Coach Andy Mac

For the sake of the league's future it would be beneficial if Memphis, Wichita State, SMU, Tulsa and Templecould start to establish themselves as the class of the new-look league by displaying the basketball acumen that has defined their programs in the past. If that group can collectively make progress in the 2021-22 season, then perhaps the AAC can position itself to retain "major conference" status among college basketball's punditry even after the Cougars and Bearcats are gone. CBS Sports AAC Preseason Coach of the Year Penny Hardaway, Memphis Early in his tenure, Penny Hardaway seemed hellbent on playing a villainous role in college basketball and sticking it to the sport's power establishment. He wanted "all the smoke," he said and has gotten plenty of it through three seasons on the job. But as Hardaway enters Year Four, the former Tigers' great and NBA All-Star is poised for a breakthrough. With the nation's No. 1 recruiting class joining an impressive nucleus of returning talent, the Tigers should make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his tenure and advance beyond the first weekend. read more: https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/aac-expert-picks-2021-22-projected-order-of-finish-bold-predictions-most-overrated-and-underrated-teams/amp/

Is Missouri State in a position where it could leave the MVC for Conference USA? Amid the conference realignment shift that has rocked college athletics in recent months, Missouri State has finally been mentioned as a school that could be interested in moving. Matt Brown, the publisher of a college athletics newsletter called "Extra Points," reported Monday evening that Missouri State could be in the mix to move to Conference USA. Brown has been a reliable source in recent conference realignment news. He was the first to report that Belmont is on its way to the Missouri Valley Conference. Read more: https://www.news-leader.com/story/sports/college/msu/2021/10/26/conference-usa-missouri-state-football-basketball-possibility-realignment-from-mvc/8545166002/

“This is a strategic expansion that accomplishes a number of goals as we take the conference into its second decade,” commissioner Mike Aresco said in a press release. “We are adding excellent institutions that are established in major cities and have invested in competing at the highest level.” Bleh. As if being left out of the initial Big 12 expansion did not sting enough already, the uninspiring expansion announcement almost felt like salt being rubbed in the wound for Memphis. read more: https://www.dailyhelmsman.com/online_features/opinion-aac-announces-less-than-inspiring-expansion-plans/article_d5ff99a4-35d7-11ec-bdb8-0f1f7f985f40.html

The latest domino in the realignment bonanza has fallen, and it has put the future of Conference USA in doubt. Southern Miss announced Tuesday that it has accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference, with the school making the move no later than July 1, 2023. "Today is a great day for Southern Miss. I want to thank Commissioner [Keith] Gill and the Board of Directors within the Sun Belt for their faith in our institution and our ability to add value to the conference," said Southern Mississippi athletic director Jeremy McClain. "We are excited about adding our rich tradition of success and passionate fan base to a conference that values those attributes, and look forward to working together to continue to elevate the Sun Belt on the national stage." Southern Miss has been a member of Conference USA since the creation of the league in 1995. It has five C-USA football championships under its belt, with the last one coming in 2011. read more: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/southern-miss-joins-sun-belt-with-two-more-conference-usa-teams-fcs-program-expected-to-follow/amp/

College enrollment was supposed to bounce back this fall. Instead, more students opted out. Nationwide, fewer students went back to school again this year, dragging undergraduate enrollment down another 3.2% from last year, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center that’s based on early data from colleges. There were roughly 17.5 million students enrolled as of the last tally. read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/26/due-to-covid-college-enrollment-saw-largest-two-year-drop-in-50-years.html

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Amid the departure of six schools from Conference USA and frenzied speculation about Western Kentucky University’s place within the league, WKU President Timothy Caboni made the university’s current position clear Friday. “I know individuals in our community would like all the information that we have at hand, but that’s not really a helpful position to take when we’re in the midst of negotiations and conversations,” Caboni said as WKU’s Board of Regents met in committee. “I will say this: The presidents in the conference have been working hard with their colleagues to talk about the future of Conference USA. There are conversations happening about those that might join, those who enjoy being with us,” Caboni added. Caboni also seemed to address critics on social media who have demanded more information from the university. “Those of us who are involved in these conversations here and across the country – I can guarantee you are not putting the content of them on Twitter,” he said. read more: https://www.bgdailynews.com/news/caboni-addresses-speculation-around-wkus-future-in-c-usa/article_23d37716-5723-503f-85cc-531a1378b436.html

Another game we should not have lost.

