PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The development of a conference strategic plan and the formation of the first-ever American Athletic Conference Academic Consortium highlighted The American Athletic Conference’s recently concluded spring meeting in Key Biscayne, Florida from May 31-June 3. The Academic Consortium was approved unanimously by the Conference’s presidents and funding was allocated to support this unique venture, which will focus on research, programming and education with respect to student-athlete well-being. Another major subject of discussion was the Conference’s strategic plan, which is expected to be finalized later in the summer.
“We had extremely productive meetings over the course of our four days in Key Biscayne,” said American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco. “We are extremely pleased about the direction of our league. We celebrated our significant achievements of the past year, which included the UConn women’s fourth straight NCAA championship and the program’s 11
th championship under Coach Geno Auriemma, and Houston’s Peach Bowl victory and No. 8 final AP ranking, and we outlined a bold vision for the future. We had thoughtful discussions about a number of agenda items, including our conference’s strategic plan, our new branding initiatives, the issue of student-athlete time demands, student-athlete endorsements, the NCAA values-based distribution initiative, various NCAA Council initiatives, and conference media and digital strategies. I applaud our presidents, athletic directors and Faculty Athletic Representatives on the establishment of the Academic Consortium that will not only enhance the health and well-being of our student-athletes, but will foster partnerships among our member institutions and develop initiatives that will advance the academic mission at each of our schools.”
Presentations were made at the meetings by Donald Remy, NCAA executive vice president of law, policy and governance and chief legal officer at the NCAA, Diane Dickman, NCAA managing director of Division I governance, Tag Garson of Wasserman Media Group and Rodney Richardson of branding partner Rare Design.
The American also announced appointments to several NCAA Division I committees: Jeff Compher, director of athletics at East Carolina, was named to the baseball rules committee; Danny White, director of athletics at UCF, was named to the football ad hoc recruiting working group; Jim Siedliski, associate commissioner at The American, was appointed to the Olympic sports liaison committee; Kyle Conder, senior associate athletic director at SMU, was named to the rowing committee; and Brandi Stuart, senior associate athletic director at UCF, was selected to the softball committee.
About the American Athletic Conference
The American Athletic Conference (The American), a member of the National Collegiate Association (NCAA) was formed in 2013 after previously operating as the Big East Conference from 1979-2013. With the conference office in Providence, Rhode Island, The American is comprised of 12 member institutions: UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Navy (in football only), USF, SMU, Temple, Tulane and Tulsa. Under the leadership of Commissioner Mike Aresco, The American sponsors 21 championships – 10 for men and 11 for women; is a member of the College Football Playoff; began new television partnerships with ESPN and CBS Sports in 2014; and has a marketing partnership with IMG College. For more information, please visit www.TheAmerican.org.