American Athletic Conference

American Athletic Conference
(The American)
Established May 31, 1979 (1979-05-31)[note 1]
Association NCAA
Division Division I FBS
Members 15 (11 Full, 4 Associate)
Sports fielded 21 (men's: 10; women's: 11)
Region
Former names Big East (1979–2013)[note 2]
Headquarters Providence, Rhode Island
Commissioner Michael Aresco (since 2012)
Website www.theamerican.org
Locations

The American Athletic Conference (also known as The American) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and four associate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Member universities represent a range of private and public universities of various enrollment sizes located primarily in urban metropolitan areas in the Northeastern, Midwestern, Western, and Southern regions of the United States.[1][2]

The American was considered one of the six collegiate power conferences of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) era.[note 3][3] With the advent of the College Football Playoff, The American became a "Group of Five" conference, which shares one automatic spot in the New Year's Six bowl games.[note 4][4] The American, however, remains a power conference in men's basketball.[5]

The league is the product of substantial turmoil in the original Big East Conference during the 2010–14 conference realignment period. It is one of two conferences to emerge from the all-sports Big East in 2013. While the other successor, which does not sponsor football, purchased the Big East Conference name, The American inherited the old Big East's structure and is that conference's legal successor. However, both conferences claim 1979 as their founding date, and the same history up to 2013.[6][7] The American is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, and led by Commissioner Michael Aresco.[2][8]

History

The original Big East

The original Big East Conference was founded in 1979 as a basketball conference and included the colleges of Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, and Syracuse, which in turn invited Connecticut (UConn), Holy Cross, Rutgers, and Boston College to be members.[9][10] UConn and Boston College would accept the invitation, while Holy Cross soon thereafter declined the invitation, and Rutgers eventually declined and remained in the Atlantic 10 Conference (then known as the Eastern 8 Conference). Seton Hall was then invited as a replacement, and the conference started play with seven members.[10]

Villanova and Pittsburgh joined shortly thereafter under the leadership of the Big East's first commissioner, Dave Gavitt.[11][12][13]

The conference remained largely unchanged until 1991, when it began to sponsor football, adding Miami as a full member, and Rutgers, Temple, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia as football-only members.[14] Rutgers and West Virginia upgraded to full Big East membership in 1995, while Virginia Tech did the same in 2000. Temple football was kicked out after the 2004 season, but rejoined in 2012 and intended to become a full Big East member in 2013.

The unusual structure of the Big East, with the "football" and "non-football" schools, led to instability in the conference.[15] The waves of defection and replacement brought about by the conference realignments of 2005 and 2010–13 revealed tension between the football-sponsoring and non-football schools that eventually led to the split of the conference in 2013.[16]

Realignment and reorganization

– All sports member
– Associate member (women's rowing)
– Associate member (football)

The conference was reorganized following the tumultuous period of realignment that hobbled the Big East between 2010 and 2013. The Big East was one of the most severely impacted conferences during the most recent conference realignment period. In all, 14 member schools announced their departure for other conferences, and 15 other schools announced plans to join the conference (eight as all-sports members, and four for football only). Three of the latter group later backed out of their plans to join (one for all sports, and the other two for football only).

On December 15, 2012, the Big East's seven remaining non-FBS schools, all Catholic institutions – DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villanova – announced that they voted unanimously to leave the Big East Conference, effective June 30, 2015.[17][18] The "Catholic 7", by leaving, were looking for a more lucrative television deal than the one they would receive by remaining with the football schools.[19] In March 2013, representatives of the Catholic 7 announced they would leave the conference effective June 30, 2013, retaining the Big East name, $10 million, and the right to hold the conference's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden.[3][20]

Following the announcement of the departure of the Catholic 7 universities, the remaining ten football-playing members started the process of selecting a new name for the conference and choosing a new site to hold its basketball tournament.[21][22] Various names were considered, with the "America 12" conference reportedly one of the finalists until rejected by college presidents sensitive of adding a number to the end of the conference name.[23] On April 3, 2013, the conference announced that it had chosen a new name: American Athletic Conference.[1] The conference also revealed that it prefers the nickname "The American" because it was thought "AAC" would cause too much confusion with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[24]