North Texas Mean Green Location, Denton, Texas. Enrollment: 40,796. Football stadium (capacity): Apogee Stadium (30,850) Current record: 1-5, under coach Set Littrell. Notable: Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Greene’s alma mater was also coached by College Football Hall of Famer Hayden Fry. More recently, North Texas had a solid run of three straight bowl appearances that included a Conference USA title game, but the team is head for its third straight losing season. read more: https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiOWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmlzbGFuZHBhY2tldC5jb20vc3BvcnRzL2FydGljbGUyNTUxODYyOTcuaHRtbNIBOWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmlzbGFuZHBhY2tldC5jb20vc3BvcnRzL2FydGljbGUyNTUxODYyOTcuaHRtbA?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

The refs are horrible.

Subtracting three of the better programs in all sports, especially football and basketball, and replacing them with six mid-level teams, should put ECU closer to the top of the league in the coming years. When the Pirates made the transition from C-USA to the AAC, they had a buffer year in 2013 against some of the new teams in Conference USA - like FAU, Middle Tennessee State and FIU - where they defeated them and rattled off 10 wins for the second time in school history. ECU had superior football talent to those teams in that year, and a similar gap should stand for the most part once these six programs enter the league, as the AAC has been a much better league from top to bottom over the last number of years, in both performance, notoriety and recruiting. And if media reports are accurate, remaining AAC schools like ECU will continue to make nearly $7 million annually in television revenue, the most among any ‘G5’ programs. https://247sports.com/college/east-carolina/Article/AAC-Expansion-ECU-Football-Now-Presented-With-Opportunity-173566683/Amp/?__twitter_impression=true

DALLAS — SMU now has a familiar face in the same conference. The University of North Texas on Thursday officially accepted an invitation to the American Athletic Conference, which lost three schools in the latest round of college athletics realignment. Rice, the University of Texas-San Antonio, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic and the University of Alabama-Birmingham are also joining the AAC. Moving into the American Athletic Conference is a proud moment not only for our athletics program but for our entire university," UNT President Neal Smatresk said. "As UNT has grown and made numerous advances in our academic programs and research enterprise in recent years, elevating our athletics program into a more prestigious conference like The American is a natural progression. This is an exciting new beginning for us.” read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wfaa.com/amp/article/sports/college/unt-smu-acc-realignment/287-755a1d29-c14d-4937-aada-9d36f63f5b14

The most anticipated question and one that has yet to be fully answered is the fiscal ramifications and payouts for new members. The AAC’s current contract with ESPN runs through the 2031-2032 season, paying approximately $6 million annually and set to increase over time, but three primary institutions heading to the Big 12 require a restructuring of payouts among current and incoming members. “We’re engaging with ESPN, we’ll deal downstream with our media deal,” Aresco said. “I can say this: ESPN believes in the growth potential of this league. They’ve been a superb partner and I’m confident we’ll be supported. I don’t want to get into the financial details, we never do, but we can support our expansion.” “As we bring schools in, we want them to feel that they are fully integrated into the conference and that they are full partners,” he added. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.al.com/uab/2021/10/questions-arise-as-uab-accepts-invite-to-aac.html%3foutputType=amp

Thursday brought another helping of conference-realignment news, with the American Athletic Conference announcing that it will add six schools — UAB, Texas San Antonio, Rice, North Texas, Charlotte and Florida Atlantic — to replace the three that are soon to depart for the Big 12. On paper, that would be the headline. On a paper plate, the news is much bigger, because the AAC’s addition of UAB means college football’s — nay, the world’s — most delicious rivalry now is set to resume. The Blazers and Memphis will soon be conference rivals again, which means they will once more battle for a trophy styled after a giant rack of ribs. The Battle of the Bones (sometimes referred to as the Battle for the Bones) rivalry began in 2006 when the Blazers and Tigers were members of Conference USA and played every year. In a nod toward Birmingham’s and Memphis’s status as two of the United States’ premier barbecue hubs, the schools decided to start playing for the right to hoist a 100-pound bronze rack of ribs created by Heather Spencer, sculptor in residence at Birmingham’s Sloss Furnace. A delicious tradition was born. Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/10/21/aac-expansion-battle-of-the-bones/

