Big 12 drawing interest from Houston, Memphis

5:56 PM ET

With Big 12 expansion back on the table, officials from the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, University of Central Florida and Colorado State University have been lobbying members of the Big 12’s composition committee, according to documents ESPN.com has obtained.

West Virginia president Gordon Gee is one of three Big 12 presidents on the committee, which is charged with exploring expansion candidates. And documents reveal that Gee has been busy in that role in recent months, which has included a trip to the University of Houston in late November.

Documents show that Gee flew to Houston on Nov. 29 to tour the school’s athletic facilities and speak with top officials. According to an itinerary outlining the visit, Gee met with Houston president Renu Khator for more than an hour the morning of Nov. 30, then was taken on a tour of the athletic facilities by athletic director Hunter Yurachek and football coach Tom Herman. Gee finished up by having lunch with Khator, three of the school’s regents, vice chancellor Eloise Stuhr and Camden Property Trust CEO Ric Campo, who reportedly played a major part in the city of Houston landing the 2017 Super Bowl.

Khator followed up by forwarding Gee a spreadsheet of the Houston football team’s TV ratings in the Houston market during the 2015 season.

Khator, however, isn’t the only Big 12 expansion president that Gee has been in contact with.

The …

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