“We had an excellent session with our athletic directors and conference staff,” said commissioner Mike Aresco.  “We discussed our strategic plan, which has been a collaborative effort among our institutions and our various constituencies. Our membership and I are pleased with the direction of our league and extremely proud of the continued academic and athletic accomplishments of the student-athletes and coaches at each of our schools.  We have had a remarkable year and we will continue to build on our successful efforts.”
 
On Monday (February 1), the Conference’s Strategic Planning Subcommittee, led by Jeff Compher, director of athletics at East Carolina University and chair of the Athletic Directors Committee, met with Commissioner Aresco and conference staff members as well as representatives from the Wasserman Media Group, to review and outline the preliminary framework for the conference’s strategic plan, highlighting the conference’s long-term vision. In addition to four athletic directors, the planning subcommittee includes a senior woman administrator, a faculty athletics representative and a student-athlete. A formal presentation was made to the athletic directors in the joint meeting on Tuesday.  The American is set to unveil the strategic plan later this year.
 
The athletic directors group reviewed autonomous legislation approved at the 2016 NCAA Convention in San Antonio, Texas.  The membership voted to opt in as a Conference to the nine autonomous proposals that were adopted, with the understanding that each school would determine how those proposals would be implemented at their respective institutions. 
 
There was a review of the 2015 football season, the inaugural conference football championship game and the bowl season. The Conference enjoyed unprecedented success during the 2015 campaign as the American had three teams in the College Football Playoff final top-25 rankings, and four teams who were in the AP or Coaches polls top-25 at various points during the season. The American was one of five Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) leagues that had at least three 10-win teams. Houston played in the Peach Bowl, where the Cougars defeated Florida State, and Navy defeated Pitt in the Military Bowl. The 2016 conference football schedule also was reviewed, with an anticipated release date of February 9.