American Athletic Conference: Difference between revisions
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On December 15, the Big East's seven remaining non-FBS schools, all [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic]] institutions — [[DePaul University|DePaul]], [[Georgetown University|Georgetown]], [[Marquette University|Marquette]], [[Providence College|Providence]], [[St. John's University (New York)|St. John's]], [[Seton Hall University|Seton Hall]], and [[Villanova University|Villlanova]] – announced that they voted unanimously to leave the Big East Conference, effective June 30, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8749700/seven-schools-decide-leave-big-east-pursue-new-basketball-framework|title=Seven schools leaving Big East | publisher=''ESPN''|date=December 15, 2012 | accessdate=December 15, 2012}}</ref> The ''Catholic 7'', by leaving, were looking for a more lucrative television deal than the they would receive by remaining with the football schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8817624/fleeing-big-east-schools-working-lucrative-tv-deal-basketball|title=Sources: 'Catholic 7' eyes big TV deal|last=Rovell|first=Darren|publisher=ESPN|date=2013-01-06|accessdate=2013-03-06}}</ref> 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 [[Big East Men's Basketball Tournament|conference's basketball tournament]] at [[Madison Square Garden]].<ref name="bcsname"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/05/catholic-7-has-framework-to-keep-big-east-name-msg-as-tourney-site/|title=Catholic 7 has framework to keep Big East name, MSG as tourney site|last=Harten|first=David|publisher=NBC Sports|date=2013-03-05|accessdate=2013-03-07}}</ref> |
On December 15, the Big East's seven remaining non-FBS schools, all [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic]] institutions — [[DePaul University|DePaul]], [[Georgetown University|Georgetown]], [[Marquette University|Marquette]], [[Providence College|Providence]], [[St. John's University (New York)|St. John's]], [[Seton Hall University|Seton Hall]], and [[Villanova University|Villlanova]] – announced that they voted unanimously to leave the Big East Conference, effective June 30, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8749700/seven-schools-decide-leave-big-east-pursue-new-basketball-framework|title=Seven schools leaving Big East | publisher=''ESPN''|date=December 15, 2012 | accessdate=December 15, 2012}}</ref> The ''Catholic 7'', by leaving, were looking for a more lucrative television deal than the they would receive by remaining with the football schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8817624/fleeing-big-east-schools-working-lucrative-tv-deal-basketball|title=Sources: 'Catholic 7' eyes big TV deal|last=Rovell|first=Darren|publisher=ESPN|date=2013-01-06|accessdate=2013-03-06}}</ref> 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 [[Big East Men's Basketball Tournament|conference's basketball tournament]] at [[Madison Square Garden]].<ref name="bcsname"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/05/catholic-7-has-framework-to-keep-big-east-name-msg-as-tourney-site/|title=Catholic 7 has framework to keep Big East name, MSG as tourney site|last=Harten|first=David|publisher=NBC Sports|date=2013-03-05|accessdate=2013-03-07}}</ref> |
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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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=5545|title=Big East, Catholic 7 ready to make split official|last=Blaudschun|first=Mark|publisher=AJerseyGuy.com|date=2013-03-06|accessdate=2013-03-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9019093/big-east-football-schools-keep-close-110-million-league-split-according-report|title=Report: $100M for football schools|publisher=ESPN |date=2013-03-05|accessdate=2013-03-07}}</ref> 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.<ref>http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9130997/former-big-east-named-american-athletic-conference</ref> On April 3, 2013, the conference announced that it had chosen a new name - The American Athletic Conference (AAC).<ref name="aac"/ |
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=5545|title=Big East, Catholic 7 ready to make split official|last=Blaudschun|first=Mark|publisher=AJerseyGuy.com|date=2013-03-06|accessdate=2013-03-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9019093/big-east-football-schools-keep-close-110-million-league-split-according-report|title=Report: $100M for football schools|publisher=ESPN |date=2013-03-05|accessdate=2013-03-07}}</ref> 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.<ref>http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9130997/former-big-east-named-american-athletic-conference</ref> On April 3, 2013, the conference announced that it had chosen a new name - The American Athletic Conference (AAC).<ref name="aac"/> |
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===Commissioners=== |
===Commissioners=== |
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Revision as of 14:53, 4 April 2013
| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Commissioner | Michael Aresco |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| Subdivision | FBS |
| Region | Eastern and Southern United States |
| Official website | bigeast.org |
| Locations | |
 | |
The American Athletic Conference (AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the eastern and southern part of the United States.[1][2] It will be headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island.[2] The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I in athletic competitions; for football, it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I–A.
