The American Athletic Conference, a league born from the collapse of Big East football eight years ago, is back in rebuild mode.
This time, when we started courting new members, we were able to find a market competition with Sun Belt.
Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston, AAC’s three most successful schools in football and men’s basketball revenue-generating sports, have announced they will be joining the Big 12 on Friday. latest.
Meanwhile, the Sun Belt Conference has sent a signal that could add to the 10-member football league.
“I don’t think Sunbelt can be in a better position for now,” Sunbelt Commissioner Keith Gil told AP. “As a league, we are stronger than ever. We certainly think we will be the best non-autonomous FBS conference in the country, especially after these moves, but definitely even before. increase.”
AAC won the best titles at major college football conferences other than Power Five during the College Football Playoff era (2014-present). Americans advertised themselves as P5- companions in their Power Six campaign-despite the huge revenue gap.
“Today’s news confirms what we’ve been saying about our status as a power conference,” AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco said in a statement. “The irony that three schools are being commissioned instead of two marquee schools leaving the Big 12 is not lost to us. Our conference is designed to address our success. The aim was to exceed expectations with no system. “
UCF, Houston, and Cincinnati make up four of America’s five New Year’s Six Bowl appearances, and at least one of six of the conference’s seven football championship games. Cincinnati is currently ranked 7th in the country.
The three also had AAC influence in court. Each has hosted at least one NCAA tournament in the last three years. Cincinnati is a regular tournament and Houston reached the final four in April.
“All three institutions, like the rest of the school, have had unprecedented success as American members,” said Aresco.
The AAC Bylaws require members to be notified 27 months in advance before leaving school, but there is precedent for early withdrawal and financial resolution between the school and the league.
“Our expectation is to play soccer in the Big 12 in 2023,” Houston athletic director Chris Pezman told the Houston Chronicle.
In the final round of the radical conference reorganization, prominent Big East football schools such as Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia and Louisville were poached by Power Five, leaving the conference’s basketball-centric school out of the rest of the group. bottom.
Former CBS executive Aresco was hired during the turmoil of 2012 and succeeded in rebuilding football’s first conference by adding schools such as Houston, UCF, SMU, Traine and Navy. In 2013, the American Athletic Conference brand name was changed.
AAC signed a $ 1 billion contract with ESPN for 12 years in 2019. This seemed to solidify its position in the so-called Group of Five conferences. It’s unclear if the deal will remain profitable after Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston leave, and if Americans can add schools to replace the lost value of ESPN.
“Our remaining schools are unwavering in our commitment to the highest levels of competition and success and do not allow external factors to cap our potential,” Aresco said.
But how attractive are Americans, without leaving three schools and without a reduction in television contracts?
Aresco sought to bring Boise and San Diego from the Mountain West to Americans in 2012. Americans have also tried to persuade the Army to join a rival Navy at AAC in the past. The Air Force from Mountain West will also be attractive.
UAB has reappeared since the end of the football program and has become the strongest team at Conference USA in the last three seasons. In addition, it is in a market with a greedy desire to watch college football on television.
Meanwhile, Sunbelt will have its best ever football season in 2020, putting Coastal Carolina and Louisiana Lafayette in the final AP Top 25.
Gil said the university president and athletic director of the conference met on Thursday to discuss how Sunbelt could take advantage of the changing landscape.
“One of the things we talked about is whether there are schools that add value to the Sun Belt. We certainly consider them memberships,” he said. “We are not necessarily aiming for growth, but we are certainly opportunistic.”
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https://twitter.com/ralphDrusso RalphD at AP. Follow Russo and listen at https://APpodcast.com.
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Sun Belt finds a chance and AAC goes into rebuild mode | WGN Radio 720
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