FEDEX got Gee on board with $ - this is not history repeating itself - FEDEX is shelling it out now
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/15833061/big-businesses-helping-big-12-expansion-candidates
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2016/05/11/fedex-vows-major-big-12-sponsorship-boost-memphis-bid/84223350/
FedEx vows major Big 12 sponsorship as boost to Memphis bid
The ESPN.com report also says Memphis vowed to make a $500 million investment in academic and athletic infrastructure during the next five years — an amount that President M. David Rudd has publicly touted, including in a December 2015 blog post, as already under way.
The report — compiled from documents sent to West Virginia president Gordon Gee, one of three members of the Big 12 composition committee — detailed FedEx's involvement. In a letter Smith wrote to Rudd in late February, Smith said FedEx would be willing to support the expansion bid by becoming a major sponsor of conference football and basketball, including sponsorship of a Big 12 football championship game. Rudd sent his letter, and the letter from Smith, to Gee. Two other members of the Big 12's composition committee — Oklahoma president David Boren and Baylor president Ken Starr — were copied on the documents.