Louisville and Rutgers spent one season in the renamed conference. On July 1, 2014, Louisville joined the ACC[25] and Rutgers joined the Big Ten Conference.[26] On that same day, East Carolina, Tulane, and Tulsa joined The American for all sports, while Sacramento State and San Diego State joined as associate members for women's rowing.[27][28] Navy joined as an associate member in football on July 1, 2015.[27]

Commissioners

Name Term
Michael Aresco 2013–present[8]

Membership timeline

Navy Midshipmen Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tulane Green Wave East Carolina Pirates UCF Knights SMU Mustangs Memphis Tigers Houston Cougars South Florida Bulls Cincinnati Bearcats Louisville Cardinals Temple Owls Rutgers Scarlet Knights Connecticut Huskies
 All-sports member
 Football-only member

Member universities

For more details on members of the old Big East, see this list.

The conference currently has eleven full member institutions – and four associate members – in eleven states, including California, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.

Current members

Institution Location
(Population) 		Founded Joined Type Enrollment Nickname Colors
University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida
(262,372)		 1963 2013 Public (SUSF) 60,810 Knights Black & Gold
         
University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio
(298,165)		 1819 2005 Public (USO) 43,691 Bearcats Black and Red[29]
         
University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut
(15,344)		 1881 1979[note 5] Public 31,119 Huskies Navy blue and White[30]
         
East Carolina University Greenville, North Carolina
(89,852)		 1907 2014 Public (UNC) 27,511 Pirates Purple & Gold[31]
         
University of Houston Houston, Texas
(2,239,558)		 1927 2013 Public (UH System) 42,704 Cougars Red & White[32]
         
University of Memphis Memphis, Tennessee
(653,450)		 1912 2013 Public (TBR) 21,480 Tigers Blue & Gray[33]
         
University of South Florida Tampa, Florida
(358,699)		 1956 2005 Public (SUSF) 48,353 Bulls Green & Gold[34]
         
Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas
(1,281,047)		 1911 2013 Private (Methodist) 10,929 Mustangs Red & Blue[35]
         
Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
(1,560,297)		 1884 1991, 2012[note 6] Public (CSHE) 37,788 Owls Cherry & White[36]
         
Tulane University New Orleans, Louisiana
(384,320)		 1834 2014 Private 13,531 Green Wave Olive green & Sky blue[37]
         
University of Tulsa Tulsa, Oklahoma
(399,682)		 1894 2014 Private (Presbyterian) 4,682 Golden Hurricane Royal blue and Old gold[38]
         

Associate members

Institution Location
(Population)		 Founded Joined Type Enrollment Nickname Colors Sport Primary
Conference
California State University, Sacramento Sacramento, California
(466,488)		 1947 2014 Public (CSU) 28,811 Hornets           Rowing Big Sky
San Diego State University San Diego, California
(1,345,895)		 1897 2014 Public (CSU) 29,392 Aztecs           Rowing Mountain West
United States Naval Academy Annapolis, Maryland
(38,394)		 1845 2015 Federal 4,576 Midshipmen           Football Patriot League

Former members

Two members have departed from the conference.

Institution Location
(Population)		 Founded Joined Left Type Enrollment Nickname Colors Current
Conference
Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey
(55,181)		 1766 1991[note 7] 2014 Public (RU) 38,912 Scarlet Knights      Big Ten
University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky
(756,832)		 1798 2005 2014 Public 22,529 Cardinals           ACC

Sports

The American sponsors championship competition in ten men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Sacramento State, San Diego State University, and Villanova University are associate members for women's rowing.[39] Conference members who sponsor women's lacrosse and field hockey compete as associate members of the Big East.[40] Under NCAA rules reflecting the large number of male scholarship participants in football and attempting to address gender equity concerns (see also Title IX), each member institution is required to provide more women's varsity sports than men's.[note 8]

Sport Men's Women's
Baseball
8
–
Basketball
11
11
Cross Country
9
11
Football
12
–
Golf
10
9
Rowing
–
8
Soccer
8
10
Softball
–
7
Swimming & Diving
4
6
Tennis
9
11
Track and Field (Indoor)
9
11
Track and Field (Outdoor)
9
11
Volleyball
–
11

