Memphis really wants to move to a Power 4 conference. That much has been clear through multiple rounds of conference realignment, and continues in 2025.
Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde reports that Memphis made an "'impressive' monetary offer" to the Big 12 Conference as it pushed for membership in the league. Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reports that the number in question is "expected to be as high as $200 million over the next five years." Memphis also offered to abstain from taking its revenue distribution over the same five-year time frame that it would be paying the league for membership, per the report.
Even with that impressive financial offer, the Big 12's schools appear to be content with their current 16-team membership, and Forde reports that they will not be taking Memphis up on the offer.
Memphis made what was characterized as an “impressive” monetary offer to join the Big 12, as @YahooSports reported. But the league is not interested in adding the Tigers, sources confirm to @SInow.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) July 21, 2025
The offer—and expected rejection—comes after more than a year of visits from Memphis president Bill Hardgrave to other Big 12 schools. In order to earn membership, the Tigers would need approval of at least 12 of the league's 16 current members. Memphis was previously evaluated when the league opted to add four schools in 2023—BYU as well as three of Memphis's now-former American Conference rivals, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF.
The Big 12 has added aggressively in the wake of its seismic loss of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC, which became official last summer. After adding the four aforementioned schools in 2023, the league pilfered the Pac-12 for Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah, after Oregon and Washington opted to leave their West Coast conferencemates for the Big Ten.
It does not appear that a supermajority of the Big 12 programs believe Memphis is the same sort of value add.
The Tigers' offer will likely send some waves through the American, with news coming on the same day as a conference rebrand away from the "AAC," and the addition of an league mascot on Monday.
Soar the Eagle may be a "multi-platform brand symbol designed to personify [the American's] values and story," but it doesn't appear that he is quite enough for Memphis—which has also reportedly received overtures from the Pac-12, per Dellenger—to rest on its laurels in its current conference.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Memphis Offered Huge Nine-Figure Payment to Power 4 Conference for Membership Bid.
