For the first time in decades, Memphis football is not scheduled to face a power conference opponent in 2026. Other than 2020, when a matchup against Purdue was canceled, Memphis has played a power conference opponent in every season going back to at least 1960. That won't be the case in 2026, when the Tigers will face Boise State, UNLV, Arkansas State and UT-Martin in non-conference play. Memphis won't play a power conference opponent in 2027, either. “If we can get P4s to play us, we’ll play them," athletic director Ed Scott said on "The Gary Parrish Show" on Aug. 18. "If I was the athletic director at certain P4s, especially in the geographic area we live in, I would not play Memphis. It’s not a win-win for them like it is for us.”
Football scheduling is done years and sometimes decades in advance, so Scott hasn't had much control over Memphis' future schedules. The SEC's move to nine conference games also creates a hurdle for Memphis, and it's the reason Arkansas moved a planned 2026 game to 2030. “If we don’t have a P4, we want to play the best Group of Six teams that we can," Scott said. Memphis is doing that in 2026. Boise State and UNLV are considered the top two teams in the preseason Group of Six pecking order, and the Tigers are facing both on the road. As for conference scheduling: Scott said he has talked with American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti about Memphis' unbalanced conference schedules. The Tigers have been playing UAB, South Florida, Navy and Tulane each year, with all of the games but UAB grouped together as all home games or all road games each season. In 2026, Memphis will face South Florida, Navy and Tulane on the road. Scott said he wants to flip that because it means Memphis' home schedule varies drastically each year (affecting ticket sales) and the schedule difficulty is significantly higher when Memphis faces those teams on the road. He also talked about conference realignment, saying he believes Memphis is in a good spot if there is major realignment movement related to the Protect College Sports Act. “If there is movement now and the plates shift, I feel really good about where we sit and who is in our bubble with some schools like a South Florida, Boise (State) and some others," Scott said. "I like the company we’re in right now.” Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What Memphis AD Ed Scott said about conference realignment, football scheduling