AAC commissioner Tim Pernetti made what seemed to be a final plea to Memphis' administration and coaches during his campus visit on Tuesday.
Soon after, Pernetti held a media availability at the Penny Hardaway Hall of Fame. Here's what stuck out to me:
Pernetti stated that this was a prescheduled visit despite the convenient timing of his stay in Memphis, which occurred on the same day as the reports that the Pac-12 and Memphis will hold meetings regarding its membership in the west-coast-based conference.
Also, Tulane is involved in almost every realignment conversation Memphis is involved in. Two weeks ago, Pernetti was in Norman, Oklahoma, for the Green Wave's contest against the Sooners.
Pernetti was asked about the reports of Memphis holding meetings with the Pac-12 and said, "I'm assuming they're talking and meeting all the time. What they're talking about I don't really have any idea. And I actually don't care."
Yet Pernetti almost contradicted himself later when he said, "I feel great about the membership right now, especially because of the transparency and the conversations we are having."
"You can't control a lot of these things, but I know what we do control, which is how we're building the enterprise and the conference," Pernetti said. "But I felt good about the meeting (with Memphis' administration), and especially good about the transparency."
So, which is it? Is Memphis fully transparent with Pernetti and the AAC? Or is Memphis hiding its cards? Pernetti seems to have an opinion: "I don't think the speculation does anybody any good, but we do have a lot of really healthy dialogue going on around us, and it was a really productive discussion."
Pernetti said, "Everybody (in the conference) is trying to move the enterprise forward collaboratively… That's why we've been talking so aggressively about all the things we can do to grow. Private equity and private capital is one of them. Conference naming rights, jersey patches. All of these things are growth opportunities for the conference."
But I don't blame Pernetti for the pleas. As soon as he began duties on June 1st after former commissioner Mike Aresco retired, he was in a tough spot in a conference on the decline.
Portland-based journalist John Cazano reported just an hour after Pernetti's press conference that "the Pac-12 is preparing to take a second bite of the expansion apple", with Memphis and Tulane as its top targets.
Only time will tell, but all signs are pointing toward conference naming rights and jersey patches not being the Hail Mary Memphis administration wanted to see.
At the beginning of the presser, Pernetti stated that, due to his television background, he'd spent a lot of time in Memphis, but "It's been a bunch of years (since Pernetti's last visit), and seeing how athletics has devolved, and the investment that the city and the brands that are behind it and the athletic department has made is terrific for the conference."
"We need Memphis to be successful in the American for the American to be successful" Pernetti said.
Overall, the mood of Pernetti's visit and press conference felt similar to a soap opera showing of "Please don't leave me, I swear I will change!"
Reach Rivals contributor Sam Shoemaker on X @s_shoemaker52
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