The Big Ten said in December they were contemplating another addition to the conference and that the process could take "12-18 months."
Missouri and Nebraska are rumored to be two of the teams they're targeting. The problem, according to reports, is that the Big-12 is making Mizzou and Nebraska come up with a decision on their future without fully knowing whether they'll receive an invite to the Big Ten.
Because of that -- and the swift moving rumor mill regarding expansion talk -- an official from one of the members of the Big Ten has hinted at that "12-18 month" time-line being moved up.
“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.”
The Big Ten has given the perception that they're dragging their feet on this. With the talk of the Pac-10 targeting half of the Big-12, they understand a decision needs to probably be made sooner rather than later.
Whether the Big Ten actually does move up that time-line isn't quite known.