First things first, the Mountain West Conference is not expanding. Not now, and not in the near future, according to commissioner Craig Thompson. He recently received calls from eight to 10 unnamed institutions interested in joining the MWC, but told them the league will stand pat.

"Save that quarter or 50 cents or whatever that phone call costs," Thompson said. "We’re complacent, and we’re going to be tremendous nine-team league in 2011."

But New Mexico coach Steve Alford told 101.7 The Team that he hopes Thompson "is not done" and that he is a proponent of continuing to search for additional members, preferably one with a big enough market with which to boost the profile of the conference.

Specifically, Alford likes Houston.

"I like Houston...To me, that would be appealing. Their football team is a top-25, top-30 football program right now. Basketball I think they got Coach (James) Dickey in there now. It should be a very good basketball school with as many players that are in the Houston area. And then it hits in my opinion what is the most important thing, and that's marketability...I'm probably a little biased. We recruit the state of Texas hard, but I do think that is a big market."

But Houston, a member of Conference USA, has other ideas as a school that could be looking to get into a power conference instead. Texas lawmakers are pushing for Houston to gain admission into the Big 12, according to the Associated Press.

State Reps. Garnet Coleman and Bill Callegari, both from the Houston area, co-wrote a letter Thursday asking Big 12 officials to consider adding the university to the conference.

"UH is the third largest university in Texas, and is on track to rank among the top research universities in this state," the letter says. "Despite UH's local and statewide prominence, the university does not belong to a strong BCS conference such as the Big 12. The Cougars, the city of Houston, and the state of Texas deserve better."