AAC Adds Six New Programs

 Out goes Cincinnati, Houston and UCF.

In comes Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA. 

The American Athletic Conference expanded to 14 teams today with the addition of those six soon-to-be former Conference USA members. While none of those schools are necessarily powers, they are all in large markets which continues the league's trend of having a league in big cities. When the realignment happens, the AAC will have schools in Charlotte, Birmingham, Houston, San Antonio, Memphis, Tampa, Dallas, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Tulsa. Plus FAU is just outside of Miami. Only East Carolina, in Greenville, NC, would be an outlier.

This means the AAC would likely split into two divisions for football.

EAST
Charlotte, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Navy, South Florida, Temple, UAB

WEST
Memphis, North Texas, Rice, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa, UTSA

The league would further its roots in Texas with four members hailing from the Lone Star State. It also condenses the geography of the league, making a west division primarily in Texas and the Mississippi River area, while the eastern division would be mainly in the Sun Belt of the southeast ... with Navy and Temple on the eastern seaboard. 

On the other end, this is a huge blow to Conference USA, who now has lost six members. Three of those members were in the state of Texas (including emerging program UTSA), leaving UTEP as its only remaining member in that state. Florida International also lost three of its closest geographical rivals in the league (FAU, UAB, Charlotte) which could make them uneasy about sticking around. That alone could be the death knell for this league which will now begin a power struggle with the Sun Belt Conference in the next domino of realignment. The Sun Belt has become a stronger league and would be more attractive to Florida International and the delta schools like Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech. UTEP and/or Middle Tennessee could also want to leave for the Sun Belt, while Marshall (along with Old Dominion or Western Kentucky) may try to apply to rejoin the MAC. Marshall also may be attractive to the Sun Belt as it carefully crafts its future.

Right now, the Sun Belt and Mountain West don't feel they need to expand, but the Sun Belt in particular may be wise to strengthen itself with the best programs left in Conference USA (making Marshall and Southern Miss attractive). Conference USA may get desperate and attempt to add Liberty, whose political affiliations have made all the conferences weary of dealing with the school, or try to pull schools like James Madison up from the FCS. 

I know in the realm of college athletics, these lower leagues don't tend to gain the interest in fans as the power leagues, but these are major decisions for survival for these leagues and these programs. If you remember in the 1990s, the Southwest Conference folded and their member spread out all over the place with some going to the Big 12 while others, like Rice, toiling in Conference USA. Also, the WAC was a power out west before it broke up in the last 1990s. Now it has disbanded football and the basketball conference is a mixed bag of programs all over the country. 

The AAC made a move for its own survival as a conference that matters. The Sun Belt may make a move to solidify its standing as a conference on the rise. Conference USA may be on its last legs.