Men's sponsored sports by school

School Baseball Basketball Cross
Country 		Football Golf Soccer Swimming
& Diving 		Tennis Track & Field
(Indoor) 		Track & Field
(Outdoor)		 Total
Cincinnati Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick 9
Connecticut Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 10
East Carolina Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 9
Houston Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Red X Red X Green tick Green tick 7
Memphis Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick 9
South Florida Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick 9
SMU Red X Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Red X 6
Temple Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Red X Red X 6
Tulane Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Red X Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick 7
Tulsa Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick 8
UCF Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Red X Red X 6
Associate Member
Navy[note 9] Red X Red X Red X Green tick Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X 1
Totals 8 11 9 12 10 8 4 9 8 8 87

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by The American which are played by conference schools:

School Ice hockey Rifle[note 10] Rowing[note 11]
Connecticut HEA Red X Red X
Memphis Red X GARC Red X
Temple Red X Red X Independent

Women's sponsored sports by school

School Basketball Cross
Country 		Golf Rowing Soccer Softball Swimming
& Diving 		Tennis Track & Field
(Indoor) 		Track & Field
(Outdoor) 		Volleyball Total
Cincinnati Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 9
Connecticut Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 10
East Carolina Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 10
Houston Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 10
Memphis Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 9
South Florida Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 9
SMU Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 10
Temple Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Red X Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 8
Tulane Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Red X Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 8
Tulsa Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 10
UCF Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Red X Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 10
Associate Members
Sacramento State Red X Red X Red X Green tick Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X 1
San Diego State Red X Red X Red X Green tick Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X 1
Villanova Red X Red X Red X Green tick Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X Red X 1
Totals 11 11 9 8 10 7 6 11 11 11 11 106

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by The American which are played by conference schools:

School Beach
Volleyball 		Bowling Fencing Field Hockey Equestrian Gymnastics Ice hockey Lacrosse Rifle[note 10] Sailing
Cincinnati — — — — — — — Big East — —
Connecticut — — — Big East — — Hockey East Big East — —
Memphis — — — — — — — — GARC —
South Florida — — — — — — — — — SAISA
SMU — — — — Independent — — — — —
Temple — — NIWFA Big East — Independent — Big East — —
Tulane Independent Southland — — — — — — — —

National team championships

Thru July 2, 2015[42]

Excluded from this list are all national championships earned outside the scope of NCAA competition, including Division I FBS football titles, women's AIAW championships, equestrian titles, and retroactive Helms Athletic Foundation titles.

School Total Men Women Co-ed Nickname
University of Connecticut 20 6 14 0 Huskies
University of Houston 17 17 0 0 Cougars
U.S. Naval Academy 5 5 0 0 Midshipmen
Southern Methodist University 4 4 0 0 Mustangs
Temple University 3 1 2 0 Owls
University of Cincinnati 2 2 0 0 Bearcats
Tulane University 1 1 0 0 Green Wave
University of Tulsa 1 0 1 0 Golden Hurricane
University of South Florida 0 0 0 0 Bulls
University of Central Florida 0 0 0 0 Knights
East Carolina University 0 0 0 0 Pirates
University of Memphis 0 0 0 0 Tigers

Football

The conference began football during the 1991–92 season, and was a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series.[43] Previously conference opponents operated on a two-year cycle, as a home-and-home series.[44]

West Division East Division
Houston Cincinnati
Memphis Connecticut
Navy East Carolina
SMU South Florida
Tulane Temple
Tulsa UCF

The conference previously did not have enough teams to form divisions, but now does after Navy joined the conference in 2015.[note 12] When Navy joined in 2015 and divisions were created, Navy was placed in the West division along with Houston, Memphis, SMU, Tulane, and Tulsa. Teams play eight conference games a season. Beginning in 2015, each team will face the other five teams in its own division, as well as three teams from the other division, operating in a four-year cycle ensuring that each school will play every conference opponent at home and on the road at least once in the four-year cycle.[45] The East and West division winners, determined by final conference record, will meet in the first American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game, which will be played at the home site of one of the division winners.

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. With the addition of Cincinnati, Louisville, and South Florida in 2005, the conference retained its BCS automatic-qualifying status. In 2007, South Florida rose to No. 2 in the BCS rankings, but finished No. 21 in the final poll. Cincinnati finished the 2009 regular season undefeated at 12–0, and ranked No. 3 in the final BCS standings, barely missing the opportunity to play for the BCS National Championship. The conference was 9–7 (.563) in BCS bowl games, the third highest winning percentage amongst the AQ conferences.

All-time school records by winning percentage

As of December 2015.

