This conference for rent

There’s a lot that sucks in the realignment shuffle we’re watching, but if this comes to fruition, everything else pales in comparison:

FedEx CEO Fred Smith has spoken to various conference officials and made it known that his Memphis-based company could provide millions of dollars — perhaps as much as $10 million annually — to a BCS-affiliated league willing to offer an invitation to the University of Memphis, multiple sources close to the Memphis program have told CBSSports.com.

“It could be $10 million every year for a conference to use however it sees fit,” said one of the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “When you think of the big picture, it could be the equivalent of a five-year, $50 million contract or a 10-year, $100-million contract. Fred is talking about a massive amount of money.”

Though almost anything imaginable remains a possibility, the most likely scenario in this ongoing expansion frenzy, according to multiple sources, is for Memphis to receive an invitation from the Big East soon or after some of the Big East’s current members move to the Big Ten. But, a source said, “it’s hard to tell how this is going to shake out.”

It’s enough to make you switch to UPS.

The sad thing is that if this actually goes down, some pundit out there will hail it as a bold new business model for college athletics.