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What new Memphis AD Ed Scott said about conference realignment options, paying athletes

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New Memphis athletic director Ed Scott knows he’s got a long to-do list once he starts his new role. But there’s one thing at the top of that list.

“First, get some sleep tonight,” he said when asked about his priorities after he became Memphis’ new AD on Wednesday and then was formally introduced on Friday.

Scott comes to Memphis from Virginia, where he was the deputy athletic director. He also has athletic director experience, having spent five years as the AD at Morgan State.

Now he’s at the helm of the Tigers athletic department when Memphis is trying to position itself in conference realignment talks. Scott needs to hire a softball coach and raise about $27 million for renovations to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

The new AD was asked about some of the more pressing issues facing his department. Here’s a rundown of what he said.

Memphis and Big 12, ACC conference realignment

Scott said Memphis would be “ready if an invitation comes” to another conference. He spoke broadly about Memphis’ place in the conference realignment picture and said he would love to compete against his former colleagues in the ACC.

“There’s really two options that everybody knows about: The Big 12 and the ACC,” he said. “I think the Big 12 is pretty firm with their membership right now. I’m coming from the ACC, there’s some lawsuits pending the last time I heard. So I don’t know what’s going to happen there. But I can tell you my job is to position us to be ready if something were to happen in one of those two conferences. I think we fit well in both.”

Scott said he believes Memphis would be competitive in both conferences with football and men’s basketball, but noted that the ACC might be the best conference for Olympic sports now that the Pac-12 is no longer. Memphis won one AAC championship in 2023-2024 across all its sports — women’s soccer, which was one of the best teams in the country all season and is the most successful program in the Tigers’ athletic department.

“We’ve got to pick it up on the Olympics side if we want to go there,” he said.

What Ed Scott said about paying athletes

Scott mentioned the House v. NCAA case a few times. While there are still plenty of details to be worked out, the settlement to resolve the case will transform college sports and allow for revenue sharing with athletes.

It’ll mean the revenue models of college sports need to be altered dramatically, but it could also create a significant gap between power conference schools and others. Scott said Memphis will opt-in to revenue sharing, but also said he viewed Memphis differently than other programs in the Group of Five.

“I think we’re at a different place than most at this level,” he said. “We’re favored, from what I’ve read so far, to be the best Group of Five football program this year. Depending on what happens in other conferences, that may open up some opportunities for us as well.”

Scott also said he’s concerned about potential Title IX ramifications to the settlement. Athletic departments will have to figure out a way to continue funding programs that have historically operated at a loss with potentially less money available because of revenue sharing. That could cause legal issues with Title IX, which requires universities to provide equal opportunities to male and female athletes. That’s usually reflected in the number of scholarship athletes each school has.

“I’m really concerned, honestly moving forward, about Title IX,” Scott said. “If you split it up a certain way, you have a chance of getting sued for Title IX infractions, because we’re a public institution that receives federal funding, but if you don’t give enough for football and men’s basketball, you could be sued that way too. So I think you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

NIL and fundraising

Scott noted that Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals would continue to be a part of college sports even when revenue sharing comes into play. He said he planned to meet with FedEx founder Fred Smith, who recently donated $25 million to NIL deals for Tigers athletes, and Memphis coaches.

He said he’d met with officials from the Bluff City Collective and the 901 Fund, the two collectives at Memphis.

“The simple answer is yes: We need more NIL money,” Scott said. “So folks who are going to watch this later, get ready to stand up. Because we’re going to come calling. But we need to do that. NIL is not going anywhere.”

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

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