A History of Football in the American Athletic Conference

The American Conference, formerly known as the American Athletic Conference (AAC), is a prominent collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities, it operates within the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The conference emerged from significant upheaval in the former Big East during the conference realignment period of 2010-14 and is one of two conferences that arose from the all-sports Big East in 2013.

Formation and Early Years

The Big East Conference was established in 1979 as a basketball conference, originally including Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, and Syracuse. These institutions extended invitations to Connecticut (UConn), Holy Cross, Rutgers, and Boston College to join as members. UConn and Boston College accepted, while Holy Cross and Rutgers eventually declined. The conference remained relatively stable until 1991 when it began sponsoring football, adding Miami as a full member, and Rutgers, Temple, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia as football-only members. Rutgers and West Virginia were later offered full all-sports membership in 1995, with Virginia Tech following suit in 2000.

The conference underwent a significant reorganization following a period of realignment between 2010 and 2013. Fourteen member schools announced their departure for other conferences, while fifteen other schools announced plans to join, including eight as all-sports members and four for football only.

In December 2012, the Big East's seven remaining non-FBS schools (Catholic institutions consisting of DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villanova) announced that they would be leaving to form a new basketball-focused conference. These schools retained the Big East name, while the remaining FBS schools rebranded as the American Athletic Conference. Louisville and Rutgers spent one season in the newly renamed conference.

Membership Changes and Stabilization Efforts

For several years, the American did not discuss the addition of any new members. However, in March 2017, media reports suggested that the conference was considering adding new members specifically for basketball upgrades. Wichita State, Dayton, and VCU were reportedly considered, with Wichita State being seen as the strongest candidate. By the end of that month, talks between the American and Wichita State had advanced to the point that the two sides were discussing a timeline for membership, with the possibility of the Shockers joining as a full but non-football member as early as the 2017-18 school year.

The main issue that reportedly had to be resolved prior to any official announcement was the future of UConn football, as the Big East does not sponsor that sport, and sources indicated that the American had no interest in retaining UConn as a football-only member. National media believed that should UConn leave the American, the conference's likeliest response would be to bring in two new schools-one for football only and a second in non-football sports, similar to the American's sequential additions of Navy and Wichita State. The most likely prospects for football-only membership were seen as Army (then an FBS independent, with most of its other sports in the Patriot League), and Air Force (currently an all-sports member of the Mountain West Conference). It was widely reported that UConn was "rejoining" the Big East, given that the Huskies would be reunited with many of the schools against which it played for three decades in the original Big East.

The American took a number of steps to stabilize the conference after the departure of UConn. The first move was the addition of Old Dominion University as an affiliate member in women's lacrosse for the 2020-21 season. The American moved its headquarters from Providence, Rhode Island to Irving, Texas. This was a planned move, to better centralize the conference offices with the member schools.

Impact of Conference Realignment in the 2020s

In late July 2021, founding Big 12 members Oklahoma and Texas jointly announced their plans to leave the conference no later than 2025 and formally requested an invitation from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Shortly thereafter, the American became a peripheral player in this saga when the Big 12 sent a cease and desist letter to current broadcast partner ESPN, charging the network with conspiring to damage the league by luring Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC, and also alleging that the network encouraged an unnamed conference to raid the Big 12 to pave the way for an earlier departure by Oklahoma and Texas. A later media report identified that other conference as the American.

In September 2021, reports indicated that the Big 12 Conference was on the verge of inviting Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF, all members of the American Athletic Conference. Later that month, all three schools received and accepted membership offers, with the official announcement stating that they would join the Big 12 no later than 2024-25. In June 2022, the American and the three departing schools announced a buyout agreement, confirming those schools' 2023 departure date.

It was initially possible that Cincinnati and UCF could remain in the conference as affiliate members for women's lacrosse and men's soccer, respectively, as the Big 12 does not sponsor those sports. However, UCF later accepted an offer of men's soccer membership from the Sun Belt Conference effective in 2023, aligning its men's soccer program with that of West Virginia, the only pre-2023 Big 12 member sponsoring men's soccer.

