Shortly after Oregon State and Washington State received commitments from four members of the Mountain West last week to revive the Pac-12, OSU athletic director Scott Barnes said he is considering a conference expansion. at least two more centers “as soon as possible.” Just five days later, longtime Portland-based columnist John Canzano reported that Memphis and Tulane “have emerged as the Pac-12’s top targets as the conference prepares for a second bite at the apple.”
So here we are.
There is no doubt that there are now more questions than answers about this potential wedding — questions about everything from how much the schools would cost to The AAC until they officially join the Pac-12 to the extent of the extended travel will affect the athletic departments and everyone who works within them. Nothing has been done, nor should it be.
There is much to prepare.
According to Canzano, Pac-12 leaders will meet later this week to discuss all options in detail; I’m sure the Memphis and Tulane officials do too. If people on both sides decide that such a move doesn’t make financial sense, it’s probably not the move to make. But only if so it does makes financial sense, and I’m inclined to believe it will be for everyone involved, it’s clear to me that it’s time for Memphis and Tulane to become the newest members of the Pac-12, geography it will be criticized.
I’ve thought about this a lot – especially from a Memphis perspective, especially because the University of Memphis is my alma mater, and the Memphis area is where I still make my home. When the school was first identified as a Pac-12 target last week, I kept an open mind and explained to anyone who asked that there were reasons for clear to go, but also possible reasons for passing – the most notable is that there is a reasonable Situation where the ACC loses major products in the coming years and needs to be replaced, with that time Memphis could emerge as a prime target and reunite with former league foes such as Louisville, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech in a conference that would be weak. , but it’s probably superior to the Pac-12 (not to mention a better regional ranking). As the debate continues, it would be a real shame for Memphis to pay millions of dollars out of the AAC, enter into a long-term deal with the Pac-12 and then stick around if the ACC calls one day. .
It’s definitely something to consider.
It’s definitely something I’ve thought about.
But, after thinking about it, I remembered that I had attended the Great East Conference in 2003, as a young reporter. Business Appeal Memphis, because the Big East was about to lose its ACC membership, and there was a feeling that maybe, just maybe, Memphis would emerge as a replacement and given a chance to improve the league.
Obviously it didn’t happen.
And that happened over 20 years ago!
My point is, for most of the last two decades, Memphis fans have been waiting and waiting and waiting for good news ahead of the conference and have always been disappointed – except for one time. in February 2012, when the good news seemed to be there. The final comes in the form of the Big East officially adding Memphis as a member of all sports. But 10 months later, before Memphis could even compete in the Big East, the conference’s seven non-FBS schools at the time — DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova — chose to part ways with them. Big East schools playing football, killing the dream and forcing Memphis to stay in the new American Athletic Conference, where the Tigers originally competed with Louisville, Cincinnati, UConn, SMU, Houston , Rutgers, Temple, UCF and South Florida.
Was that as exciting as the Big East hypothesis?
No.
But America was a clear improvement over the Tigers’ first league (Conference USA), in part because it was a league with veterans Louisville and Cincinnati, the emerging UCF football program. and historically strong basketball schools like UConn and Houston. The problem is, of the original 10 members of the AAC, seven have since moved on to better positions. Now UCF, Cincinnati and Houston are in the Big 12, Louisville and SMU are in the ACC, UConn is in the Big East and Rutgers calls the Big Ten home.
Only Memphis, Temple and USF remain.
In other words, where Memphis has been for the last 12 years has been a huge loss, which is one of the reasons why attendance has been a problem in recent seasons – even though the Tigers have made 10 games. straight football and two players. The last three NCAA Tournaments in men’s basketball — because it’s hard for fans to enjoy home games against East Carolina, Rice, Tulsa and Charlotte while growing up watching their school compete against popular brands and comparables.
To be clear, the new Pac-12 invite won’t be as exciting as the Big 12 invite would have been for Memphis back when the league took BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — and no no reason to think. it will give the Tigers the power-conference label they’ve been chasing forever. Barring a surprise, this will not return a Power 4 to a Power 5. No one should be confused or misled by that.
But you know what the new Pac-12 will be?
Better than America!
And that’s a major concern for Memphis officials as they weigh the pros and cons of accepting the offer if it’s extended. Also, I understand the argument that moving to the ACC someday would be better than moving to the Pac-12 now. But after thinking about it from all angles, I’ve come to the conclusion that it would be a mistake for Memphis to pass on a clear convention improvement in the hope that a bigger and better convention will come around one day. which.
Most Memphis fans are tired of waiting for something that never happened.
It’s time for the Tigers to take what they can get. The SEC and Big Ten were never options. The Big 12 has gone over them a thousand times. ACC may call one day but there is no guarantee that they will.
That leaves the Pac-12 as the best option.
Bear with me while I speak.
Exactly one AAC football member is currently receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll — Memphis at No. 26. That means if you moved Memphis to the Pac-12, the AAC would have football members receiving votes in the AP Pac-12 would have three Memphis, Boise State and Washington State . If the Pac-12 also adds UNLV — which it should be trying to do based on the football and basketball prowess the school has, and the incredible market it sits in — the Pac-12 it will have four schools up. 31 of the current AP polls.
That’s the same number as the Big 12.
The ACC has only five.
To repeat, AAC minus Memphis would be zero.
Meanwhile, only one AAC men’s basketball member is currently in the top 80 of the BartTorvik.com rankings — Memphis at No. 80 on BartTorvik.com while the Pac-12 would have four in Memphis, Boise State, San Diego State and Colorado State. If the Pac-12 also adds Gonzaga as another football member — what it should try to do Based on the attention Mark Few’s strong program can bring the league — the Pac-12 will have five of the top 80 schools on BartTorvik.com, among them schools that have participated in the NCAA title game Tournament in 2008. Memphis), 2017 (Gonzaga), 2021 (Gonzaga) and 2023 (San Diego State).
The new Pac-12 every year should be the most lucrative men’s basketball league.
Maybe the AAC will not move forward.
So, yes, it’s time to go.
Importantly, moving from the AAC to the Pac-12 would suddenly put the Tigers back in the league with other schools that have achieved real things in the games that matter most. In AAC, they used to have that but they don’t anymore. I’m not writing that to be mean. I write it simply because it is true.
In a perfect world, the Middle East would not be separated. Or the Big 12 would have taken Memphis years ago. Or the ACC would take the Tigers now. But college athletics is not a perfect world. Far from it, really. So what Memphis officials need to do is stop wondering what could have been, stop worrying about what could be, and get on with improving their place in this world. The fulfillment of college sports by accepting the proposal, assuming that it will eventually, join this. a new and growing Pac-12 look.
Can Memphis bring Big Ten money? No. Would Memphis earn the “power-conference” label? No. But what it would do is put Memphis in a league that’s inevitably better than the league it’s in now and offer football and men’s basketball programs at times. compelling.
It will do more than that, to be sure.
But that alone is enough.
So if a Pac-12 bid comes, and there’s every reason to believe it will, as long as it makes financial sense, yes, absolutely, it’s time for Memphis to go. Fans have been waiting for something better forever. The Pac-12 isn’t perfect, I know. But it will definitely be better than AAC. And at this moment in time when almost everyone in college sports is moving forward or falling behind, from the biggest conference to the best is a move Memphis would be wise to make.
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