Calkins: Ed Scott aims to make Memphis ‘a Top 25 athletic program in America’ — believe it or not
“My goal — I want to make sure this is clear to you and everybody else — my goal is to be a Top 25 athletic program in America,” said University of Memphis athletic director Ed Scott. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)
Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
Ed Scott finally had enough.
The new athletic director at the University of Memphis had enough with the skepticism and had enough with the gloom.
“One of the things I’ve noticed about the city of Memphis — some of your counterparts and some of the folks who were on staff here — is that they’re always waiting for the next shoe to drop,” Scott said. “So if something is good, they’re not asking how you keep it going, they’re asking when is it going to stop? I don’t live my life that way.
“So I finally said in some meetings, ‘Look, I need believers. If you’re not going to believe in what we’re doing, you might as well leave.’”
Scott decided it wasn’t enough to say that — he wanted it emblazoned on a T-shirt and hung on his wall. He asked Terrence Lollie, the senior associate athletic director, to see if he could get that done.
So sure enough, right now there’s a framed T-shirt in Scott’s office just waiting to be hung.
“I need believers,” the T-shirt says.
Scott has the perfect spot for it, just inside the door.
“I’m going to put it up there so that when people come in and they don’t believe, I’m just going to point to it,” Scott said. “I’ve told you from the beginning, I told everybody in my press conference, I genuinely believe in what this place can be.”
And what can it be?
Topics
Ed Scott University of Memphis Geoff Calkins Penny Hardaway Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
Subscribers to The Daily Memphian help fund our not-for-profit newsroom of nearly 40 local journalists plus more than 20 freelancers, all of whom work around the clock to cover the issues impacting our community. Subscriptions - and donations - also help fund our community access programs which provide free access to K-12 schools, community organizations, and more. Thank you for making our work possible.
Geoff Calkins on demand
Never miss an article. Sign up to receive Geoff Calkins' stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Related stories
Memphis AD: Tigers football has the ‘right guy leading us’
Ed Scott also gave updates on Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium and Liza Wellford Fletcher Stadium.
U of M’s Ed Scott solidifies executive leadership team
Cooper Jones and Katherine Sulentic will serve as deputy athletics directors under the Tigers’ new AD. Sulentic comes to Memphis after 14 years as the NCAA’s associate director of enforcement, investigations and processing.
Martin: As Tigers reach Maui title game, Penny Hardaway proves he belongs
Just before the season started, some national media suggested Penny Hardaway was on the hot seat. Well, if Hardaway was on the hot seat, the man has spent the week dumping a bathtub of water from the Pacific Ocean on the flame.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.