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In late September 2021, Mountain West Conference (MW) members Air Force and Colorado State reportedly approached the American regarding a possible move to that league. However, in October, the MW announced that its current membership would remain intact, removing its 12 football members (including football-only member Hawaiʻi) from the list of potential new members for the American. Later that month, reports indicated that the American was preparing to receive applications from six of the 14 members of Conference USA-Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA.

Expansion and Adaptation

A series of further realignment moves centering on the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) led to the American's men's soccer league expanding earlier than planned. The other three CUSA members set to move to the SBC in 2023 (Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss, with Marshall and ODU sponsoring men's soccer) announced that they would instead leave in 2022. Following a brief legal dispute, CUSA and the three schools reached a settlement that allowed those schools to join the SBC in 2022. With three men's soccer schools now joining in 2022 instead of 2023, the SBC announced it would reinstate men's soccer at that time. The new full members were joined by three full SBC members and three new associate members. Coastal Carolina played the 2021 season in CUSA. The other two full SBC members, Georgia Southern and Georgia State, played in the MAC. CUSA was then left with only four men's soccer programs for 2022 (Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, and UAB), with all but FIU set to become full American members in 2023.

Similar changes came to women's swimming & diving, again due in part to SBC expansion. Of the schools leaving CUSA for the SBC in 2022, Marshall and Old Dominion sponsor that sport, and incoming American members Florida Atlantic, North Texas, and Rice also sponsor the sport (although Rice fields swimmers only, with no divers). The American brought the aforementioned future full members, plus FIU, into its women's swimming & diving league.

In October 2023, Army announced that it would be joining the conference as a football-only member beginning in 2024, joining fellow service academy Navy. The annual Army-Navy Game, typically played at the conclusion of the regular season, continues to be played annually as a non-conference game and does not count towards conference standings.

In July 2025, ahead of its football media days, the conference announced that it would officially shorten its name to the American Conference, dropping the word "Athletic" and the "AAC" abbreviation (which was often confused with the Atlantic Coast Conference). It also announced the new slogan "Built to Rise", and Soar the Eagle-a mascot it claimed was the first "brand ambassador" of a college athletic conference.

The conference currently has 13 full member institutions - and nine affiliate members - in 15 states, including Alabama, California, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Football Achievements and Milestones

Like the conference itself, football experienced much transition through its history. In fact it was the main force behind such departures and expansion. In 2003, the BCS announced that it would adjust the automatic bids granted to its six founding conferences based on results from 2004 to 2007. At one point, the 2007 South Florida Bulls football team was ranked No. 2 in the BCS rankings, but the team finished No. The 2009 Cincinnati Bearcats football team finished the regular season undefeated at 12-0, and the team was ranked No. 3 in the final BCS standings, barely missing the opportunity to play for the BCS National Championship.

In 2013, UCF became the first football conference champion in the AAC era. The 2017 UCF Knights football team, a member of the American, was undefeated, but the team was not invited to the College Football Playoff. The team earned the Group of Five's second ever New Year's Six bowl bid and defeated Auburn in the Peach Bowl. In 2021, Cincinnati became the first Group of Five team ever to appear in the top four of the CFP rankings at any point of the season.

The American Conference Football Championship Game

The American Conference Football Championship Game is a college football game currently held by the American Conference each year to determine the conference's season champion. The game previously pitted the champion of the Eastern Division (UCF, Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, South Florida, and Temple) against the champion of the Western Division (Houston, Memphis, Navy, SMU, Tulane, and Tulsa). In 2020, UConn left the conference, leading to the dissolution of the divisions.

After a brief exploration period, The American elected not to add another team to rebalance divisions. Beginning with the 2020 season, divisions were eliminated, and since then the championship game has been played by the two teams that achieved the best record in regular season conference play. The 2013 and 2014 American Athletic Conference football champions were determined by the team(s) with the best conference record. There was no championship game held.