UNT Athletics: North Texas Accepted as Member of the American Athletic Conference Play in The American to begin at a date determined by league officials DENTON, Texas – The University of North Texas has been accepted as a new member of the American Athletic Conference and will begin competition at a date determined by league officials. “Moving into the American Athletic Conference is a proud moment not only for our athletics program but for our entire university," UNT President Neal Smatresk said. "As UNT has grown and made numerous advances in our academic programs and research enterprise in recent years, elevating our athletics program into a more prestigious conference like The American is a natural progression. This is an exciting new beginning for us.” UNT, established in 1890, has more than 42,000 students and is a Carnegie-ranked Tier One public research university. Athletically, the Mean Green have won 136 conference championships all-time across 12 different sports. “On behalf of the University of North Texas, I want to thank Commissioner Mike Aresco and members of the American Athletic Conference for this incredible opportunity,” UNT Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker said. “Today marks a transformational step forward for the University of North Texas and one all our alumni and fans should be proud of.” The 2020-21 academic year saw the Mean Green continue its upward momentum. Three Mean Green teams won conference championships, and the men’s basketball team became the first team in school history to win a first-round NCAA Tournament game. Additionally, the Mean Green earned its fourth bowl berth in five years with a trip to the 2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl. Academically, UNT student-athletes completed their fourth and fifth consecutive semesters above a 3.0 cumulative GPA, which is the longest such streak in department history. “We talk often about maximizing the opportunities right in front of us and this is a testament to the work and investment made by so many across our campus and our athletics department,” Baker continued. “I’m excited about the future as we continue to deliver on our commitment to Build Champions and Prepare Leaders as members of the American Athletic Conference.” Also set to join The American as soon as 2023 are Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice, UAB and UTSA. The new invites join existing members East Carolina, Memphis, Navy (football only), SMU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, USF, Wichita State. The American will have a presence in four of the top 10, seven of the top 25 and 12 of the top 51 Nielsen media markets. The league will have four teams in the state of Texas, two each in Florida and North Carolina and one each in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and Kansas. UNT has competed as a member of Conference USA since 2013. North Texas was a member of the Sun Belt Conference beginning in 2001. The American Athletic Conference Under the leadership of commissioner Mike Aresco, the American Athletic Conference has fashioned an impressive list of accomplishments in the competitive arena, in the classroom and in support of student-athlete welfare. The American is firmly established as a Power 6 conference thanks to its collection of national team and individual championships, football and basketball postseason victories, expansive media rights contract with ESPN, and its commitment to providing the highest levels of support for student-athletes. The American announced a lucrative and comprehensive media rights extension with ESPN in May of 2019, providing the conference with a stronger and more extensive presence on ESPN’s primary television networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU). Since the extension took effect in the 2020-21 academic year, a minimum of 40 regular-season football telecasts and 60 regular-season men’s basketball games per season will appear on those primary networks. Nearly every conference-controlled game in all sports will appear either on an ESPN network or on ESPN+. The football championship game, all rounds of the men’s basketball championship, and multiple rounds of the women’s basketball championship, will be on linear ESPN television networks. The first six American Athletic Conference Football Championships were televised by ABC as part of Championship Saturday. Subsequent championship games will appear on either ABC or ESPN through the duration of the 12-year extension. American Athletic Conference teams have access to the pinnacle of college football’s postseason structure. An American representative would be chosen for the College Football Playoff semifinals if it is among the top four teams in the CFP selection committee’s final ranking. Otherwise, the league would place its champion in a New Year’s Bowl if it is ranked higher than the champions of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference. Additionally, The American holds primary or secondary partnerships with an expansive group bowls for the new cycle, which began in 2020, ensuring multiple annual matchups against the nation’s top conferences and providing desirable postseason destinations for member institutions. Away from the competitive arena, The American has established itself as a leader in the area of student-athlete wellness, both through the adoption of NCAA autonomous legislation on matters including full cost of attendance and nutrition. The conference, in conjunction with its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has also launched the Pow6rful Minds campaign to improve awareness and education on mental issues and recognize the scholarly achievements of the conference’s student-athletes.

