The University of Memphis is one of six to eight teams being considered by the Big 12 for expansion, according to an article written by TMGcollegesports.com’s Mark Blaudschun, a former columnist at The Boston Globe.
The Tigers, along with Houston, Cincinnati, BYU and other American Athletic Conference teams are on the Big 12’s “preferred list” of candidates if and when the conference decides to expand.
The Tigers will make their pitch to Big 12 officials “presumably” in Dallas sometime over the next few weeks. From that point, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and his staff will make recommendations of two schools before the board of directors, which is comprised of league presidents and chancellors, in October, according to the story. After reviewing Bowlsby and his staff’s recommendation, the board could then “vote to issue invitations” to schools to join the Big 12.
It was reported in Blaudschun’s story that there is a growing sentiment “that the Big 12 presidents will table any expansion talk for at least one year.”
East Carolina University issued a statement that they are no longer being considered by the Big 12 as a candidate for expansion. “While it is obviously not the decision we were hoping for, I am confident ECU put forth its best effort during this process,” Jeff Compher, ECU’s athletic director, said in a statement. “Through a determined approach we were able to tell our story to not only the Big 12, but the entire nation.”
From a financial standpoint, the Tigers would benefit tremendously from the Big 12. It was announced in June that each Big 12 member received $30.4 million in annual shared TV and postseason payoffs – which is 10 times more than what the Tigers have been making in the AAC, though it has been reported that teams joining the Big 12 will not initially receive a full payout. Despite that, the renewed energy surrounding Memphis getting into the Big 12 would have a positive financial impact on the university.
Memphis’ pitch to the Big 12 includes the financial backing of corporate giant FedEx, which is headquartered in Memphis. Fred Smith, who is the founder, chairman, president and CEO of FedEx, has vowed to be the corporate sponsor of the Big 12 football title game if the Tigers are invited to join the conference.
TMGcollegesports.com, the root of this report, is a site managed by Blaudschun, Herb Gould and Chris Dufresne. Gould, formerly of the Chicago Sun Times, and Dufresne, formerly of Los Angeles Times, teamed up with Blaudschun to provide exclusive college football content throughout the year. The website is operated behind a pay wall, and it’s goal is to “bring you content you can’t find anywhere else,” according to the website.