The American Conference Championship game has featured a rematch of a regular-season game a total of four times (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022).

Bowl Game Appearances

The American has a history of bowl game appearances, showcasing the talents of its member institutions. Here's a selection of bowl game results:

Fiesta Bowl: W 52-42
St. Petersburg Bowl: L 27-34
Military Bowl: L 17-33
Miami Beach Bowl: W 55-48
Peach Bowl: W 38-24
Military Bowl: L 26-34
Peach Bowl: W 34-27
Fiesta Bowl: L 32-40
Cotton Bowl: L 39-53
Peach Bowl: L 21-24
Cotton Bowl: L 6-27
Cotton Bowl: W 46-45
Fenway Bowl: L 14-23
Independence Bowl: W 27-6
College Football Playoff First Round: TBD

Rivalries

The American has many rivalries among its member schools, primarily in football. Some rivalries existed before the conference was established or began play in football. Recent conference realignments ended - or temporarily halted - many rivalries.

Individual and Team Successes

Individual teams in the American have enjoyed some of their best football seasons in program history as members of the conference. Tulane went 12-2 and earned a top-10 final ranking in 2022. Navy won a program-record 11 games in 2015, its first season in the conference, matched that mark with its 2019 campaign and finished with 10 wins in 2025. Memphis, which had not won 10 games in a season since 1938, has registered four 10-win seasons in the last 10 years (2015, 2017, 2019, 2024), including a school-record 12 wins in 2019. Army set a program record with 12 wins in its first season in 2024, its first season in the American. 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). Tulsa returned to the top 25 for the first time in 11 years in 2020.

American student-athletes have distinguished themselves in all facets of intercollegiate athletics. Memphis quarterback Brady White was the 2020 winner of the National Football Foundation’s James V. Campbell Trophy as the top scholar-athlete in college football. Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich won the Bednarik Award and the Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player in 2015, while Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins repeated that feat in 2020. The American has had six top-10 Heisman Trophy finishes including Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who was fifth in 2015, and Army’s Bryson Daily, who was sixth in 2024. Reynolds was also selected as the winner of the 2016 AAU James E.

American alumni have made their mark in professional and international sports as well. A number of our athletes have been selected in the first round of the professional entry drafts in football, basketball, baseball and soccer, including former Memphis center James Wiseman, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and former Wichita State third-baseman Alec Bohm, the No. 3 selection in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft.

Recent Accolades and Recognition (2025 Season)

North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker was chosen as the American’s Offensive Player of the Year, leading FBS with 3,835 passing yards and 29 touchdowns. His teammate, running back Caleb Hawkins, was picked as the Rookie of the Year, leading FBS with 23 rushing touchdowns, 26 total touchdowns, and 156 total points scored. The Navy duo of defensive lineman Landon Robinson and deep snapper Rayne Fry were named Defensive Player of the Year and Deep Snapper of the Year, respectively. Tulane kicker Patrick Durkin was named the Special Teams Player of the Year.

Morris has led North Texas to an 11-1 record in the regular season and a 7-1 record in American play. The Mean Green have the highest scoring offense in FBS with 46.8 points per game and also lead the country in total offense with 511.8 yards per game. In addition to the major award winners, the American also named its first, second, third and honorable mention all-conference teams. Four players were repeat selections from the 2024 first team - Robinson, Army center Brady Small, Memphis defensive lineman William Whitlow Jr.

Media Coverage and Revenue

The American announced a lucrative and comprehensive media rights extension with ESPN in May 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. The first 10 American Football Championships were televised by ABC as part of Championship Weekend.

Commitment to Student-Athlete Welfare

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 American’s Academic Symposium annually features scholars and students engaged in collaborative research related to student-athlete well-being. The American became the first conference to establish league-wide minimum investment and revenue sharing protocols to provide financial benefits to student-athletes.

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