You ever hear that old phrase, “so close, yet so far”? That might as well be stamped on the Memphis Tigers’ front door right now. Because while the Pac-12’s half-baked resurrection tour is hunting for one final member to become whole again, Memphis is sitting right there—polished, proven, and packing one of the best athletic departments outside the big boys—but still somehow on the outside looking in. And why? One word: money. Actually, scratch that—two words: no deal.
So let’s set the scene. The Pac-12, a once-proud Power Five staple, is clinging to relevance like it’s dangling off a cliff. After a realignment doomsday that scattered its original members, the league has cobbled together a new core: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga (for hoops), San Diego State, Utah State, Oregon State, and Washington State. But to get back into the “autonomous” conference club—yeah, the Power Four now—it needs eight football schools. Which means one more golden ticket is still floating out there. Memphis, naturally, looked like the easy answer.
According to Memphis beat reporter Jonah Dylan, conversations have been happening between Tigers AD Ed Scott and Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould: “I know that she’s[Teresa Gould] worried about trying to find her eighth full member. I’m working on trying to get us into a power four conference.” That doesn’t mean Memphis is suiting up for West Coast road games anytime soon. Scott kept it real last week, saying, “That is our first goal, unequivocally. That’s always been our goal” when asked about jumping into a Power Four conference. Translation? Pac-12 is cute, but only if the bag makes sense.
Ed Scott says he’s talked to Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould over the last few months.
“I know that she’s worried about trying to find her eighth full member. I’m working on trying to get us into a power four conference.”
— Jonah Dylan (@TheJonahDylan) June 20, 2025
And here comes the curveball. Back in September, Scott declined an offer from the Pac-12. Let that sink in. Memphis turned down a shot at a new league. The main reason? Logistics and cash. With schools like Oregon State and Fresno State in the mix, the travel expenses would’ve gone through the roof. And then there’s the elephant in the room: the Pac-12 still doesn’t have a media rights deal.
Ed Scott isn’t out here playing fantasy football with Memphis’ future. He made it loud and clear: without a guaranteed media deal, there is no deal. And he’s not wrong. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the Pac-12’s revised TV number sits below $10 million per school. That’s less than what Memphis already gets in the AAC, where it pulled in about $11 million for the 2023-24 cycle. In short, the Tigers would be paying more to go backward.
“From my position, there can’t be conversations about that until the Pac-12 figures out what they’re doing and we know what their media deal is going to look like,” Scott said during a press conference. “Because I’m not going to take a bad deal.” It’s not posturing, it’s just smart business. He even joked that he checked his inbox for breaking news before heading to the presser, just in case the Pac-12 had finally locked down a TV deal. (Spoiler: they hadn’t.)
Still, don’t get it twisted. Memphis wants out of the AAC. The Tigers have been stuck in purgatory ever since Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF got cherry-picked by the Big 12 in 2023. The Power Four dream is alive in Memphis, but it’s got a price tag attached—and it starts with $10 million and a 27-month notice to the AAC just to exit. Remember, SMU had to drop $25 million to bounce to the ACC.
The Memphis conundrum
The wild part? Memphis has the resume. Big-time football? Check. Big-time basketball? Double check. Facilities, boosters, fan support, city market—they check all the boxes. Yet when Pete Thamel talked to insiders, he said the same thing no one in Memphis wants to hear: “There doesn’t appear to be much immediate interest in Memphis from the power leagues.”
Yikes. That’s the quiet part said out loud. But it might not be about Memphis at all. The current realignment game is less about tradition and wins, and more about media footprint and cold, hard cash. And until the Pac-12 can bring a solid TV number to the table, every school—even one as well-rounded as Memphis—has to pause.
That’s why there’s even talk of creative options. Word is the Pac-12 considered bringing Memphis on as a football-only member, with Olympic sports possibly jumping to the Big East. It’s a Frankenstein idea, but these are Frankenstein times in college football. Could it work? Maybe. But the logistics, again, are brutal.
While Memphis plays the waiting game, Texas State is reportedly the frontrunner to snag that final Pac-12 invite. Why? Simpler geography and a willingness to move fast. With fewer travel headaches and lower media expectations, Texas State checks fewer boxes but has fewer red flags.
Memphis, meanwhile, is sitting on a ticking clock. 2027-28 is the earliest they could bolt from the AAC without swallowing a fortune in penalties. Until then, they’re stuck watching from the sidelines as other schools maneuver for spots. Scott remains optimistic but cautious. “The only thing that has changed is that Pete Thamel wrote an article,” he said. “It hasn’t changed from my standpoint.” Translation: until someone drops real money on the table, don’t expect Memphis to jump ship.
The Tigers know they’re a hot commodity—but they’re not about to play themselves. He Also doubled down on new revenue sharing: “We’re not going to be at full rev share. We won’t be at $20.5 million. But we’ll be in a really good place.”
And until the Pac-12 gets its house in order, Memphis is making it clear: they’re not just saying yes for the sake of a seat at the table. They want the right table, and the right check to go with it.
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