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The Big 12 says it is unified at 10 teams after nixing expansion -- for now -- on Monday. Only time will tell whether that's ultimately true, but in the interim, there are a lot of broken hearts among Group of Five teams hoping to receive an invite.

The program with worst heartache might be Houston. The Cougars were long considered a front-runner if the Big 12 were to expand either by two or four teams. Houston has a good football tradition and the program is on the rise again with a new football stadium and a hot shot coach in Tom Herman.

But for the immediate future, any hopes of Houston landing in a power conference are dead. And if Herman leaves for a Power Five job -- LSU is open and Texas might be -- the Cougars will have missed on two of their biggest goals.

Put another way, no Big 12 candidate stands to lose more than Houston.

The reactions to losing out on Big 12 membership have varied. Speaking in response to the news, Houston regent Tilman Fertitta maintained that Houston is valuable enough to be scooped up by a Power Five conference, whether it's the Big 12 or elsewhere.

"Somebody wants the University of Houston," Fertitta said. "It's not just the Big 12 out there. There are other conferences. You're going to look up, whether it be next year, the year after or whenever. The University of Houston is going to be in a Power Five Conference."

That same level of optimism wasn't shared by Red McCombs, a prominent Texas booster who has advocated for Houston in the past. He was less diplomatic, calling the decision "terrible."

Houston has shown it can survive and thrive despite the ever-changing landscape of college football. Still, keeping Herman and playing in the Big 12 were visions the program had just a couple of months ago. One of those visions is dormant at best. The other might disappear soon as well.