No. Team Overall Record Win Pct. Conference
Record 		Conf.
Win Pct. 		First Year The American
Championships 		National
Championships
1 Tulsa 600–477–28 .556 2–6 .250 1895 0 0
2 Navy 682–545–57 .553 7–1 .875 1879 0 1
3 South Florida 117–96–0 .549 11–13 .464 1997 0 0
4 UCF 225–190–1 .542 15–9 .625 1979 2 0
5 Houston 416–352–15 .541 17-7 .708 1946 1 0
6 East Carolina 426–385–11 .525 5–3 .625 1932 0 0
7 Cincinnati 592–568–50 .510 17–7 .708 1885 1 0
8 Connecticut 502–541–38 .482 4–12 .250 1896 0 0
9 SMU 475–518–54 .479 5–11 .313 1915 0 3
10 Memphis 455–504–33 .475 8–8 .500 1912 1 0
11 Tulane 505–618–38 .451 2–6 .250 1893 0 0
12 Temple 438–574–53 .436 5–11 .313 1894 0 0

Conference champions

For more details on football champions of the Big East Conference from 1991 to 2012, see this list.

The American Championship Game pits the Eastern Division representative against the Western Division representative in a game held following the conclusion of the regular season. The site of the Championship Game is the home stadium of the division champion with the best overall conference record. In the event that the two division champions are tied, then the head-to-head record shall be used as the tiebreaker. Prior to the 2015 season, when the conference split into two six-team divisions and created a conference championship game, The American awarded its championship to the team(s) with the best overall conference record.

Record Ranking
Year Champions Conference Overall AP Coaches' Bowl result Head coach
2013 UCF 8–0 12–1 #10 #12 W Fiesta Bowl 52–42 vs. Baylor† George O'Leary
2014 UCF 7–1 9–4 N/A N/A L St. Petersburg Bowl 27–34 vs. NC State George O'Leary
Cincinnati 7–1 9–4 N/A N/A L Military Bowl 17–33 vs. Virginia Tech Tommy Tuberville
Memphis 7–1 10–3 #25 #25 W Miami Beach Bowl 55–48 vs. BYU Justin Fuente
2015 Houston 7–1 13–1 #8 #8 W Peach Bowl 38–24 vs. Florida State† Tom Herman

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 realignment in 2005 and 2013 ended – or temporarily halted – many rivalries. Before their departure to other conferences, a number of former member schools held longtime rivalries within the conference.

Teams Rivalry Name Trophy Meetings Began Record Series leader Current Streak
Memphis-Cincinnati — — 32 1966 20–13–0 Memphis Memphis won 2
Connecticut–UCF Civil Conflict --- 3 2013 2–1–0 Connecticut Connecticut won 2
East Carolina–UCF — — 13 1991 9–4–0 East Carolina UCF won 2
Navy–Southern Methodist — Gansz Trophy 16 1930 9–7–0 Navy Navy won 5
Houston–Southern Methodist — — 31 1975 20–10–1 Houston Houston won 3
South Florida–UCF War on I–4 — 7 2005 5–2–0 South Florida USF won 1
Tulsa–UCF — — 8 2005 5–3–0 Tulsa UCF won 1
Houston-Tulsa — — 39 1950 21-18 Houston Houston won 1

Bowl games

Following the 2013 season, the BCS era came to a close and was replaced by the College Football Playoff. Four teams will play in two semifinal games, with the winners advancing to the new College Football Championship Game.[46] Six bowl games — the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Peach Bowl — will rotate as hosts for the semifinal games, and host major bowls when they do not host semifinal games (access bowls).

With the birth of the College Football Playoff, The American lost its automatic qualifying status for one of the major bowls. Instead, one automatic qualifying spot is reserved for the highest ranked team from the "Group of Five" conferences - The American, Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and Sun Belt Conference.

Although the pick order usually corresponds to the conference standings, the bowls are not required to make their choices strictly according to the won-lost records; many factors influence bowl selections, especially the likely turnout of the team's fans. Picks are made after any applicable College Football Playoff selections. If a team is selected for the one of the access bowls or playoff, the bowl with the No. 2 pick will have the first pick of the remaining teams in the conference.

