When realignment strikes, there’s always a risk that a conference could get picked apart enough that it dissolves altogether. To save itself, the AAC will add six members from Conference USA, which is now at risk of being on the chopping block.
– Amanda Christovich
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Photo: Howard Smith-USA TODAY/Design: Alex Brooks
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The AAC saved itself — but in the process, it may have just killed Conference USA.
Yesterday, it announced six C-USA schools would join: UTSA, UAB, FAU, North Texas, Charlotte, and Rice.
It’s the first major move since the Big 12 took the AAC’s three biggest football brands to replace Texas and Oklahoma — which both announced in August they’re heading to the SEC.
- The AAC hopes to gain major markets, “geographic concentration,” and increased media rights value, Commissioner Mike Aresco said in a statement.
- Schools will have to pay about $3 million each in exit fees but will start by earning $2 million in AAC TV revenue, according to Yahoo.
- Most current AAC schools receive between $4-6 million in annual distributions, according to tax filings. So the schools have a small bump to look forward to, given that they currently only receive between $1-3 million from Conference USA.
When UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston announced they were leaving the AAC, Aresco said: “The irony that three of our schools are being asked to take the place of the two marquee schools which are leaving the Big 12 is not lost on us. Our conference was targeted for exceeding expectations in a system that wasn’t designed to accommodate our success.”
With his latest moves, the commissioner is still attempting to position the AAC as a “Power 6” conference, he told reporters.
The actual possibility of that is unclear. All we know is that the AAC is safe — for now.
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Photo: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY/Design: Alex Brooks
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Last week, Conference USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod sent a letter (obtained by SI) to the AAC to propose a partnership — with the walls closing in, it was an attempt to keep C-USA intact.
“Rather than continuing to perpetuate the pattern of universities moving from conference to conference in pursuit of modest media revenues, we see an opportunity to develop a more sensible and sustainable conference model,” the letter said.
Clearly, the appeal didn’t work. Now, the conference is on the verge of dissolving altogether.
- The AAC didn’t say exactly when the six schools would leave Conference USA. But when they do, C-USA will only have eight teams.
- While there’s no minimum requirement for the number of schools an FBS conference needs, none has fewer than 10 members.
- The Sun Belt has expressed interest in Southern Miss, Marshall, and ODU, according to Yahoo, which could deplete the conference even more — if not completely kill it.
Now it has to either add members of its own, or risk being picked apart by the vultures circling above.
There are already whispers it’s trying to save itself. It’s reportedly exploring adding Liberty, which plays football independently, and James Madison, which has a decorated football team but currently plays in the FCS.
A spokesperson for the conference did not respond to a request for comment.
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- In its latest data release, Opendorse found in the first three months of NIL that Division I athletes on its platforms made an average of $391, D-II athletes made $78, and D-III athletes made $35.
- The National College Players Association rated every state based on how favorable its NIL laws were to athletes, and New Mexico topped the list.
- New York State’s high school association voted to institute a rule giving athletes the ability to profit off NIL.
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When realignment strikes, schools are jockeying for more than just survival. Power 5 schools want to make sure they can maintain elite status, and others are hoping to gain it.
For the rest of the FBS, the goal is simpler. They’re just trying to make sure their current conferences don’t dissolve altogether.
This realignment cycle will not stop until a depleted conference, like C-USA, is no longer strong enough to entice new members — and is forced to disband altogether.
Tips? Comments? Reach out to Amanda Christovich at amanda@fos.company or on Twitter.
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