The American Athletic Conference has member institutions that are spread throughout a wide portion of the United States. The majority of its members are located in urban metropolitan areas, or at least on the fringes thereof. The conference is a successor to the all-sports Big East Conference (1979–2013); the other successor, which does not sponsor football, kept the Big East Conference name. The prior league underwent substantial turmoil during the 2010–13 NCAA conference realignment period.
The conference is one of the six automatic qualifying conferences of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), also known as a "Power Six Conference."[3] However, the conference will become a part of the "Group of Five" and share access to one of six premier bowls with 4 other conferences (Conference USA (C-USA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference) when a 4-team playoff begins in 2014.[4] Michael Aresco, who is currently serving as commissioner of the Big East, will serve as the conference's commissioner beginning July 1, 2013.[5]
History
The Original Big East
The original Big East Conference was founded in 1979 as a basketball conference, when Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, and Syracuse invited Connecticut, Holy Cross, Rutgers, and Boston College.[6][7] Rutgers eventually declined the invitation to remain in the Atlantic 10 Conference (then known as the Atlantic 8 Conference), and Seton Hall was invited as a replacement.[7] Villanova and Pittsburgh joined shortly thereafter under the leadership of the Big East's first commissioner, Dave Gavitt.[8][9][10]
The conference remained largely unchanged until 1991, when it expanded to an all-sports conference, adding Rutgers, Miami, Temple, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia.[11] The unusual structure of the Big East, with the "football" and "non-football" schools, led to instability in the conference.[12] 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.[13]
Realignment and reorganization
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, 13 member schools announced their departure for other conferences, and 16 other schools announced plans to join the conference (eight as all-sports members, and five 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). Most notably, seven schools — the Catholic 7 — announced in December 2012 that they would leave as a group, later forming the New Big East.[14]
On December 15, the Big East's seven remaining non-FBS schools, all Catholic institutions — DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villlanova – announced that they voted unanimously to leave the Big East Conference, effective June 30, 2015.[15] The Catholic 7, by leaving, were looking for a more lucrative television deal than the they would receive by remaining with the football schools.[16] 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][17]
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.[18][19] 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.[20] On April 3, 2013, the conference announced that it had chosen a new name - The American Athletic Conference (AAC).[1]
Commissioners
| Name | Term |
|---|---|
| Michael Aresco | 2013[5] |
Membership timeline
All-sports Assoc. members (football only) Other Conference[21]
Member universities
Current members
The conference currently has ten member institutions in eight states, including Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. By 2015, the conference will include twelve universities in ten states; the geographic domain of the conference will stretch from Texas to Connecticut (west to east) and from Pennsylvania to Florida (north to south).
- * Enrollment figures include both undergraduate and graduate students.
- † Denotes schools leaving the conference effective June 30, 2014.
Future members
Four universities have been invited to join the conference. East Carolina, Tulane, and Tulsa will join in 2014, and the Naval Academy will join in 2015. Tulane and Tulsa were invited as full-members. East Carolina was originally invited as a football only member, but was subsequently invited as a full member.[22] Tulsa is also expected to join as a full member in 2015, but has not yet been formally invited. [23] The Naval Academy will join as an associate member (football only).[24]
| Institution | Location (Population) |
Founded | Type | Enrollment | Joining | Nickname | Mascot | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-sports Members | ||||||||
| East Carolina University | Greenville, North Carolina (86,017) |
1907 | Public | 27,816 | 2014 | Pirates | PeeDee the Pirate | |
| Tulane University | New Orleans, Louisiana (360,740) |
1834 | Private | 13,359 | 2014 | Green Wave | Riptide the Pelican | |
| University of Tulsa | Tulsa, Oklahoma (396,466) |
1894 | Private | 4,352 | 2014 | Hurricane | Captain Cane | |
| Associate Members | ||||||||
| United States Naval Academy | Annapolis, Maryland (38,394) |
1845 | Federal | 4,603 | 2015 | Midshipmen | Bill the Goat | |
- * Enrollment figures include both undergraduate and graduate students.
Sports
It is believed that the conference will sponsor championship competition in ten men's and twelve women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[25] 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 two more women's varsity sports than men's.[26] Future competition in some sports may be in doubt, due to membership changes.
The old Big East Conference sponsored championship competition in eleven men's and thirteen women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[27] Although it is not yet known what sports will be sponsored by the new conference, this listing shows how many teams remain in those previously sponsored sports versus what has been, plus the number of new members playing those sports, and the new totals:
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | ||
| Basketball | ||
| Cross Country | ||
| Field Hockey | ||
| Football | ||
| Golf | ||
| Lacrosse | ||
| Rowing | ||
| Soccer | ||
| Softball | ||
| Swimming & Diving | ||
| Tennis | ||
| Track and Field (Indoor) | ||
| Track and Field (Outdoor) | ||
| Volleyball |
- * = Football will also have one associate member.