Year[47] Name Location Opposing Conference
2014–19 Cotton, Peach, Fiesta, or Playoff[note 13] Dallas, Atlanta, Glendale, or Playoff Site CFP At-Large
2014–19 Birmingham Bowl Birmingham, Alabama SEC
2014–19 St. Petersburg Bowl St. Petersburg, Florida ACC or C-USA
2014–19 Miami Beach Bowl Miami, Florida BYU (2014), C-USA, MAC, or Sun Belt
2014–19 Military Bowl Annapolis, Maryland ACC
2014/16/17/19 Armed Forces Bowl Fort Worth, Texas Big 12 or Army
2016/18 Bahamas Bowl Nassau, Bahamas MAC or C-USA
2015–19 Cure Bowl Orlando, Florida Sun Belt
2015/17/19 Hawaiʻi Bowl Honolulu, Hawaii MWC or BYU
2015/16/17/19 Boca Raton Bowl Boca Raton, Florida MAC or C-USA
2018/19 New Orleans Bowl New Orleans, Louisiana MAC or Sun Belt
2014–19 Liberty, Independence, and Poinsettia Bowls Memphis, Shreveport, and San Diego ACC or SEC (Backup Agreement)

Head football coach compensation

The total pay of head coaches includes university and non-university compensation. This includes base salary, income from contracts, foundation supplements, bonuses and media and radio pay.[48]

Conf.
Rank		 University Head Coach Salary[48]
1 University of Cincinnati Tuberville, TommyTommy Tuberville $3,200,000
2 University of Houston Herman, TomTom Herman $3,000,000
3 Southern Methodist University Morris, ChadChad Morris $2,000,000
4 University of South Florida Taggart, WillieWillie Taggart $2,000,000
5 University of Memphis Norvell, MikeMike Norvell $1,900,000+
6 University of Central Florida Frost, ScottScott Frost $1,700,000+
7 United States Naval Academy Niumatalolo, KenKen Niumatalolo $1,700,000
8 University of Connecticut Diaco, BobBob Diaco $1,500,000
9 Temple University Rhule, MattMatt Rhule $1,300,000
10 East Carolina University Montgomery, ScottieScottie Montgomery $1,000,000+
11 Tulane University Fritz, WillieWillie Fritz TBA+
12 University of Tulsa Montgomery, PhilipPhilip Montgomery Unknown

Conference individual honors

Coaches and media of The American award individual honors at the end of each football season.[49]

Men's basketball

In June 2013, it was announced that the inaugural men's basketball tournament will take place at FedExForum in Memphis.[50] FedExForum had previously hosted eight Conference USA basketball tournaments.

Even though the Big East Conference was meant to be a basketball-oriented conference, UConn, a member of The American, won the 2014 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament (the first after the conferences split).

All-time school records by winning percentage

This list goes through the 2014-2015 Season

No. Team Records Win Pct. The American
Tournament
Championships 		The American
Regular Season
Championships 		Final Fours National
Championships
1 Temple 1,840–933 .664 0 0 2 0
2 Connecticut 1,609–903 .641 0 0 5 4
3 Memphis 1,459–852 .631 0 0 3 0
4 Cincinnati 1,669–974 .631 0 1 6 2
5 Houston 1,165–805 .591 0 0 5 0
6 Tulsa 1,362–1,092 .555 0 0 0 0
7 UCF 665–549 .548 0 0 0 0
8 SMU 1,232–1,172 .512 1 1 1 0
9 Tulane 1,166–1,191 .495 0 0 0 0
10 East Carolina 1,018–1,055 .491 0 0 0 0
11 South Florida 584–664 .468 0 0 0 0

Conference champions

For more details on men's basketball champions of the Big East Conference from 1980 to 2013, see this list.
Regular Season Tournament
Year Champions Record AP Coaches' Postseason Champions Record AP Coaches' Postseason
2013-14 Louisville 31–6 (15–3) #5 #9 NCAA Sweet Sixteen Louisville 31–6 #5 #9 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Cincinnati 27–7 (15–3) #15 #22 NCAA Second Round
2014-15 SMU 27–7 (15–3) #18 RV NCAA First Round SMU 27–7 #18 RV NCAA First Round

Women's basketball

In June 2013, it was announced that the inaugural women's basketball tournament would take place at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.[51] Women's basketball teams have played a total of eighteen times in the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship (since 1982), with UConn winning 10 national championships under head coach Geno Auriemma since 1995. Women's national championship tournaments prior to 1982 were run by the AIAW.

