UofM proposal to join Big 12 falls through, university confirms

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A proposal from the University of Memphis seeking membership into the Big 12 Conference was denied, a university spokesperson confirmed in a statement.

“The University of Memphis is aware of the recent conversations regarding our potential inclusion in the Big 12. While those discussions did not ultimately move in our favor, our University and Memphis Athletics are stronger than ever,” the university wrote in response to the decision on Monday, July 12.

The statement comes after Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported that the university’s president, Bill Hardgrave, spent at least 14 months meeting with Big 12 officials, leading to an offer, which included a payment to the conference of around $200 million over the next five years, with money coming from Memphis’ corporate partners, including FedEx and AutoZone.

The deal would have also seen the Tigers relinquish revenue from the Big 12’s new television deal with ESPN and FOX over the same period.

Dellenger noted that league-wide support for the decision was low, despite interest in the deal from Big 12 officials.