The Big 12 is not interested in adding Memphis, despite the school offering $250 million in sponsorship money to the league, according to On3’s own Brett McMurphy. The Power Four might be on hold now for the Tigers.
“Big 12 ‘not interested’ in adding Memphis despite school offering $250 million in sponsorship to the league, sources told On3 Sports,” McMurphy wrote on Twitter. “Memphis was trying to buy way into Big 12. Yahoo 1st reported Memphis trying to get Big 12 invite.”
Yahoo Sports‘ Ross Dellenger first reported Memphis’ attempt to essentially buy its way into the Power Four conference. Dellenger’s report indicated that previous vetting of the Tigers didn’t lead to the Big 12 adding them from the American Conference and not much is to likely change at this point.
The Big 12 previously explored expansion proposals from Gonzaga and UConn, but neither gained the necessary support. There are still hurdles, as Dellenger reported, but Memphis’ offer is certainly more lucrative.
Interestingly, this isn’t exactly the first time Memphis was looked over as a potential addition for the Big 12. The conference recently added Cincinnati, UCF, Houston and BYU, all from the American Conference (then-AAC).
“We vetted Memphis when we added the other four (Cincinnati, UCF, Houston and BYU) and chose not to add them,” said one Big 12 administrator to Dellenger. “What’s changed now?”
As the report states, Memphis is the latest school to take a big swing for a Power Four conference in an unprecedented manner. SMU joined the ACC while agreeing to take no league revenue at first.
The American exit fee is reportedly $25 million at minimum for Memphis to exit the conference. University officials reportedly expect to share the full $20.5 million in rev-share with the athletes next year and they’ve told that to the Big 12, perhaps making their offer more appealing.
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