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A year after Memphis athletics captured five American Conference titles — the most ever in a single school year since Memphis joined the conference — the Tigers won only one in 2025-26.
It was undoubtedly a difficult year for Memphis as a whole, with several key programs backsliding. The men's basketball team was coming off a season in which it won the regular-season and conference tournament titles and went to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed with an All-American in PJ Haggerty. The Tigers followed that with a historically bad 13-19 season that barely included a trip to the conference tournament.
Football had a down year, too, starting off 8-1 before cratering in November and ending the season with four consecutive losses. Women's basketball struggled all season, and coach Alex Simmons was fired in March. Women's soccer, Memphis' top program, completed an undefeated regular season and won the American before getting upset in the conference tournament and then getting beaten badly in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
There are plenty of positives and reasons for optimism, though — men's golf made the NCAA championships for the first time since 2012, while baseball finally got on track during the second half of the season, and plenty of other programs look primed to improve in 2026-27. Here's a closer look at the year that was for Memphis athletics and what to expect next season.
The Tigers went 11-2 in football in 2024, but took a step back in 2025. That didn't stop Arkansas from hiring Ryan Silverfield after the season, and now Memphis will have a new coach in Charles Huff. There's plenty of reason to believe Huff can have the Tigers competing at the top of the conference immediately, especially with three other coaching changes in the American. Memphis has not won a football conference title since 2019.
Women's basketball also will have a new coach in 2026-27. Hana Haden comes to Memphis from Georgia Southern after winning the Sun Belt regular-season title last season and has said she expects Memphis to compete near the top of the conference.
Men's basketball has a completely new roster and a new set of assistant coaches around Penny Hardaway. It would be shocking if the program didn't improve in some way next season.
Softball has struggled at Memphis for years. The Tigers have finished in last place in the American for the past six seasons.
South Florida won six conference titles across four sports to lead the way. Rice was next with five, followed by Tulsa with four and UTSA with three. No one else won more than two.
All those titles are not created equal. Tulane won the football title, which earned it a trip to the College Football Playoff and had a larger financial impact on the athletic department than all of the other titles combined. And while Olympic sports don't necessarily move the needle in conference realignment decisions, it's worth noting that Memphis athletic director Ed Scott specifically talked at his introductory news conference in 2024 about wanting to improve the Tigers' Olympic sports programs.
Addressing conference realignment, Scott said then that the ACC — which he had laid out as a potential conference realignment destination for Memphis — is strong in Olympic sports.
"We've got to pick it up on the Olympics side if we want to go there," he said at the time.
Women's soccer lost Ashley Henderson to Florida State, but coach Brooks Monaghan is bringing back first-team All-American center back Finley Lavin and the rest of last year's roster. They'll be odds-on conference title favorites again.
Men's soccer is coming off a down year but should improve in 2026. Men's basketball enters a season with plenty of pressure to make the NCAA Tournament.
Men's golf likely will be among the American favorites as well, and football has a shot to be there, even if expectations will be hard to gauge in Charles Huff's first season.
Softball, volleyball and women's basketball all finished last in the conference in 2025-26, so there's nowhere to go but up.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at [email protected] or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Where Memphis athletics teams struggled in 2025-26, American Conference
Continue reading...
It was undoubtedly a difficult year for Memphis as a whole, with several key programs backsliding. The men's basketball team was coming off a season in which it won the regular-season and conference tournament titles and went to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed with an All-American in PJ Haggerty. The Tigers followed that with a historically bad 13-19 season that barely included a trip to the conference tournament.
Football had a down year, too, starting off 8-1 before cratering in November and ending the season with four consecutive losses. Women's basketball struggled all season, and coach Alex Simmons was fired in March. Women's soccer, Memphis' top program, completed an undefeated regular season and won the American before getting upset in the conference tournament and then getting beaten badly in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
There are plenty of positives and reasons for optimism, though — men's golf made the NCAA championships for the first time since 2012, while baseball finally got on track during the second half of the season, and plenty of other programs look primed to improve in 2026-27. Here's a closer look at the year that was for Memphis athletics and what to expect next season.
Where Memphis struggled in 2025-26
The Tigers went 11-2 in football in 2024, but took a step back in 2025. That didn't stop Arkansas from hiring Ryan Silverfield after the season, and now Memphis will have a new coach in Charles Huff. There's plenty of reason to believe Huff can have the Tigers competing at the top of the conference immediately, especially with three other coaching changes in the American. Memphis has not won a football conference title since 2019.
Women's basketball also will have a new coach in 2026-27. Hana Haden comes to Memphis from Georgia Southern after winning the Sun Belt regular-season title last season and has said she expects Memphis to compete near the top of the conference.
Men's basketball has a completely new roster and a new set of assistant coaches around Penny Hardaway. It would be shocking if the program didn't improve in some way next season.
Softball has struggled at Memphis for years. The Tigers have finished in last place in the American for the past six seasons.
Who won the most American Conference titles in 2025-26?
South Florida won six conference titles across four sports to lead the way. Rice was next with five, followed by Tulsa with four and UTSA with three. No one else won more than two.
All those titles are not created equal. Tulane won the football title, which earned it a trip to the College Football Playoff and had a larger financial impact on the athletic department than all of the other titles combined. And while Olympic sports don't necessarily move the needle in conference realignment decisions, it's worth noting that Memphis athletic director Ed Scott specifically talked at his introductory news conference in 2024 about wanting to improve the Tigers' Olympic sports programs.
Addressing conference realignment, Scott said then that the ACC — which he had laid out as a potential conference realignment destination for Memphis — is strong in Olympic sports.
"We've got to pick it up on the Olympics side if we want to go there," he said at the time.
Where Memphis is set up for success in 2026-27
Women's soccer lost Ashley Henderson to Florida State, but coach Brooks Monaghan is bringing back first-team All-American center back Finley Lavin and the rest of last year's roster. They'll be odds-on conference title favorites again.
Men's soccer is coming off a down year but should improve in 2026. Men's basketball enters a season with plenty of pressure to make the NCAA Tournament.
Men's golf likely will be among the American favorites as well, and football has a shot to be there, even if expectations will be hard to gauge in Charles Huff's first season.
Softball, volleyball and women's basketball all finished last in the conference in 2025-26, so there's nowhere to go but up.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at [email protected] or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Where Memphis athletics teams struggled in 2025-26, American Conference
Continue reading...
