It became once slack July when Mountainous 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby — after realizing he became once about to lose Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC — advised CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd that he believed the American Athletic Conference became once making an are trying to poach additional Mountainous 12 people in an strive to, more or less, abolish his convention for ultimate.
It became once a huge headline.
Nonetheless in fact that Bowlsby’s claims — which were strongly denied by AAC commissioner Mike Aresco and ESPN president of programming and normal recount Burke Magnus — looked more rooted in paranoia than actuality. Why would any Mountainous 12 member are attempting to affix a lesser league with a smaller media rights deal and no Vitality 5 autonomy? All of them wished to maneuver up, no longer down. So it constantly looked cherish the more possible formula things would play out would possibly perhaps perhaps well be the vogue things possess truly played out — no longer with the AAC taking Mountainous 12 colleges, but with the Mountainous 12 taking AAC colleges, namely whichever ones it wished.
And now right here we’re.
The Mountainous 12 Conference Board of Administrators voted Friday to lengthen membership invitations to 3 AAC colleges — Cincinnati, Houston, UCF — plus BYU, which is an honest in football and member of the West Soar Conference in other sports. Unsurprisingly, all four famous and accredited these invitations, at which level it was reliable that the AAC is shedding three of its greatest and most effective athletics programs.
It is a devastating building.
And despite the truth that Aresco has indicated that his league will also lengthen with a goal of closing sooner than all other Group of 5 conferences, there is no denying it be a flowery project. For starters, whenever you lose from your prime and add to your bottom, the ceiling is, as a minimum snappy, lowered. There’ll not be any getting around that. Nonetheless the staunch thing working against the AAC now would possibly perhaps perhaps well be how Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt and Iowa Allege AD Jamie Pollard each no longer too long in the past acknowledged they suspect the Mountainous 12 will certainly lengthen all every other time — perhaps sooner as a substitute of later.
That is a gargantuan assertion — one that must effect staunch hesitation among some AAC targets because at the same time as you occur to suspect the Mountainous 12 would possibly perhaps perhaps well lengthen all every other time almost in the present day, and also you believe you studied you would possibly perhaps perhaps well perhaps be a doable Mountainous 12 aim the next time the Mountainous 12 expands, why would you possess any passion in joining the AAC correct now? To be obvious, I’m no longer ruling anything out. Nonetheless, given what Hocutt and Pollard possess urged, it be exciting to imagine a scenario the effect Boise Allege, Colorado Allege, San Diego Allege or every other college which can perhaps even be on the Mountainous 12’s radar would proceed its fresh convention for the AAC. And at the same time as you occur to’re Coastal Carolina, Arkansas Allege, UAB, Charlotte, North Texas or every other C-USA or Sun Belt member that possible is not always on the Mountainous 12’s radar, is it obvious that you would possibly perhaps additionally composed proceed your fresh league to affix a significantly diminished AAC that can moreover at closing lose Memphis, SMU and/or USF if the Mountainous 12 decides so that you would possibly perhaps perhaps add more American colleges?
Presumably.
In fairness, doubtlessly.
Alternatively it be as a minimum something that must be regarded as, and that consideration is undeniably something that’ll accumulate Aresco’s already refined job more refined than it in every other case would possibly perhaps perhaps well be. I end no longer envy his arena.
“Our closing colleges are unwavering in their dedication to competing and succeeding on the most effective stage, and we is no longer going to permit exterior components to position a ceiling on our doable,” Aresco acknowledged Friday in an announcement. “We stay unified and resolute and would possibly perhaps perhaps even composed defend in mind all of our choices as we fade the American into our second decade and former.”
Nice assertion, I guess.
The relate is that it be fantastical.
Despite Aresco’s claims, there is literally no formula for the AAC to keep a ways off from exterior components striking a ceiling on its doable inflamed by exterior components staunch robbed the AAC of three of its most effective programs (and would possibly perhaps perhaps even composed in the extinguish declare more). External components are the AAC’s worst nightmare. And the premise that the closing AAC persons are “unified” is, with all due admire to Aresco, staunch humorous. Trust me, if Memphis would possibly perhaps perhaps well leap to the Mountainous 12 day after as of late to come, it would. And if Memphis can fade subsequent year or any year after that, it would possibly perhaps perhaps perhaps well.
Base line, Aresco’s relate that the AAC is share of a “Vitality Six” became once by no formula truly ultimate, but it be formula less ultimate now than it be ever been. The gap is getting wider, no longer smaller. And, unfortunately for the American, there is doubtlessly no formula to prevent the inevitable, which is to relate a world the effect the AAC looks more cherish the Sun Belt or C-USA than the Vitality 5 leagues it be and not using a extinguish in sight chased but only fallen additional on the help of.
