In typical Aresco fashion, though, he doggedly sticks to the script, undeterred: The American has risen before and it will again, even if it had to pluck six new members to replenish its ranks, the commissioner says. “We’ve seen a lot of turmoil over the last decade, but it’s never been anything like this,” Aresco said. The AAC also faces challenges from the Sun Belt Conference’s recent moves that have strengthened it, creating another contender for the Group of Five’s singular bid into the College Football Playoff when it begins playing its expanded 12-team format. To turn over half of its membership in a given year could set the league back several more years. Former members Cincinnati, Houston and UCF have joined the Big 12. Of those original schools that formed the AAC, just four remain - Memphis, SMU, South Florida and Temple. The AAC did it a decade ago, and it is doing it now. It also has brought an unhealthy amount of conference shake-ups, which has forced the AAC “to reinvent itself,” Aresco said. Those football upsets, such as Tulane’s defeat of Southern Cal in last season’s Cotton Bowl, have brought priceless attention to the league. Ten years later, the American Athletic Conference has made a name for itself as an upstart football league capable of playing with the big boys in college football when given the opportunity. Original members in 2013: Louisville, Rutgers, UConn, Cincinnati, Houston, UCF, Memphis, SMU, USF, Temple Added in 2014: ECU, Tulane, Tulsaĭeparted in 2014: Louisville (ACC), Rutgers (Big Ten)Īdded in 2017: Wichita State (non-football member)Īdded in 2023: Charlotte, UTSA, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UABĭeparted in 2023: Cincinnati (Big 12), Houston (Big 12), UCF (Big 12) We had to establish a whole new identity.”Īmerican Athletic Conference Commissioner: Mike Aresco “We lost MSG as the home for our basketball tournament. “We had no name, we had no logo, we had no TV deal,” Aresco said. They surrendered the Big East brand to the basketball schools and started from scratch in 2013. One year later, Aresco shepherded 10 football schools into a new football-playing conference. His response will be peppered with an endless supply of energy, data and a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder.Īresco, a former CBS and ESPN executive who was the original TV executive to become a college commissioner, was well ahead of the current trend when he first became a conference chief at the Big East in 2012. If you don’t have any plans for the next few hours, ask the effervescent American Athletic Conference commissioner about any of the hot-button issues that dominate his job these days, whether it’s revenue distribution from the College Football Playoff or name, image and likeness. M ike Aresco is 73 years old, and he’s just as fiery as ever. Cincinnati, SMU, Temple, and Tulane do not sponsor softball teams.The past year has many examples of the Group of Five AAC competing with the biggest conferences, including Tulane’s victory over Southern Cal in the Cotton Bowl Classic in January. Eight of the twelve current all-sport members of the conference sponsor softball. The American softball tournament is a single-elimination tournament held each year at various American-conference campus stadiums. The first year of the tournament was held at Cougar Softball Stadium in Houston, Texas. The American is one of two successors to the original Big East Conference, which split after the 2013 season. The conference championship is determined solely by regular season record. The Tournament champion is separate from the conference champion. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship each season. It is a single-elimination tournament, with seeding based on regular season records. The American Athletic Conference softball tournament is the conference championship tournament in college softball for the American Athletic Conference.
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