It also believes recent athletic investments (facilities and coaching salaries) are signs of potential for future growth. In the other five schools, the AAC sees an opportunity for a greater presence in recruiting hotbeds like Texas and Florida. It’s also in a major college football market in Birmingham, with a growing school and academic presence. The Blazers have won two of the past three C-USA championships and just opened a new stadium, among other recent investments since the program’s return from the dead. UAB was always considered a favorite to join the league. Keeping the Mountain West from expanding into Texas while expanding its own presence in the state was one thought behind the process. The idea of the AAC going even bigger with expansion came onto the table, with some in the league thinking the conference should add as many as eight teams. But in the end, the four Mountain West schools stayed put. Air Force and CSU in particular were more interested, as Boise State and SDSU have hopes for future Big 12 expansion. Aresco said he only engaged with teams that showed interest, and the AAC had conversations with Mountain West schools Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State. To make up for the losses, Aresco hoped to add two or four teams and turned west. The departure dates of Texas and Oklahoma have not been negotiated yet. Those three AAC schools will join the Big 12 in either 2023 or 2024, while BYU will join in 2023. The Big 12 quickly identified and added Cincinnati, Houston and UCF from the AAC, along with independent BYU. The AAC, because of its success, became the target. But when it became clear no other Power 5 league would take another Big 12 team, the remaining Big 12 teams stuck together and turned their sights toward expansion. When Texas and Oklahoma announced in July they would leave for the SEC, the AAC hoped it could pull in some other Big 12 teams and perhaps turn the Power 6 dream into a Power 5 reality. It’s the end of a tumultuous road for the AAC over the past few months. Additionally, we increase the value in live content options for CBS Sports, which features selected men’s basketball games on CBS Sports.” 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. "We have enhanced geographical concentration which will especially help the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball and Olympic sports teams. We are adding excellent institutions that are established in major cities and have invested in competing at the highest level. “This is a strategic expansion that accomplishes a number of goals as we take the conference into its second decade. “I am extremely pleased to welcome these six outstanding universities to the American Athletic Conference,” AAC commissioner Mike Aresco said in a release. The move expands the AAC to 14 football teams, including Navy, and 14 teams in basketball, including Wichita State. The league announced Thursday the additions of Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA, all coming from Conference USA. Will they raid the top of the FCS level? We’ll find out soon.Six weeks after losing three teams to the Big 12, the American Athletic Conference’s response is official. The pickings are slim, with schools like New Mexico State, UConn and UMass potentially the only current FBS institutions in need of a home. Now the question becomes where does C-USA turn to fill the hole in their lineup. And this is why conference realignment will never end because each institution has a duty to do what’s in their own interests, and not that of the collective. The letter asking for a merger was signed by the of North Texas university president Neal Smatresk, who now appears to be applying for membership in the American. The AAC is expected to retain Navy for only football, and Wichita State for all other sports. That appears to have been denied by the AAC, where though the media deals are still a pittance compared to the Power Five, they are significantly more than what C-USA offers. The six new schools are all members of Conference USA, which feebly pushed for some kind of league merger last week. But the adding of Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA means the AAC is continuing to focus on bigger secondary markets when making expansion decisions, likely with an eye on a newly-negotiated media rights deal that will kick in when the other three teams leave. Right now the league has 11 teams, but Cincinnati, Central Florida, and Houston are joining the Big 12 at some point to be negotiated later. (Also 14 teams in hoops.)- Pete Thamel October 18, 2021 The expectation is that they will be accepted and the AAC will grow to a 14-team football league.
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