2024 has been filled with mass migration of schools amid the expansion of athletic conferences. Memphis Athletics has been in the conversation as well. However, in late September, news broke that the program along with Tulane, USF, and UTSA planned to stay in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) despite Pac-12 discussions. Memphis AD Ed Scott spoke on why staying put was the best decision.

Scott gave his thoughts in a press appearance on Thursday:

“A lot of folks, and some of you in the media, candidly, want us to go to be great, and sometimes you gotta be great to go. Right? And so, when I hear people say, ‘I'm not going to buy tickets, I'm not going to support the program,' you're not really hurting me. You're hurting the student-athletes, right? And you're hurting the people that are on the field playing, and that's really really important for me. So where does this go?” Scott began, via Jason Munz of The Commercial Appeal.

“This is a fluid situation… when we talk about the decision that was made by the University of Memphis to not join the [Pac-12), that was not a binary decision. That was not a ‘No, we're not ever going anywhere.' That was based on the offer that was presented in front of us, that we're not taking that offer because we don't think less of ourselves,” Scott added.

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The Memphis AD further stated he is “bullish” on Memphis' future and felt the deal was not in the best interest of the institution.

“I think sometimes we get enamored by the new, and we want to take a bad deal. And that deal was not a good deal for the University of Memphis. It certainly wasn't a good deal for our athletic department, and most importantly, it was a really really bad deal for our Olympic sports,” Scott said.

It seems that staying in the AAC for the moment will allow the Tigers to continue building toward a better, sustainable future.