Memphis athletic director Ed Scott admits it stung when the Huge 12 rejected an unprecedented bid to hitch the league in July. The formidable proposal — which included as much as $250 million in sponsorship commitments and forgoing income distributions for at the very least 5 years — was among the many boldest but by a Group of Six program to purchase into the Energy 4.
“I am a human being, man. I do not like being rejected,” Scott mentioned on the Gary Parrish Present. “If I interviewed for a job they usually advised me no, it hurts. If I mentioned something completely different, I might be disingenuous and that is simply not my fashion. In order that harm, proper? You by no means need somebody to let you know that they do not need you.”
College president Invoice Hardgrave spent greater than a yr pitching Huge 12 leaders on the plan, in line with Yahoo Sports activities, however the board confirmed no curiosity when Memphis’ last proposal arrived in early July. For now, the Tigers stay within the American Convention whereas the Huge 12 presses forward with 16 members.
“The preliminary response was that folks had been upset as a result of we did not get in,” Scott mentioned. “However of us such as you began to reply otherwise and say, ‘Wait a minute. I see what Memphis is doing.’ … As a pacesetter, it’s a must to know when to take it and when to be out entrance. … My job is to do what’s proper for this establishment, for the athletic division and the town — even when different individuals react a sure method. And I believe that retains me grounded.”
Requested instantly why the Huge 12 does not need Memphis, Scott argued the standard explanations do not maintain up. He dismissed lots of the “short-sighted” criticisms tied to the college, mentioning that the soccer stadium renovation is on time and on funds, Memphis is now an R1 analysis establishment, and the athletic division set a department-wide GPA document final yr. On the sphere, Ryan Silverfield’s staff mixed 11 wins with the best GPA within the American.
Scott acknowledged Memphis’ previous NCAA points however mentioned these had been resolved shortly underneath his management.
Scott additionally expanded on why Memphis declined a Pac-12 supply in 2024, which he described as a “unhealthy deal” for the college. The league provided solely a fraction of the American Convention’s exit charges and supplied restricted help for Olympic sports activities, a bundle Memphis couldn’t settle for.
“The one motive why we did not leap on the Pac-12 is as a result of financially it did not make sense,” Scott mentioned. “The worst factor I can do is that if we make a transfer after which we’re not profitable in that transfer.”
In Scott’s view, the bigger subject is that the Huge 12 continues to be discovering its footing after a wave of latest additions.
“If I am being truthful to the presidents and the ADs within the Huge 12, they’ve gone by loads of transition in a brief time period,” Scott mentioned. “There’s eight groups that got here into that league, everybody’s hurting for money they usually’re attempting to determine their id. So I believe a few of it’s perhaps not Memphis and a few of it’s them attempting to determine the place they’re at.”
Memphis was one among simply seven faculties — and the one outdoors the Energy 4 — to complete within the AP High 25 in each soccer and males’s basketball final season.
“The simplest factor to do in life is obtain one thing and fall off,” Scott mentioned. “The toughest factor is be constant. … We have to proceed to boost cash, get as near full [revenue] share as we will, and our services can now compete with anyone. … Our place is, if they are not going to allow us to in now, let’s hold beating them.”