Why did Memphis choose to stay in the American Athletic Conference and reject a proposal to join the Pac-12?

"It came down to three things," Memphis athletic director Ed Scott said at a Thursday news conference. "One is the business side of the decision. Two, I've been at Memphis for almost 60 days, so I'm still learning about the emotional scars that Memphis feels from being left out of some other conferences. And then lastly, it really comes down to what our future looks like."

Scott spoke to the media toward the end of a whirlwind week. On Monday, the athletic department released a statement saying Memphis was committed to the AAC after the Pac-12 had offered it a spot in a rebuilt version of the conference. Memphis chose to stay in the AAC alongside Tulane, UTSA and South Florida, which also had been Pac-12 targets.

Ultimately, Scott had a direct message he wanted to hammer home Thursday: Memphis rejected the deal because officials didn't believe it was a good one.

"I know there are some people who feel a way emotionally about the decision," Scott said. "But they don't know all the information."

Officials had only hours to make a decision on the Pac-12's offer when it came, Scott said, and there was no time to counter. The Pac-12 reportedly offered only $2.5 million to help Memphis (and other AAC schools) pay conference exit fees, and Scott said that report was accurate. He also said the Memphis coaches he talked to believed the move to the Pac-12 would've helped with competition or recruiting.

That's partly because it would have been a travel strain, especially for the Tigers' Olympic sports teams. Improving those teams has been a priority for Scott since he arrived in the Bluff City.

While Scott said he was in close contact with officials from Tulane, UTSA and South Florida, he said Memphis would've left on its own if the deal had been good enough.

Some teams that have reaffirmed their status in conferences this week (like UNLV and Air Force in the Mountain West) have gotten significant financial deals to stay, but Scott said there's no deal currently for additional revenue from the AAC.

"There's nothing on the table now that says we're going to get more money," he said. "And I would also say, just contextually, you should see what the shares are of the new members. Because some of them are getting more money than they expected, but they might not be getting as much money as Memphis."

Scott has been open about his desire to get Memphis into a power conference. He said that although he's "not waiting for a promise" from Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark or ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, he's focused on trying to position Memphis for a jump down the line.

Tigers fans have expressed varying degrees of frustration about Memphis' decision, but Scott's message was direct to them, too.

"We didn't say no to Memphis' future," he said. "We said no to a deal that we thought was bad."

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: AD explains why Memphis rejected Pac-12, stayed in AAC