Could the AAC Expand to 16 Teams? Commissioner Pernetti's Talks with Air Force Hint at a Bold Vision for the Future

[C Rod]

Today's YahooSports article from Ross Dellenger contains a sentence that jumped off the screen when I read it, and it's worth discussing. 

Quote

"If he loses teams or not, commissioner Tim Pernetti may bring into the league Air Force, a school that he's been in serious negotiations with for more than a week." 

Up to this point, I thought the discussions with Air Force were to replace a departing member like Memphis; however, from the quote above and how quickly he engaged with AF, Pernetti seems open to expanding the AAC beyond the current 14 football schools. 

Does Pernetti have a vision for a 15 or 16-team AAC? 

If the answer is yes, seeing how conferences typically like to keep things equal, a 16-team league seems more attractive, with eight teams in the East and eight in the West. 

WEST: Air Force, Tulsa, UNT, UTSA, Rice, Tulane, Memphis, UAB

EAST: Army, Temple, Navy, Charlotte, ECU, USF, FAU, and a SunBelt school like Liberty, App State, or Georgia State with the Atlanta market? 

Divisions like this would tighten the travel footprint for all sports, saving everyone money.

What do y'all think? 

[meangreenfaninno]

I sort of like it!

[C Rod]

I'm sure some are thinking, but 16 members are too many mouths to feed, and there needs to be more TV dollars to distribute to new members. 

Tim Pernetti has been vocal about bringing in additional revenue streams for conference members like private equity, league naming sponsorship deals, and corporate jersey patches like the NBA has implemented in recent years. 

In the near future, I expect all CFB conferences to negotiate naming rights like we currently do with stadiums and arenas. The American Athletic Conference could soon become the American Airlines Conference. Memphis jerseys will soon have FEDEX logos on them and so on.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/40342941/sources-big-12-explores-selling-naming-rights-title-sponsor

[NT80]

1 hour ago, C Rod said:

Today's YahooSports article from Ross Dellenger contains a sentence that jumped off the screen when I read it, and it's worth discussing. 

Up to this point, I thought the discussions with Air Force were to replace a departing member like Memphis; however, from the quote above and how quickly he engaged with AF, Pernetti seems open to expanding the AAC beyond the current 14 football schools. 

Does Pernetti have a vision for a 15 or 16-team AAC? 

If the answer is yes, seeing how conferences typically like to keep things equal, a 16-team league seems more attractive, with eight teams in the East and eight in the West. 

WEST: Air Force, Tulsa, UNT, UTSA, Rice, Tulane, Memphis, UAB

EAST: Army, Temple, Navy, Charlotte, ECU, USF, FAU, and a SunBelt school like Liberty, App State, or Georgia State with the Atlanta market? 

Divisions like this would tighten the travel footprint for all sports, saving everyone money.

What do y'all think? 

Conferences are dropping divisions.  I think the SunBelt is the only one now with divisions.  
It’s better to have a core of rivals or natural geographic conference opponents, then rotate thru the rest. 

[Green Otaku]

I'd vote no on Liberty, I'd rather take JMU if we could get them. Their budget is already $68M a year.

[C Rod]

4 hours ago, NT80 said:

Conferences are dropping divisions.  I think the SunBelt is the only one now with divisions.  
It’s better to have a core of rivals or natural geographic conference opponents, then rotate thru the rest. 

Yeah I remember Mike Aresco talking about this couple years back. I’m curious if this will last though as we enter into the era of super-conferences. 

Edited 3 hours ago by C Rod

[Matt from A700]

What about UConn to help travel for Temple, Army, and Navy? They may not have a great football program but it's a brand name.

[C Rod]

30 minutes ago, Matt from A700 said:

What about UConn to help travel for Temple, Army, and Navy? They may not have a great football program but it's a brand name.

UConn was previously in the American and paid $17M to leave the AAC in 2020. 

[Matt from A700]

1 hour ago, C Rod said:

UConn was previously in the American and paid $17M to leave the AAC in 2020. 

They ain't gettin' their money back.