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Most Big Ten fans had little reason to pay attention to the league's Council of Presidents/Chancellors before December 2009.

But once the expansion process began, the COP/C entered the spotlight and has made several historic decisions in the past year and a half.

The Big Ten on Thursday announced its COP/C executive committee for the 2011-12 academic year.

• Indiana president Michael McRobbie will serve as chair for the second year of his term.
• Iowa president Sally Mason will serve as vice chair.
• Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon and Penn State president Graham Spanier will serve on the executive committee. Simon was COP/C chair when the Big Ten approved Nebraska for admission last June.

The COP/C, which meets twice a year -- usually in June and December -- has the "ultimate authority and responsibility in Big Ten Conference governance," according to a news release. Each chair serves a two-year term.

PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- The Big Ten's presidents and chancellors met for about four and a half hours Sunday at league headquarters, and not surprisingly, they spent a "considerable" amount of time on expansion.

The big takeaway from this meeting: the Big Ten is paying attention to what's happening elsewhere and could (likely will) accelerate its timetable for expansion, originally set on Dec. 15 for 12-18 months. The league seems less committed to that time frame but reiterates that it remains diligent and thorough with the process and committed to the criteria it laid out nearly six months ago.

“Our announcement in December has caused institutions to consider their future and conferences to consider their future,” said Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon, the chair of the Big Ten’s council of presidents/chancellors. “That has had an impact on our deliberations. … We had targeted a timeline that was as long as 18 months. It’s possible that the timeline may be altered, but not the process.

“The actions of others are obviously important to us and they impact us, but the process is as we’ve outlined it.”

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany added: "There's also been a lot of activity in the last two weeks, as reported in a lot of media outlets. We don't know how that will all play out, but it could affect how we do things."

Is the Big Ten accelerating its process based on what's happening elsewhere? Looks like it. Delany said he didn't know of any Big 12 ultimatums to Nebraska and Missouri and didn't comment on any specific schools.

Another important lesson from today is that the league's presidents and chancellors can vote electronically on applicants to the league, so they don't necessarily need to convene as a group. Their next scheduled meeting doesn't take place until December.

The Big Ten ideally wants more time to go through its study, but the league is also prepared to move quickly. Delany said Sunday that the league began studying expansion months before putting out the statement Dec. 15, and has used the last six months wisely.

A few other key points:

• Simon said the league hasn't settled on a wish list, but the suspects are fairly obvious. She also made it very clear that academics remain a huge part of the Big Ten's expansion process. This league isn't going to admit second-rate academic institutions, so there's no point in speculating about them. "I've facetiously said that at the start of this process," she said, "if we had given fifth graders the criteria, the list of institutions would be essentially the [same] list of institutions that have been bandied about for quite a while by [the media] with much more sophisticated analysis of the sense of fit [by the media]. But as I look at your analysis, academics hasn't been much of the conversation. That's an important component of this. This is not an infinite set of institutions." Does this mean I'm not as smart as a fifth grader? Ouch!
• In case you forgot, here are the four criteria that the Big Ten is using to evaluate potential applicants: academics, willingness to participate in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (Big Ten’s internal academic consortium), athletic competitiveness and fiscal responsibility to the conference.
• The Big Ten isn't dismissing rivalries or the intimacy of a league during its expansion examination. They realize that rivalries and frequency of competition make a league what it is, and they don't want to squander that with expansion. Time will tell if they actually hold true to this.
• Simon and Delany both said expansion could happen in several phases, not just one big three- or five-team addition. "The process, as designed, contemplated either a single action or phases," Simon said. This is interesting, but I doubt the Big Ten would take gradual steps to expand. "If we expand, it's going to be for the next 50-100 years," Delany said. "It's not a bowl game. It's not a TV arrangement for six years."
• Asked if the Big Ten presidents and chancellors have a consensus on whether to expand or a preference in number of teams added, Simon said, "We would not have announced the study in December if there wasn't an interest in expansion by a significant number of the members of the Big Ten. But any institution involved in expansion has to fit the criteria. It has to be a two-way street. It's their destiny, it's our destiny, and the strength of the Big Ten over a long period of time has been this sense of culture and commitment to one another."
• The Big Ten continues to make a big deal about doing the expansion thing right. But what if other leagues go about things differently? "The other conferences have got great leadership at all levels," Delany said. "They're smart, bright, and have good experience."

