UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

In the most recent era of major conference realignment, the University of Memphis’ athletic ambitions were sabotaged at every turn by the school’s flimsy commitment to football. For all of its basketball success over four decades, its passionate local fan base and its generous corporate support through Memphis-based shipping giant FedEx, the negative perception of Memphis as a major conference candidate was fueled by its longstanding inability to get football right. But just a handful of years after sinking to depths that made some fans wonder whether the program should be eliminated, the Tigers have finally gotten football right under a rising star coach in Justin Fuente. “We’re the best fit for the Power Five, period, and my colleagues and everybody (in the industry) knows it,” athletics director Tom Bowen told USA TODAY Sports. “We’ve had to build it one game at a time, and finally after three years of pushing the envelope we’re in the perfect position. – Dan Wolken, USA Today, Read More