MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The University of Memphis introduced its next athletic director, Dr. Ed Scott, in a press conference Friday, and he left fans with no doubt as to where he stands on the Tigers' prospects of entering a Power Five conference.
Scott, who previously worked as the deputy athletics director at the University of Virginia, was introduced Friday as the eighth athletic director in school history, and the U of M's first Black athletic director, a distinction Scott said he doesn't take lightly.
"I think about all the Black and Brown little children who aspire to be [an athletic director] who are going to look at me, and if I'm successful, they're going to think they have a chance," Scott said. "To me that is powerful … I'm everybody's [athletic director], I happen to be Black - and that's important - but I'm the [athletic director] for everyone in this department."
Scott told the media he wants to be in Memphis, and wants to elevate the athletic program to new heights, speaking specifically of the Big 12 and ACC, Power Five conferences that previously passed the Tigers over during conference realignment.
"My job is to position us to be ready if something were to happen in of those two conferences," Scott said. "I think we fit well in both. Wherever we go, I just want to be the best Memphis can be and I want to make you all proud."
The Big 12 announced its expansion in 2021, adding Memphis' former conference rivals UCF, Cincinnati and Houston by 2023 from the American Athletic Conference.
SMU, also a former American Athletic Conference member, joined the ACC and will play its first seasons for the Power Five conference in 2024.
Among these four teams, Memphis ranks first in football wins and second in men's basketball wins since 2014.