After the Big Ten's spring meetings last month in Chicago, it became clear that the league wouldn't operate on anyone else's expansion timetable but its own.

Commissioner Jim Delany said no votes were imminent, and league sources said back then and again last week the process likely would go through the fall before a resolution.

Have the events of recent days changed things?

First, we saw the e-mails between Delany and Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee about "fast-tracking it" and "agility and swiftness of foot is our friend." And then Saturday night, the Austin American-Statesman reported that Big 12 presidents are giving Nebraska and Missouri a deadline of Friday to say whether they'll remain in the league or leave for the Big Ten.

"Nebraska has until 5 p.m. on Friday to tell us what they're going to do," one school official said, according to the American-Statesman. "The same deal for Missouri. They have to tell us they're not going to the Big Ten."

If they don't meet the deadline, at least six Big 12 schools, including Texas and Oklahoma, likely would bolt for the Pac-10, creating potential Armageddon in college sports.

Now the Big Ten hasn't extended any formal invitations to anyone and continues to work toward landing a major program, such as Texas or Notre Dame. Texas is obviously on the table for every league exploring expansion, and I'm told Notre Dame remains in the mix for the Big Ten and doesn't know what it wants to do.

While Nebraska and Missouri certainly are strong candidates, I've been told no formal meetings have taken place to discuss them. Are those schools confident enough they're part of the Big Ten's expansion plan? Will they demand an answer from Delany in the next week?

The Big Ten wants to take its time with this process, but Delany and his crew might need to pick up the pace. Then again, Delany isn't the type to cater to anyone else's ultimatums.

It will be very interesting to hear from the commissioner today at the meeting of Big Ten presidents and chancellors at league headquarters in Park Ridge, Ill. The agenda isn't public because the meetings are held in executive session, but you can bet expansion is the No. 1 topic being discussed. It just has to be.

Media aren't allowed in the building, but apparently Delany wasn't kidding when he mentioned all of us enjoying some beer and brats today. Yum.

Delany and Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon, the chair of the Big Ten's council of presidents/chancellors, will address reporters around 4 p.m. ET. My pal Teddy Greenstein has a good preview of the meetings.

I'm definitely planning to ask about the Big 12/Pac-10 buzz and how that affects the Big Ten's plans. Check back this afternoon, as I'll have a recap on the blog.

Several of you have asked about the voting process for Big Ten expansion, and I have an answer for you.

According to the Big Ten's bylaws, an institution first must apply for admission to the league's Council of Presidents/Chancellors. The COP/C then votes, and it takes 70 percent of the council, or eight of the 11 members, to approve the candidate for admission to the league. So a candidate doesn't need to earn a unanimous vote to be admitted to the Big Ten, as is the case in the Pac-10.

Since the Big Ten has accelerated its push for expansion, a vote or votes on expansion candidates could take place in early June during the league's meeting of presidents and chancellors. Remember that because a vote takes place after an institution applies for admission, the COP/C only votes on institutions that want to be part of the Big Ten.

Here's a step-by-step outline of how the process could work:

• Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and the league's presidents and chancellors meet in Washington, site of the Association of American Universities spring meets, to discuss expansion candidates. Delany then would inform Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon, chair of the COP/C, that the league intends to begin formal discussions with candidates.
• Delany attends BCS meetings Tuesday-Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he could notify commissioners of the affected leagues or Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick of the Big Ten's intentions. The Big Ten doesn't want to tamper with institutions before informing their conference commissioners.
• The courting process begins between the Big Ten and expansion candidates (for some, it wouldn't take much).
• The Big Ten holds its meetings of coaches (football, men's basketball, women's basketball) and athletic directors on May 17-19 in Chicago, where expansion will continue to be discussed.
• An institution or multiple institutions formally apply for Big Ten membership. The COP/C votes in early June and the league officially expands.

