Where Will Memphis Land In Conference Shuffling?

When the last round of conference realignment went down, Memphis was the child left behind. Many of their Conference USA cohorts bolted for the Big East and the ACC made its own additions from the Big East, too. Memphis was left in no-man’s land. Geographically, Memphis is the “mid-south” but you could probably make a sales pitch for them in any number of leagues.↵↵While the Tigers are no football power, their draw rests in the world of college hoops. They’ll be back in the top 15 next season -- our Mike DeCourcy has Memphis at No. 11 -- after a season in the NIT. Now Memphis’ hoops coach, Josh Pastner (pictured), is worried about scheduling out games too far in advance because of a conference switch. Dan Wolken of the Commercial Appeal has the quotes via these tweets:↵

↵↵⇥“We’re moving to another conference eventually based on what R.C. Johnson and Dr. Raines are saying,” Pastner said. “We’re going to be moving in one of these things so you can’t get yourself locked in too far in advance (on non-conference scheduling).”↵↵While there are lots of candidates to make what many would consider lateral moves, Memphis is the clear-cut national candidate for a move up the conference ladder, even if it was a move based solely on its basketball prowess. The question is where the Tigers land. One would think the Big Ten would want a better football program. The SEC would make more sense than any league from a geographic standpoint -- and I’d love the idea of Memphis-Tennessee becoming an in-league rival for the Tigers. If they went somewhere based on their strengths, the Tigers would be an ideal candidate for the Big East once the Big Ten came in and poached a few teams. Not a bad way to fill in losing someone like Rutgers if you ask me.↵↵Wolken points out this opinion is nothing new and doesn’t indicate Memphis is changing conferences tomorrow, but it serves as a solid jumping-off point for conversation that isn’t about imaginary Big Ten expansion. Memphis seems like the domino most ready to fall in someone else’s direction once the Big Ten makes its decision.↵

↵↵(H/T to The Dagger)↵

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