All-time school records by winning percentage

This list goes through the 2013–14 season.[52]

No. Team Records Win Pct. The American
Tournament
Championships 		The American
Regular Season
Championships 		Final Fours National
Championships
1 Connecticut 971–295 .767 2 2 16 10
2 Tulane 511–360 .587 0 0 0 0
3 Memphis 693–521 .571 0 0 0 0
4 Temple 762–628 .548 0 0 0 0
5 Houston 625–536 .538 0 0 0 0
6 SMU 591–519 .532 0 0 0 0
7 East Carolina 549–497 .525 0 0 0 0
8 Cincinnati 591–551 .518 0 0 0 0
9 UCF 499–535 .483 0 0 0 0
10 South Florida 564–652 .464 0 0 0 0
11 Tulsa 286–490 .369 0 0 0 0

Conference champions

For more details on women's basketball champions of the Big East Conference from 1983 to 2013, see this list.
Regular Season Tournament
Year Champions Record AP Coaches' Postseason Champions Record AP Coaches' Postseason
2013–14 Connecticut 40–0 (18–0) #1 #1 NCAA Champion Connecticut 40–0 #1 #1 NCAA Champion
2014–15 Connecticut 38–1 (18–0) #1 #1 NCAA Champion Connecticut 38–1 #1 #1 NCAA Champion

Facilities

Institution Football stadium Capacity Basketball arena Capacity Baseball stadium Capacity
Cincinnati Nippert Stadium 40,000 Fifth Third Arena 13,176 Marge Schott Stadium 3,085
Connecticut Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field 42,704 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion
XL Center		 10,167
16,294		 J. O. Christian Field 2,000
East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium 50,000 Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum 8,000 Clark-LeClair Stadium 5,000
Houston TDECU Stadium 40,000 Hofheinz Pavilion 8,479 Cougar Field 5,000
Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 59,308 FedExForum (men)
Elma Roane Fieldhouse (women)		 18,119
2,565		 FedExPark 2,000
South Florida Raymond James Stadium 65,908 USF Sun Dome 10,411 USF Baseball Stadium 3,211
SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium 32,000 Moody Coliseum 7,000 Non-baseball school
Temple Lincoln Financial Field 68,532 Liacouras Center 10,206 Skip Wilson Field 1,000
Tulane Yulman Stadium 30,000 Smoothie King Center (men)
Devlin Fieldhouse (men/women)		 17,003
4,100		 Turchin Stadium 5,000
Tulsa H. A. Chapman Stadium 30,000 Reynolds Center 8,355 Non-baseball school
UCF Bright House Networks Stadium 45,323 CFE Arena 9,465 Jay Bergman Field 3,600
Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 34,000 Associate member

Academics

One of the current member schools, Tulane University, is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada.[53] Six members are doctorate-granting universities with "very high research activity," the highest classification given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.[54] Member schools are also highly ranked nationally and globally by various groups, including U.S. News & World Report, Washington Monthly, and Times Higher Education.

University Location Affiliation Carnegie[54] Endowment[55] USN Nat.[56] WM Nat.[57] URAP U.S.[58]
University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Public (SUSF) Research (VH) $135,500,000 168 211 114
University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio Public (USO) Research (VH) $1,183,922,000 140 191 57
University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut Public Research (VH) $436,900,000 57 81 94
East Carolina University Greenville, North Carolina Public (UNC) Doctoral $164,065,000 194 171 69
University of Houston Houston, Texas Public (UH System) Research (VH) $789,700,000 187 68 104
University of Memphis Memphis, Tennessee Public (TBR) Research (H) $200,750,000 RNP 37 188
University of South Florida Tampa, Florida Public (SUSF) Research (VH) $447,000,000 156 78 72
Southern Methodist University University Park, Texas Private (Methodist) Research (H) $1,466,258,000 61 260 164
Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Public (CSHE) Research (H) $374,758,000 115 195 108
Tulane University New Orleans, Louisiana Private Research (VH) $1,183,924,000 41 100 112
University of Tulsa Tulsa, Oklahoma Private (Presbyterian) Doctoral $1,015,474,000 86 164 297

Media

As of 2014, The American has carriage agreements with the following broadcast and cable networks.[59][60][61]

Television

Internet

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to American Athletic Conference.

