The possibility of joining the Big 12 has led schools to try all sorts of creative things. Lots of places, like Cincinnati and Colorado State, have sent pamphlets or promotional materials. Houston called the politicians. UCF touted video games. East Carolina is @ ing everybody on Twitter. You get the idea.

But Memphis might have had the most creative pitch yet. It sent Texas Tech some ribs. No, seriously. Via the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal:

The University of Memphis is so eager to get into the Big 12, university president M. David Rudd apparently even plied a Texas Tech counterpart with some of the city’s famous barbecue. After extolling the virtues of the university and the city in a roughly 300-word e-mail to Tech’s then-interim President John Opperman, Rudd wrote, "We have enclosed some of our famous Rendezvous ribs to share the genuine flavor of Memphis."

Sending a different style of barbecue to West Texas seems a little risky. Our Texas Tech blog, Viva The Matadors, said, "That would be like if we sent Mexico some Taco Bell."

If nothing else, a conference administrator is probably more likely to remember the university that mailed meat over one that sent another long PDF.

But does Memphis have the best possible Big 12 food bribe, if that’s what this decision comes down to, rather than athletic department size, TV markets and institutional fit? Here's my list, and you're invited to add yours in the comments.