Shortly after the erstwhile American Athletic Conference announced its rebranding effort on Monday, news broke on Yahoo that Memphis was willing to pay the Big 12 about $200 million if the conference would please, please, PLEASE let the Tigers join.
The timing may have been coincidental, but it certainly didn’t enhance the American Conference’s bid to elevate itself. On a day when the American introduced an eagle named Soar as its mascot, Memphis, one of its flagship athletic programs, became a sore subject.
We’ll get to that in a minute. But first, what the heck is going on in Memphis?
Big 12 “not interested” in adding Memphis despite school offering $250 million in sponsorship to the league, sources told @On3sports. Memphis was trying to buy way into Big 12. Yahoo 1st reported Memphis trying to get Big 12 invite
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 21, 2025
Not only are the Tigers looking like someone stuck in an escape room with no way out, they’re looking lousy while fumbling about for a seat at the big-boy table.
Just last week, the Memphis athletic department was placed on a two-year NCAA probation for violations of academic integrity. That’s about as bad as it gets.
According to reports, an academic counselor paid two softball players a total of $550 to complete coursework and provide test answers for a men's basketball player.
Head coach Penny Hardaway was not implicated.
This might be a good time to remind Memphis that the presidents at conference schools ultimately decide who gets invited and who can take their $200 million and go away.
We know that USF also wants to join a power conference. The Bulls aren’t even trying to keep that a secret, but instead of trying to bribe their way out of the American, they’re going about it the right way.
Start with USF’s status as one of only two public universities in the state (Florida is the other) with membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities.
In May, USF announced that its athletes had a combined GPA of 3.45, marking the 21st consecutive semester with a GPA of 3.00 or higher.
Memphis?
Not so much.
According to U.S. News and World Report, Memphis ranks 269th academically among the nation’s universities. USF is No. 45 and consistently ranks in the top 50.
In the game of realignment musical chairs, you can bet academics will play a larger role than the average fan might think.
What does this mean for the future in the American?
In the short term, probably not much.
There doesn’t appear to be any significant chatter about imminent realignment. The consensus is that it’s at least two or three years away from the next round, but you never know.
What we do know is that USF has been steadily building athletically and academically toward that day when the power conferences look to increase their numbers.
And as Memphis just learned, there are some things money can’t buy.