Notes

  1. ↑ The American is the legal all-sports successor to the Big East Conference (1979–2013). The Big East was rebranded and reorganized as the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2013.
  2. ↑ The American is the legal successor to the Big East Conference (1979–2013) and retains its charter. The current Big East Conference purchased the "Big East" name during the 2013 conference breakup.
  3. ↑ The American inherited the Big East's automatic berth to a BCS game for the 2013 season.
  4. ↑ The other conferences in the "Group of Five" are Conference USA (C-USA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference.
  5. ↑ Connecticut's football program did not join the conference until 2004.
  6. ↑ Temple was not a Big East football member between the 2005 and 2011 seasons, most of this time being spent in the Mid-American Conference. Temple joined as a football only member in 2012, and as an all-sports member in 2013.
  7. ↑ Rutgers joined the conference in 1991 as a football only member, and joined in all-sports in 1995.
  8. ↑ Under NCAA Bylaw 20.9.4, all Division I schools are required to sponsor a minimum of seven men's and seven women's sports, or six men's and eight women's sports. Bylaw 20.9.7.1 imposes the latter requirement on FBS schools. FCS schools, under Bylaw 20.9.8.1, may use either requirement. Note that this does not explicitly require that a school sponsor two more women's sports than men's sports. See "2012–13 NCAA Division I Manual" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  9. ↑ Navy will continue to field its other sports in the NCAA Division I Patriot League.
  10. 1 2 Rifle is technically a men's sport, but men's, women's, and coed teams all compete against each other.
  11. ↑ The only category of rowing that the NCAA governs is women's heavyweight rowing. All men's rowing is governed by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association.
  12. ↑ The NCAA currently requires 12 teams for a conference to conduct divisional play and stage a championship game.
  13. ↑ If The American's champion is the highest ranked from among the "Group of Five" conferences, it will receive a bid to either the Cotton Bowl, the Peach Bowl, or the Fiesta Bowl. If the team is ranked in the top four at the end of the regular season, it will take part in the College Football Playoff.

