Boise State to the AAC?

[peruna81]

Right or wrong in your thoughts, the P5 is never going to allow another conference to split their goodies.

Agreed...we need to move up.

[SMUstang]

I don’t think there will be much more realignment because I don’t think the Big XII will add anybody else and the other conferences are pretty well set.

I think Air Force would be the best football only option for the AAC. If and only if they are able to keep their Olympic sports in the MWC. VCU would be a good add too, but we would have to take all of their Olympic sports, not just basketball.

And I think Boise State will work things out and stay in the MWC.

I don’t see any other options among the G5 that would add value to the AAC.

Just my 2 cents

[mtrout]

Another team likely means less money for us in the TV contract. f it.

[Charleston Pony]

Let's face it...the odds of SMU and/or the the AAC joining the P5 club are pretty slim, so any move the AAC makes is all about positioning itself for the best TV deal possible going forward. When Boise State and SDSU were originally considered, I believe the thinking was that the conference would cover the country from eastern time to pacific time, allowing the American to fill multiple time slots for live sports programming and that's what it's all about.

While I agree that for conference "purity" it would be nice to have 12 full members that make geographic sense and would help develop rivalries, Navy and WSU were added for "TV value" and with UConn leaving, the mission is to replace any dollars they may have brought, which obviously were driven by UConn's basketball program(s) which had become more about their women than men in recent years.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

We should force Wichita State to add football.

We really do need a 12th team so we can have two divisions and avoid having "one true champion".

[SMUstang]

We should force Wichita State to add football.

We really do need a 12th team so we can have two divisions and avoid having "one true champion".

You’re not going to be able to ΓÇ£forceΓÇ¥ any school to adapt any sport. We need a 12th team for football only if they add value to our TV contract. There are only a few of them in the G5 that will meet that criteria. Boise State and Air Force are the most logical ones right now.

[TidePony]

My 12th football team for the AAC wishlist:
1. Air Force (brings large TV audience with national media market and would bring fans to Ford)
2. Army (same as above)
3. UNLV (large media market and trips to Vegas to play in the new Raiders stadium, yes!)

Distant 4th
4. Boise State (medium sized media market, but a successful football program that would provide late night inventory for ESPN... But, witch t*t cold in November).

[SMU_Alum11]

I think you would have a better sell for Army. They're an independent. I wonder how that would affect the Army-Navy game since I believe it's after conference championships.

Army would give us an immediate ratings boost due to their size of fans and obviously ex-military folks. I think we could technically renegotiate the tv money from that shift.

Other than Army, I guess one could look at App St or FAU to see if there's something to consider.

[ponyboy]

In terms of brand, I'd think you gotta go Boise then Army or Air Force. As successful as they've been of late, I'm not huge on FAU or App State.

If I had my personal choice, it would be Army.

[SMUstang]

From what I’ve read, Army is not interested. And I don’t think they would be as good of an add as Air Force. Air Force brings market, fans, geography, and a lot more. Plus Navy vs Air Force would be a conference game leaving them free to schedule other non conference opponents.

[Charleston Pony]

From what I’ve read, Army is not interested. And I don’t think they would be as good of an add as Air Force. Air Force brings market, fans, geography, and a lot more. Plus Navy vs Air Force would be a conference game leaving them free to schedule other non conference opponents.

Not sure where Air Force would play their other sports. They fit well in the MWC

[MustangStealth]

If we're adding another football-only member, give me Army. Maybe we could convince them and Navy to play in week 0. It could be the national CFB kickoff and quality exposure for the conference.

[SMUstang]

Army would be a good choice for us. But not for them. They had a bad experience with C-USA and they are not inclined to try that again.

It’s looking more and more like Boise State or nothing.

[EastStang]

Appalachian State has gone to bowls almost every year and won the FCS before that. Would be a travel partner for ECU. I lean east for several reasons, first, games are on at a reasonable hour. Second, I can go to them. Third, the East Coast Media market focuses on eastern teams. Losing UConn hurts in that respect. Adding Boise would create travel headaches for eastern teams. Think about UCF and USF and the flight to Boise and vice versa.

[AusTxPony]

If achieving P6 status (de facto or real) is the goal of The American and I think it is, then we and ESPN must try to make Boise, BYU and SDSU work financially. All the other schools listed above won't help reach that goal. Air Force, App State, Army, etc. only gets us to 12 if the NCAA doesn't approve a waiver. I hope the powers that be are working the P6 angle. With 14 football teams and an 8 game conference schedule, then travel to the west only happens once every several years for teams in the East division (moving Memphis and Navy east).