Posts from the Memphis Football Category at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson is saying that the school is not discussing a move to the Big East conference ... hdespite reports saying that they are.

''No, absolutely not,'' Johnson said. ''I have had no meetings with the Big East.''

"We have no expansion plans and are speaking to no schools about expansion," Big East spokesman John) Paquette said.

However, that doesn't mean that he's not interested in leaving Conference USA. There are some rumblings that Memphis does want to move up into a BCS conference and believe they've set up their program to be an attractive addition somewhere.

The pros for staying in Conference USA is, well, domination in basketball and a shorter travel schedule. The cons are everything else (competition, mo' money, mo' exposure, etc). They'd also rejoin Louisville and Cincinnati as conference brethren.

The rumblings also have East Carolina also thinking about bolting C-USA for the Big East.

There are two off seasons in college football. The one before spring games and the one after. The one before is bearable because at least there's news about recruiting and your teams big win in the BCS bowl is still fresh in your mind. For me anyway. The one after, however, is filled with long periods of boredom and sprinkles of athletes misbehaving.

And then there's stories of the Crimson Permanent Assurance corporate raiders otherwise known as BCS conferences raiding smaller conferences for their best teams. Only this time that story is in reverse as both Memphis and East Carolina are chomping at the bit to get into the Big East.

East Carolina desperately has wanted in to the Big East since the re-formatting a few years ago. They still want to find their way in. Even if just in football.

The Big East still won't bite. They don't have to. As much as it makes things difficult to schedule in football, even a provisional, part-time new member would likely upset the delicate balance with the basketball schools. Until the conference realizes it has to split, ECU has no chance

Memphis on the other hand, seems to be in top secret negotiations with the Big East. Even though Mike Tranghese has stated way too many times for me to count that it ain't gonna happen.

Ever since the Memphis Tigers got left behind in the Great Bum Rush to leave Conference USA-- also known as the Big East expansion in 2003-- Tiger fans have had one singular goal. To follow their old rivals from Louisville, and Cincinnati to the greener pastures of the Big East. And here's where it gets interesting. Sources have confirmed to FOX13 Sports that University of Memphis officials have been in serious talks with the Big East about joining the conference.

I tend to agree with Charles that there is no way that the Big East is going to move on any of this. East Carolina is a fine football program by Conference USA standards. But would they really bring anything to the table that doesn't already exist? The conference is already littered with programs that seem to be just on the threshold of breaking the top 25. What good would one more do? And if the Big East does split, is there anything else at East Carolina that is Big East worthy?

Has Memphis basketball coach John Calipari dramatically changed the college football recruiting landscape by convincing the top high school quarterback in the country to concentrate on basketball?

That's the suggestion of Phil Fritz of the Capital Times, who cites "very reliable sources in Memphis" who say that Terrelle Pryor, a Pennsylvania high schooler who has fans of Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State drooling at his ability to run the spread offense, may very well end up at Memphis. Fritz writes that Pryor, who is listed by Rivals as the third-best small forward in the country, is being recruited by Calipari to play basketball.

I don't know Phil Fritz and have no idea who his very reliable sources in Memphis are, but I'm skeptical of this report. Earlier this week, Pryor was asked if basketball would play a part in his college choice, and he said:

"No, it won't," Pryor said. "I really like playing basketball and I'm still considering playing both football and basketball in college, but I'm not sure. I'm leaning toward just football, but I haven't decided for sure."

So, I'll take the word of Pryor over the word of anonymous sources at Memphis, even if they are "very reliable." Having said that, though, if Pryor is interested mostly in his long-term earning potential, as Fritz's report suggests, I do think basketball might be a better sport for him. Until the spread offense catches on in the NFL, I'll have more confidence that a very good high school small forward will make it in the NBA some day than I will that a great high school spread option quarterback will make it in the NFL some day. Maybe that's what Calipari has been telling Pryor.