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It suddenly looks as if Houston not being one of schools added to the Big 12 would be the biggest upset of the season that has yet to kick off.

Two days after Big 12 expansion was officially back on, two of the most powerful figures in the state of Texas endorsed the University of Houston for inclusion in the conference.

University of Texas president Gregory Fenves and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a UT alum, went full fan boy on Thursday, each posting fawning tweets supporting the Cougars.

Abbott said Big 12 expansion without Houston was a "non-starter."


Fenves followed hours later with his own endorsement.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and UT system chancellor Bill McRaven, also a Texas graduate, then joined the conga line.

Were their accounts hacked?

Texas went from athletic director Mike Perrin going on record to being against expansion last month to his president naming a former Southwest Conference rival as his top expansion choice on Thursday.

It now looks like, if Tom Herman someday leaves Houston, he may not have to change conferences. (Herman's name has been tossed around as a possible future replacement for Texas coach Charlie Strong.)

This is the political equivalent of falling in love on the first date.

To this point, the Oklahoma University and the state as a whole -- the Big 12's other major power brokers -- have taken the opposite stance: silence.

"As Chairman of the Big 12, it is not appropriate for me to comment on the prospects of any individual university," said Dave Boren, who is also OU's president.

Just to refresh: On Tuesday, the Big 12 announced it would formally explore expansion. Since then, there has been a feeding frenzy of speculation.

Understand that, in Texas politics, significant issues like these are not resolved quickly -- and not without some quid pro quo. Forget last minute on this one, though, Fenves and Abbott got on board for Houston in the first 48 hours of the Big 12's renewed expansion hunt.

In fact, Fenves responded to a request for an interview from CBS Sports on Wednesday with a fairly neutral statement: "I'm open to expansion if the proposal is a strong one. The conference is actively evaluating the possibilities."

Now he's suddenly open to waving a flag for the Cougars.

The big question: Why? Texas never signed a contract or got behind an issue it didn't know how to extricate itself from. Something, somewhere changed the University of Texas' mindset in a hurry.

Houston is a program Longhorns looked down their nose at for years. But a lot has changed. Expansion is all about politics, especially in Texas. The often re-told story goes that former Gov. Ann Richards, a Baylor alum, got the Bears into the Big 12 in 1996.

It's safe to say Houston is the one with some support in the Texas statehouse this time around.

Just remember: This expansion process is only starting. It's about to get nuttier.