Memphis reportedly trying and failing to take shot at joining Big 12

The Memphis Tigers have been in the American Athletic Conference since 2013. Before then, Memphis was a part of Conference USA for nearly two decades.

The Tigers are reportedly trying to take a step up conference-wise and get into one of the Power Four conferences. The problem? Memphis' bid to join the Big 12 apparently doesn't have a ton of support at the moment.

This is according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports, who is reporting that Memphis has proposed a membership package to the Big 12 that has some serious financial backing behind it.

"But the proposition is not believed to have the necessary support, for now," Dellenger added.

It was a big enough package to draw the attention of the conference, though. Big 12 officials have been reviewing the proposal for weeks now, which reportedly comes with potentially $200 million in sponsorship commitments to the Big 12 from historically Memphis-affiliated corporate partners like FedEx, Lowe’s and AutoZone.

The school would also take no money from the Big 12 over the final five years of the conference's new television deal with ESPN and Fox. It would also "subject itself to expulsion after 2030-31 if Big 12 deems it is not adding value."

This is essentially Memphis saying that it will take all the risk in an effort to join the Power Four. Unfortunately, though, according to sources that spoke with Dellenger, the Tigers have previously been vetted by the Big 12 and they did not make the cut.

“We vetted Memphis when we added the other four [Cincinnati, UCF, Houston and BYU] and chose not to add them,” a Big 12 administrator said in the report. “What’s changed now?”

Perhaps what has changed is a ton of money and very little risk coming the Big 12's way, but for now, Memphis may find itself on the outside looking in.

Notably, Dellenger did also report that the new-look Pac-12 is seriously interested in adding Memphis, but the Tigers don't seem to want to play ball with the former "conference of champions."