As widespread speculation surrounding the Pac-12's courtship of the University of Memphis stretched into a second week, Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway was feeling diplomatic Monday.

Six weeks away from the Tigers' season opener against Missouri (Nov. 4 at FedExForum), Hardaway was asked whether he has an opinion regarding whether the school should stay in the American Athletic Conference or accept the Pac-12's reported offer.

"I'm loyal to where I'm at. Obviously, the AAC is a better conference than people are giving it credit for," said Hardaway, who was at TPC Southwind in Memphis to play in the Bluff City Collective Golf Classic. "The dreams and hopes of this conference is to maybe merge or get bigger. That's not a bad idea. But I'm hearing all the talks and I'm just basically letting the administration, the AD and the president and those guys handle that, and just be ready. But, for now, proud to represent the AAC."

Not more than an hour after Hardaway met with local media, multiple reports surfaced indicating Memphis is expected to remain in the AAC.

Numerous reports initially identified Memphis as the Pac-12's primary target in its continued expansion efforts. Earlier this month, the once-power conference lured Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State and San Diego State away from the Mountain West. Those schools join Washington State and Oregon State − the only holdovers from the mass exodus that began in 2022.

Pac-12 officials are reportedly hoping add at least two more programs before the 2026-27 season in order to meet NCAA and College Football Playoff requirements.

Memphis joined the AAC in 2013.

Hardaway said he has not offered nor has he been asked for his input on the matter by new athletic director Ed Scott or university president Bill Hardgrave.

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"I think what they do is they have the meetings of the minds. Because they know what they want," said Hardaway.

"They understand I'm gonna have their back 100%, whatever they choose. I don't have anything negative to say about any of their decision-making. It's just a part of what's going on in today's game. As we've seen around the country. All these realignments and different teams going all over the place, man. You know, teams that were in Pac-12 are in Big Ten now. It's hard to keep up with. But, hey, everybody's making those decisions for themselves now."

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Penny Hardaway shares thoughts about prospect of Memphis joining Pac-12