Facilities
- † Denotes schools leaving the conference effective June 30, 2014.
- †† Denotes schools joining the conference in 2014.
- ††† Denotes schools joining the conference in 2015.
Academics
Two of the thirteen member schools, who are currently members or will be joining the conference by 2015, are members of the Association of American Universities (AAU):[28]
Additionally, member schools are also highly ranked nationally and globally by various groups, including the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) and Times Higher Education World University Rankings (Times). As of 2012, one conference institution is ranked in the top 100 universities in the world, with Rutgers ranked 59th.[29]
Endowments and rankings
- † Denotes schools leaving the conference effective June 30, 2014.
- †† Denotes schools joining in 2014.
- †† Denotes schools joining in 2015.
- A The Naval Academy is ranked in the "National Liberal Arts Colleges" category by U.S. News & World Reports. The Academy is not ranked in the "National University Rankings" category.
- Endowment data provided by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute as of March 19, 2012.[30]
- Academic ranking data provided by U.S. News & World Reports from its "2012 National University Rankings."[31]
See also
References
- ^ a b "New Name in College Sports - Current BIG EAST Enters New Era as 'American Athletic Conference'". 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
- ^ a b Katz, Andy (2013-03-15). "What's next for the 'old Big East'". "ESPN". Retrieved 2013-03-17.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Mandel, Stewart (2012-11-12). "Big East, rest of 'Group of Five' score win with six-bowl decision". "Sports Illustrated". Retrieved 2013-03-08.
- ^ a b Russo, Ralph (2013-03-08). "Big East completes official split of football, basketball". Associated Press. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
- ^ Blaudschun, Mark (2013-03-08). "Naming original Big East was simple". AJerseyGuy.com. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ a b Crouthamel, Jake (2000-12-8). "A Big East History and Retrospective, Part 1". SUAthletics.com. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Sarah Maslin Nir (2011-09-17). "Dave Gavitt, the Big East's Founder, Dies at 73". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ "Big East, Villanova Make It Official". The Pittsburgh Press, via Google News. United Press International. 1980-03-13. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ Hanley, Richard F (1981-11-19). "Pittsburgh To Join Big East". Record-Journal. Google News. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ "Big East Football Timeline". Philly.com. March 8, 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ Thamel, Pete (2012-05-07). "Commissioner John Marinatto Steps Down Amid Big East's Instability". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ "Big East 'unwilling' to meet terms". ESPN. 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ Katz, Andy; McMurphy, Brett (2012-12-11). "Big East fate vexes Catholic schools". ESPN. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
- ^ "Seven schools leaving Big East". ESPN. December 15, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Rovell, Darren (2013-01-06). "Sources: 'Catholic 7' eyes big TV deal". ESPN. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
- ^ Harten, David (2013-03-05). "Catholic 7 has framework to keep Big East name, MSG as tourney site". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
- ^ Blaudschun, Mark (2013-03-06). "Big East, Catholic 7 ready to make split official". AJerseyGuy.com. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
- ^ "Report: $100M for football schools". ESPN. 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
- ^ http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9130997/former-big-east-named-american-athletic-conference
- ^ http://www.bigeast.org/AbouttheBIGEAST/FutureMembership.aspx
- ^ "East Carolina Joins Soon-To-Be-Renamed BIG EAST in All Sports for 2014-15 Academic Year" (Press release). Big East Conference. March 27, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
- ^ http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9100852/tulsa-golden-hurricane-join-big-east-according-sources
- ^ "Big East looking to add 12th school". ESPN. 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
- ^ Based upon current sports offered by The American Athletic conference and its member institutions. None of the institutions that will be a part of the conference for the 2013-14 academic year sponsor Lacrosse.
- ^ 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.
- ^ http://www.bigeast.org
- ^ http://www.aau.edu/about/article.aspx?id=5476
- ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities - 2011". ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
- ^ As of June 30, 2011. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2010 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2010 to FY 2011" (PDF). 2012 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. 2012-03-19.
- ^ "Best College Rankings and Lists". U.S. News & World Reports. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
External links
| Full members |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Football associates | ||
| Women's lacrosse associates | ||
| Men's soccer associates | ||
| Women's swimming & diving associates | ||
| Championships and awards | ||
| Media | ||
| See also | ||