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IRVING, Texas – The American Athletic Conference Board of Directors and Commissioner Mike Aresco announced today that six universities have had their applications for membership in The American approved by the conference’s nine continuing members. The six new institutions, whose membership in The American will begin on a date to be determined, will be: The University of Alabama at Birmingham – Birmingham, Alabama Florida Atlantic University – Boca Raton, Florida The University of North Carolina at Charlotte – Charlotte, North Carolina The University of North Texas – Denton, Texas Rice University – Houston, Texas The University of Texas at San Antonio – San Antonio, Texas The six universities will join the nine continuing members – East Carolina, Memphis, Navy (football only), South Florida, SMU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa and Wichita State (basketball and Olympic sports only) - to bring The American’s membership to 15 schools. The American will compete as a 14-team league in football and in men’s and women’s basketball, among other sports. “On behalf of the American Athletic Conference presidents, I look forward to years of healthy competition with our six new members,” said Michael Fitts, President of Tulane University and Chair of The American’s Board of Directors. “I am confident that we have not only added fine institutions that share our collective ambition for national success, but we have done so in a deliberate and sensible way that will contribute to the long-term future of the conference.” “I am extremely pleased to welcome these six outstanding universities to the American Athletic Conference,” said Aresco. “This is a strategic expansion that accomplishes a number of goals as we take the conference into its second decade. We are adding excellent institutions that are established in major cities and have invested in competing at the highest level. We have enhanced geographical concentration which will especially help the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball and Olympic sports teams. And we will continue to provide valuable inventory to our major media rights partner, ESPN, which will feature our members on the most prominent platforms in sports media. Additionally, we increase the value in live content options for CBS Sports, which features selected men’s basketball games from the conference.” The American will have a presence in four of the top 10, seven of the top 25 and 12 of the top 51 Nielsen media markets. The league will have four teams in the state of Texas, two each in Florida and North Carolina and one each in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and Kansas. The University of Alabama at Birmingham was founded in 1969 and enrolls more than 22,500 undergraduate and graduate students. The university holds R1 research status in the Carnegie Classification and is a national leader in health care and administration, including the No. 1-ranked master’s program in health care management by U.S. News & World Report. The university is centrally located among The American’s membership and is situated in the Birmingham DMA, which has been ranked No. 1 nationally in college football television ratings for 19 consecutive years. UAB has recently enjoyed several years of record enrollment, and welcomed its largest-ever freshman class this fall. One in four residents of Birmingham are UAB students, employees or patients of the UAB Health System, while the university accounts for one in every 31 jobs in the state of Alabama. UAB sponsors 18 sports, including 15 that will compete in the American Athletic Conference. The Blazers have won two Conference USA championships since the return of football in 2017 and partnered with the city of Birmingham and the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center to introduce the 42,000-seat Protective Stadium in 2021. UAB has made 15 NCAA tournament appearance in men’s basketball, advancing to the Eight Eight in 1982, and has 10 postseason appearances in women’s basketball, including an NCAA Sweet 16. In addition to Protective Stadium, UAB has developed a 46,000-square-foot football operations center and is constructing a state-of-the-art basketball practice facility that will be completed in the spring of 2022. The Blazers’ baseball team plays at the 8,500-seat Regions Field, while the track and field teams compete at the Birmingham CrossPlex, which has hosted four American Athletic Conference indoor championships, and an outdoor complex that opened in 2019. The men’s and women’s soccer teams play at the 5,000-seat BBVA Field, which is considered among the nation’s finest on-campus soccer-only facilities. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte was founded in 1946 and has rapidly become North Carolina’s urban research university, providing critical discovery, business incubation and workforce development for the Charlotte region and beyond. It is the third-largest institution in the UNC System with nearly 30,500 undergraduate and graduate students and more than 150,000 living alumni. UNC Charlotte is recognized nationally as a leader in innovation, social mobility and student success. Charlotte sponsors 18 varsity sports, all of which will compete in The American. The 49ers’ football program began in 2013, moved to the FBS level in 2015 and played in a bowl game for the first time in 2019. The men’s basketball program, which began NCAA Division I play in the 1970-71 season, became the youngest to reach the NCAA Final Four when the 49ers played in the 1977 national semifinals. Charlotte has made 11 NCAA tournament appearances in men’s basketball and has made 15 NCAA appearances in men’s soccer, including two College Cup appearances. The 49ers unveiled Jerry Richardson Stadium in 2013, in conjunction with the launch of the football program. The facility was constructed to be expandable to 40,000 seats and is adjacent to the Judy Rose Football Center, which houses the football operations and administrative functions. The basketball and volleyball programs play in the 9,105-seat Halton Arena, while the baseball and softball teams play in newly renovated facilities within the 49ers' on campus athletics complex. Belk Track and Field Center/Transamerica Field is a 4,000-seat venue that has hosted numerous NCAA soccer tournament matches and is also home to the 49ers' accomplished track and field program. Florida Atlantic University was established in 1961 and serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students representing all 50 states and 140 countries. FAU is the most diverse public university in the state of Florida and has been designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the United States Department of Education. FAU’s main campus, in Boca Raton, is located less than three miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The university is part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale media market, which is ranked No. 18 by Nielsen and is a key recruiting area both locally and nationally. FAU’s recent investment in athletics includes the 2020 opening of the $49 million Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence, a modern facility that houses the football suite, academic computer labs and an 11,600-square-foot weight and cardio room. FAU sponsors 19 sports, including 18 that will compete in The American. The Owls’ football program began in the 2001 season and debuted the near-30,000-seat FAU Stadium in 2011 and has won three conference titles, including two Conference USA championships in the last four years. The Owls have made five bowl appearances, going 4-1 in bowls. The baseball program has made 12 NCAA regional appearances. The University of North Texas was established in 1890 and currently enrolls more than 42,000 students and counts nearly 500,000 living alumni. North Texas is one of the nation’s largest and most diverse universities, with recognition as both a Minority-Serving Institution and a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The university holds R1 research status from the Carnegie Classification. North Texas has embarked on a 20-year plan to modernize all of the institution’s athletics facilities and provide added support to student-athletes. The first phases of that project included a 98,000-square-foot indoor practice facility and a new soccer and track and field stadium – both of which opened in 2019. North Texas has 16 varsity sports, all of which will compete in The American. The Mean Green football team played in the Conference USA championship game in 2017 and won four consecutive conference titles from 2001-04. North Texas won the 2021 conference title in men’s basketball and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship, while the Mean Green women’s soccer team has never had a losing season, has won 16 conference championships and has advanced to seven NCAA tournaments in 26 years. North Texas has won four NCAA championships in men’s golf. Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 4,052 undergraduates and 3,484 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 1 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. Rice has invested in a number of capital projects to support athletics at the highest level. Recent enhancements to the athletics profile include construction of a football operations center, a new indoor training facility, the endowment of the head coaching position and an AstroTurf game field at Rice Stadium. Additional upgrades include enhanced locker rooms, lounges and meeting spaces for basketball and volleyball at Tudor Fieldhouse; premium seating, an indoor batting facility and a next-generation pitching and batting lab at Reckling Park; the opening of the state-of-the-art George R. Brown Tennis Center; and the opening of a new team building for soccer, cross country and track and field teams. Rice’s addition to The American maintains the conference’s presence in the city of Houston, the nation’s fifth-largest metropolitan area and home to the headquarters of 22 Fortune 500 companies. Rice sponsors 16 varsity sports that will compete in the American Athletic Conference. Rice was a charter member of the Southwest Conference and has a football pedigree that includes three Cotton Bowl wins as well as an Orange Bowl victory. The Owls won the 2003 NCAA Championship