houston, have also submitted their applications.

There have been several reports out of Cincinnati area stating confirmation from university sources about the Cincinnati submitting an application to the Big 12 office, as well as a report by the Orlando Sentinel confirming UCF’s application.

As Pokes Report publisher Robert Allen has stated multiple times, the eight remaining Big 12 schools will hold a vote on Friday to accept these four schools, which McMurphy reported all eight remaining schools are set to vote yes. A news conference is schedules for Friday.

This news follows our report on Pokes Report from last week about Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby reaching out, as well as traveling to BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF.

Mike Gundy gave statements on both Cincinnati and UCF on Monday at his weekly media press conference.

“Central Florida has 71,000 students, And they're in a heck of a television market. They have a heck of a recruiting base, and they've played good football,” Gundy said.

“A lot of people live in that part of the country, and that logo has grown in popularity in the last few years,” Gundy said of Cincinnati on Monday. “They're winning. Winning is important, and a somewhat extended period of winning is important, I would think, to these television people.”

Cincinnati, Houston and UCF are currently in the AAC, and the AAC requires its member schools to provide 27 months’ notice if the plan on leaving and pay a $10 million exit fee. However, when UConn left the AAC, they paid a $17 million exit fee following only 12 months’ notice. So, even with a possible invite, it’s unclear as to when the four schools would join the Big 12.