References

  1. 1 2 "New Name in College Sports - Current BIG EAST Enters New Era as 'American Athletic Conference'". 2013-04-03. Archived from the original on 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  2. 1 2 Katz, Andy (2013-03-15). "What's next for the 'old Big East'". ESPN. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
  3. 1 2 McMurphy, Brett (2013-03-01). "Catholic 7 to keep 'Big East' name for new league next season, according to sources". ESPN. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  4. ↑ Mandel, Stewart (2012-11-12). "Big East, rest of 'Group of Five' score win with six-bowl decision". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  5. ↑ http://theamerican.org/sports/2014/10/21/MBB_1021145448.aspx?id=93&
  6. ↑ "About the American Athletic Conference". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  7. ↑ "(New) Big East Conference history". Big East Conference. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  8. 1 2 Russo, Ralph (2013-03-08). "Big East completes official split of football, basketball". Associated Press. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
  9. ↑ Blaudschun, Mark (2013-03-08). "Naming original Big East was simple". AJerseyGuy.com. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  10. 1 2 Crouthamel, Jake (2000-12-08). "A Big East History and Retrospective, Part 1". SUAthletics.com. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  11. ↑ Sarah Maslin Nir (2011-09-17). "Dave Gavitt, the Big East's Founder, Dies at 73". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  12. ↑ "Big East, Villanova Make It Official". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press International. 1980-03-13. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  13. ↑ Hanley, Richard F (1981-11-19). "Pittsburgh To Join Big East". Record-Journal. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  14. ↑ "Big East Football Timeline". Philadelphia Inquirer. 2008-03-08. Archived from the original on 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  15. ↑ Thamel, Pete (2012-05-07). "Commissioner John Marinatto Steps Down Amid Big East's Instability". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  16. ↑ "Big East 'unwilling' to meet terms". ESPN. 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  17. ↑ Katz, Andy; McMurphy, Brett (2012-12-11). "Big East fate vexes Catholic schools". ESPN. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  18. ↑ "Seven schools leaving Big East". ESPN. 2012-12-15. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  19. ↑ Rovell, Darren (2013-01-06). "Sources: 'Catholic 7' eyes big TV deal". ESPN. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  20. ↑ Harten, David (2013-03-05). "Catholic 7 has framework to keep Big East name, MSG as tourney site". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  21. ↑ Blaudschun, Mark (2013-03-06). "Big East, Catholic 7 ready to make split official". AJerseyGuy.com. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  22. ↑ "Report: $100M for football schools". ESPN. 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  23. ↑ Former Big East to be named American Athletic Conference. ESPN (2013-04-04). Retrieved on 2013-07-15.
  24. ↑ Wolken, Dan (2013-05-29). "American Athletic Conference unveils its primary logos". USA Today. Beyond the challenge of avoiding something that looked corporate, the league also couldn't build the logo around an acronym. From the very beginning, the conference office has been adamant that it wants to be known as The American instead of the AAC to avoid confusion with the Atlantic Coast Conference.
  25. ↑ http://www.theacc.com/genrel/112812aaa.html
  26. ↑ Rutgers Scarlet Knights accept invitation to join Big Ten as Board of Governors gives go-ahead to athletic director Tim Pernetti. NY Daily News (2012-11-19). Retrieved on 2013-07-15.
  27. 1 2 "At a glance: Latest wave of conference realignment". USA Today. 2014-06-29. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  28. ↑ "The American adds Associate Members for Women's Rowing" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. March 25, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  29. ↑ UC Branding Standards. UC.edu. Retrieved on 2014-09-11.
  30. ↑ UCONN Brand Colors. uconn.edu. Retrieved on 2014-09-11.
  31. ↑ ECU Graphics and Licensing Standards. ecu.edu. Retrieved on 2014-09-11.
  32. ↑ UH Graphic Standards. uhcougars.com. Retrieved on 2015-06-15.
  33. ↑ Retrieved on 2015-08-05.
  34. ↑ USF Color Palettes. usf.edu. Retrieved on 2015-06-15.
  35. ↑ SMU Color Palette. smu.edu. Retrieved on 2015-06-15.
  36. ↑ TU Graphic Standards. temple.edu. Retrieved on 2015-08-05.
  37. ↑ American Athletic Conference Brand Standards Guide. Retrieved on 2015-06-15.
  38. ↑ TU Color Palette. Retrieved on 2015-06-15.
  39. ↑ The Official Site of The American Athletic Conference - Sponsored Sports. American Athletic Conference. Retrieved on 2014-06-10.
  40. ↑ "Temple Joins New Big East In Lacrosse, Field Hockey". Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  41. ↑ "New Southland Bowling League Established". Southland Conference. January 20, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  42. ↑ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/champs_records_book/Overall.pdf
  43. ↑ "BCS Chronology". bcsfootball.org. Fox Sports. Archived from the original on April 18, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  44. ↑ Myerberg, Paul (2012-11-13). "Big East announces divisions, adds conference title game". USA Today. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  45. ↑ "American Announces Football Schedule Format for 2015-18". USA Today. 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  46. ↑ Wolken, Dan (April 25, 2013). "Questions and answers for the College Football Playoff". USA Today. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  47. ↑ "American Bowl Lineup 2014-19". sidearm sports. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  48. 1 2 "Salaries & Contracts". Coaches Hot Seat. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  49. ↑ American Athletic Conference (December 11, 2013). "American Athletic Conference Announces 2013 Postseason Football Honors". Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  50. ↑ "American Athletic Conference picks Memphis to host league's 1st men's basketball tournament". Washington Post.
  51. ↑ "AAC tournament host site picked". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  52. ↑ "NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Records Through 2012-13" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  53. ↑ "AAU Member Institutions and Years of Admission". Association of American Universities. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  54. 1 2 "Carnegie Classifications Institution Lookup". Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. 2014. Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  55. ↑ "National Association of College and University Business Officers" (PDF). National Association of College and University Business. 2014. Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  56. ↑ "Best College Rankings and Lists". U.S. News & World Report. 2014. Retrieved 2014.
  57. ↑ "Washington Monthly College Guide 2012 National Universities". Washington Monthly. 2013. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
  58. ↑ "University Ranking by Academic Performance - United States of America 2013-2014". Informatics Institute, Middle East Technical University. 2013. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
  59. ↑ "American Athletic Conference on TV". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  60. ↑ "CBS Sports Network Lands Rights to American Athletic Conference". CBS Sports. 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  61. ↑ "American Athletic Conference Announces American Digital Network". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

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