in baseball and have made seven College World Series appearances. The University of Texas at San Antonio is a Hispanic Serving Institution that is on a rapid trajectory to become a model for student success, a great public research university, and an exemplar for strategic growth and innovative excellence. To achieve this bold vision, UTSA is advancing a $500 million capital campaign and a $500 million academic capital projects effort. Since its founding in 1969, UTSA has become a prosperity engine for San Antonio and a driver of social mobility for its graduates. The university serves 34,700 students pursuing bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in science, engineering, business, architecture, education, liberal and fine arts and health. Fifty-seven percent of UTSA’s students are Hispanic, and 45% will be the first in their families to earn a college degree. Its alumni network of more than 142,000 spans all 50 states. As an urban serving university, UTSA is tackling society’s grand challenges, drawing on its academic and research specialties include health, cybersecurity, fundamental futures and social-economic transformation. The university is consistently recognized in Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings. It is also on the fast track to earn Texas’ National Research University Fund eligibility and the prestigious R1 designation from the Carnegie Classification. UTSA develops champions on the field, in the classroom and in life. It is the only public NCAA Division I institution in the city of San Antonio, the nation’s seventh largest city, and one of the largest in the nation without an NFL franchise. It is the second-largest city in Texas, has one of the largest Hispanic populations in the United States and is home to more than 400 corporate headquarters. San Antonio has hosted 19 NCAA Championships since 1997, including four Men’s Final Fours and three Women’s Final Fours. UTSA will host the 2025 Men’s Final Four. UTSA sponsors 17 varsity sports, all of which will compete in The American. The Roadrunners play their home football games at the 64,000-seat Alamodome. Their first home football game in 2011 garnered 56,743 spectators. UTSA tied an NCAA record by reaching a bowl game in their sixth season with their appearance in the 2016 New Mexico Bowl while the university made its second bowl appearance in 2020 with its trip to the First Responder Bowl. UTSA unveiled its 95,000-square-foot Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence in August and is embarking on an expansive athletics capital projects effort to develop a new 10,000-seat arena for basketball and volleyball, new baseball and softball stadiums, a dedicated basketball/volleyball training facility and a standalone facility for soccer and track-and-field. The six new members join a conference that has achieved unprecedented success in the league’s first eight seasons. In football alone, Memphis has registered three 10-win seasons in the last six years (2015, 2017, 2019), including a school-record 12 wins and a Cotton Bowl appearance in 2019. Navy won a program-record 11 games in 2015 and matched that mark in 2019. Temple enjoyed its first 10-win season in school history in 2015. South Florida finished in the top 25 for the first two times in program history (2016, 2017). SMU returned to national prominence in 2019 with a 10-win season, during which the Mustangs were ranked as high as No. 14 nationally. Tulsa returned to the top 25 for the first time in 11 years in 2020. East Carolina earned a top-20 ranking in 2014, while Tulane has played in three consecutive bowl games for the first time in school history. Wichita State has made two NCAA tournament appearances in men’s basketball, won The American’s 2021 regular-season title and has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the Associated Press poll since the Shockers joined the conference in 2017. The American Athletic Conference was reconstituted in 2013 and serves its members from its headquarters in Irving, Texas. The American sponsors 22 championships, 10 for men and 12 for women, has television partnerships with ESPN, CBS Sports (for select men’s basketball games) and CBS Sports Network (for most Navy home football games), and has a marketing partnership with Learfield. Link: https://theamerican.org/news/2021/10/21/general-american-athletic-conference-announces-the-addition-of-six-universities.aspx

“Every week, there’s some interest from some particular party,” Thompson said. “Everyone is trying to get to that spot where they feel the most comfortable, and certainly our institutions had explorations in places other than the Mountain West conference. That’s just the nature of college athletics in 2021. “There were discussions. You look at the full parameter, all the different metrics from attendance, budget, facilities, recruiting, geography. There are so many metrics you can look at. We probably displayed something like 50 or 60 various charts throughout the last couple weeks and months.” read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/story/2021-10-20/mountain-west-conference-realignment-craig-thompson-expansion-aac-confererence-usa%3f_amp=true