American Announces 2015 Divisions And Scheduling

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco has announced that two divisions of six teams each will begin play in the 2015 football season, culminating in the first American Athletic Conference Championship Game.

http://theamerican.org/news/2014/5/30/FB_0530140631.aspx

The East-West format was approved unanimously by the conference's chief executive officers at the league's annual meetings.

"This is an exciting step in the continued development of our conference," said Aresco. "With our performance on the field and the exposure we received from our media partners, I couldn't be more satisfied with our first year of American Athletic Conference football. Creating this divisional format will allow us to build upon that success. Our fans will enjoy our divisional play and the championship game that will be established in 2015.

"The East-West format we have adopted gives each division a distinct identity, provides long-term competitive balance and protects traditional rivalries while allowing each school to travel across the conference's geographical footprint on a regular basis."

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

SMU is in the West with Houston, Memphis, Tulsa, Tulane, and Navy.

[LA_Mustang]

That should be a VERY winnable division on a yearly basis. If SMU has the right things in place (mainly recruiting) 2015-2018 could be setup for a TCU type run. It remains to be seen if we take advantage of the opportunity.

[Stallion]

No reason we shouldn't dominate this Division with improved recruiting

[PonySnob]

No reason we shouldn't dominate this Division with improved recruiting

Certainly won't be many fans from the visiting schools coming to Ford..........

[B1GPonyFan]

What does it matter?

[WordUpBU]

No reason we shouldn't dominate this Division with improved recruiting

Certainly won't be many fans from the visiting schools coming to Ford..........

It's not like there would be many with the other division options. SMU is now set up to get the four closest opponents (UH, Tulsa, Memphis, Tulane) and also gets Navy who usually draws well in Dallas. Are you implying ECU, UCF, Temple, or UConn would bring more?

[sbsmith]

No reason we shouldn't dominate this Division with improved recruiting

Certainly won't be many fans from the visiting schools coming to Ford..........

All the more reason for us to have a legit OOC schedule.

[LA_Mustang]

JJ has been at SMU for going on eight years and you guys are still talking about eventually seeing recruiting improve or taking advantage of opportunities. If it was going to happen, it would have already happened by now. However, I will say that SMU never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

Where did anyone say or hope recruiting would improve under JJ? My comment was directed at the new staff, whenever that happens. SMU did miss an opportunity to speed up the process by making a change this offseason but what is done is done. These next 3-5 years in football will make or break the future of our conference affiliation.

If our goal is to make it to a random bowl game and bring in regional powers just to sellout Ford, then mission accomplished. If our goal is to get into a P5 conference we must pull a TCU now. And that is winning 10 or 11 games a year, beating a significant OOC opponent (A&M or Baylor) each year and making it to a meaningful bowl over these next 3-5 years. The secret to make it happen - recruiting! See basketball. The reason we had this dramatic turnaround is because of recruiting, not because LB is a great in-game coach, which he is.

[East Coast Mustang]

Someone that was educated at the University of Houston talking about missed opportunities is ironic

[Roach]

Tulsa has fell off...

… and you guys are still talking ...

"Has fell"?

Tell us again how silly we sound when we talk.

[Big12Mustang]

Tulsa has fell off...

… and you guys are still talking ...

"Has fell"?

Tell us again how silly we sound when we talk.

[sbsmith]

Someone that was educated at the University of Houston talking about missed opportunities is ironic

"Educated" is a pretty generous way of putting it.

[PonyKai]

Welcome back to CUSA-West

[TidePony]

Welcome back to CUSA-West

Sad, but true.