Ed Scott: Pac-12 offer was 'not a good deal for the University of Memphis'
After initially adding four teams earlier this month, all eyes were on the next steps for the Pac-12. Memphis was one of the schools to come up as a potential target, but Tigers athletics director Ed Scott said the offer was “not a good deal.”
Memphis appeared to be a “real contender” for the Pac-12 as it sought to reach the eight-member threshold by 2026, as On3’s Pete Nakos detailed. The Tigers weren’t the only school on the watch lists, though, but were considered one of the top options if they were interested in leaving the American Athletic Conference.
However, Scott said the deal presented to Memphis officials wasn’t good enough to make such a move. While he didn’t get into details, he said the decision to stay in the American was about setting the school up for the long-term future.
“I came here for a reason,” Scott said. “You heard me in the press conference, you’ve heard me in any interview I’ve done. I’m bullish on Memphis’ future.
“I think sometimes, we get enamored by the new, and we want to take a bad deal. That deal was not a good deal for the University of Memphis, it certainly wasn’t a good deal for our athletic department and most importantly, it was a really, really bad deal for our Olympic sports.”
Ed Scott: Turning down Pac-12 does not mean ‘we’re not ever going anywhere’
The Pac-12 landed four teams from the Mountain West as the realignment dominoes started falling again. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State all accepted invitations to join Oregon State and Washington State. Utah State also joined the fray earlier this week.
From there, more potential options came into the conversation, including Memphis. However, Ed Scott said the Tigers’ decision to turn down the Pac-12’s offer was not related to the school’s current standing in the college sports landscape. Instead, it was about the terms of the deal.
“A lot of folks – and some of you in the media, candidly – want us to go to be great, and sometimes, you’ve got to be great to go,” Scott said. “When I hear people say, ‘I’m not gonna buy tickets. I’m not gonna support programs,’ you’re not really hurting me. You’re hurting the student-athletes and you’re hurting the people that are on the field playing. And that’s really, really important for me.
“So where does this go? If y’all haven’t seen the latest reports of what’s going on between the Mountain West and the Pac-6, 7, right now – this is a fluid situation. That’s the other thing, when we talk about the decision that was made by the University of Memphis to not join the ‘Pac,’ as I like to call them right now at this time, that was not a binary decision. That was not a, ‘No, we’re not ever going anywhere.’ That was based on the offer that was presented in front of us, that we’re not taking that offer because we don’t think less of ourselves.”
Both the Pac-12 and Mountain West sit below the eight-team FBS threshold. The Pac-12 needs one more team by 2026 while the Mountain West will need two more. Hawaii is not a full member. The remaining six teams signed binding commitment agreements Thursday as they chart a path forward.
The two conferences are also in the midst of a legal battle. Late last week, the Pac-12 sued the Mountain West over “poaching penalties” in their scheduling agreement.