Incredible: U. of Memphis reportedly has a supporter (FedEx) who wants to buy the school's way into a BCS conference

From CBSsports.com comes this somewhat-horrifying story.

According to the story, which would be a whopper of an embarrassment to the Web site if it isn't true, FedEx CEO Fred Smith is prepared to spend tens of millions of dollars to get the University of Memphis placed in a BCS conference.

Smith's son, Cannon Smith, is a quarterback at Memphis.

This snippet is from the story:

But it should be noted that FedEx decided last month that it will not renew its entitlement of the Orange Bowl for the first time in 21 years. That move, one of the sources said, helped free money in the budget to possibly push Memphis into a power conference.

And:

Memphis already plays basketball games inside FedExForum -- an 18,000-seat arena where FedEx owns naming rights through a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis in a BCS-league and thus on television more often would increase the value of those naming rights, which is something Smith recognizes, the source said before adding that such is only a small part of the motivating factor behind this effort.

The Big Ten and Pac-10 won't be biting. It doesn't seem like an ACC move, either. And the Southeastern Conference, with its lucrative television contracts, hardly needs to sell out to a ploy like this.

If the Big East took FedEx's cash, maybe that would be enough to propel Notre Dame to shed that league and cast its lot with the Big Ten, after all.