Needless to say, it's an exciting time in the Big Ten, so stay tuned.

Michigan State University president Lou Anna K. Simon is attending the Association of American Universities meetings this week in Washington, a school spokesman confirmed to ESPN.com on Sunday morning.

We already know that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and several other Big Ten presidents/chancellors are in D.C. for the AAU meetings, where they'll reportedly have discussions about league expansion later today. Simon's presence is notable because she's the chair of the Big Ten's Council of Presidents/Chancellors, which decided in December to push forward with an expansion study.

According to the council's Dec. 15 statement on expansion, if the league determines that formal discussions on expansion must begin with institutions from other leagues (or Notre Dame), Delany will inform Simon before contacting commissioners from the affected conferences (or Notre Dame officials). Delany would have the chance to make in-person contact at the BCS meetings, held this week in Phoenix.

Big Ten expansion talk has quieted down just a bit during the last six weeks or so, but things are about to pick up.

Real fast.

As first reported by the Chicago Tribune, top Big Ten officials will meet beginning Saturday in Washington to discuss expansion. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany confirmed in a text message to ESPN.com that he's in D.C., and the Tribune reports that Northwestern University president Morton Schapiro and University of Illinois interim chancellor Robert Easter also will attend. I'm still trying to confirm whether other Big Ten leaders are there, particularly Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon, the chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors.

The gathering coincides with a three-day meeting of the Association of American Universities, beginning today in Washington. All 11 Big Ten schools are AAU members, and the top expansion candidates, with the notable exception of Notre Dame, also are part of the AAU.

AAU members include Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas. Connecticut and Boston College are not part of the AAU.

It's also very significant that the BCS annual meetings take place later this week in Phoenix. Remember that in its Dec. 15 statement about expansion, the Big Ten said it will notify the commissioners of affected conferences -- or Notre Dame top administrators -- before engaging in any formal discussions with institutions.

If I were Big East commissioner John Marinatto or Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe, I'd worry about a tap on my shoulder during the BCS meetings. From what I've been told from coaches and officials around the Big Ten, Delany wants to get something done, and the commish usually gets what he wants.

Two other dates to remember:

• The Big Ten holds its meetings of coaches (football, men's basketball, women's basketball) and athletic directors in Chicago from May 17-19
• The Big Ten holds its meetings of presidents and chancellors in Chicago in early June

Translation: the Big Ten could finalize an expansion plan, and quite possibly rock the college sports landscape, in the next two months. So much for the 12- to 18-month plan outlined in the league's initial statement.

As the Tribune points out, "The fiscal years of universities end on the last day of June, 'so if you go past July 1, you have to wait an extra year,' one source said." So if the Big Ten wants to be a 12-team, 14-team or 16-team league for the 2011-12 academic year, it needs to act quickly.

I've had the chance to visit seven Big Ten schools for spring football practice, and the buzz among coaches and officials is that the Big Ten will expand, and there's a strong likelihood the league will add more than one team. Almost everyone I spoke with thinks the league will go to 14 or 16.

I'm still skeptical about a 16-team super conference, which sounds great in principle but hard to successfully execute. I still believe that if the Big Ten can add Notre Dame as a 12th member, there's absolutely no need to do anything else.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, by the way, had this to say on Saturday: "Our highest priority is maintaining football independence."

Swarbrick can say what he wants, but he still has to at least listen if the Big Ten comes calling. Major changes could be coming to college sports, and Notre Dame can't be left on the sideline, clinging to a football independence that seems to mean less and less with each passing year.

I still think the Big Ten has to make a push for Notre Dame before moving on to schools like Pitt, Rutgers, Missouri and Nebraska. If the Irish ultimately say no, the likelihood of a three-team or five-team expansion goes way up.

The next few weeks should be very, very interesting, so stay tuned.