by Dick Weiss for TheAmerican.org
NEWPORT, R.I.-- American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco knows the makeup of his 12-team league could be affected by Big 12 expansion. He acknowledged as much at The American’s Summer Kickoff and Media Days at the Hyatt Regency on this island. He did not ignore the elephant in the room, meeting with athletic directors over the course of the event and speaking to any member of the media who wanted an interview.
But he had no wish to dwell on the subject at this event because he felt it would be doing a disservice to the conference and the players in attendance.
Instead, Aresco chose to focus on what The American has accomplished over the past three seasons and strongly suggested during an impassioned speech that the conference champion deserves serious consideration for a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff.
“I absolutely think we have a shot,” Aresco said. “A few years ago when (the College Football Playoff) started, I think there were people who thought this thing would be confined to five conferences. We had a seminal year last season. I think we've shown the committee that we have really had good teams from top to bottom. I think once you do that, people respect your conference.
“People know that you have to run a gauntlet when you play in our conference. If Houston beats Oklahoma, beats Louisville and runs the table on our conference, I think they would definitely be a playoff team. If USF beats Florida State and has a great season, I think they should be considered as a playoff team.
“So, I think we're definitely in that conversation. What I don't want is a glass ceiling. I don't want our teams to be hindered because they're not in a particular conference. That's why I'm pushing our league to be part of a Power 6.”
The American's success on the field is no longer being questioned.
Aresco pointed out that the American has had a top-10 team in two of the past three years. Houston finished No. 8 last season and UCF was No. 10 in 2013. Four teams from The American last year were ranked at one time or another, including and three that were ranked in the final College Football Playoff poll. Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds set NCAA records and won the Sullivan Award as the nation's best amateur male athlete. Quarterback Greg Ward led Houston to 13 wins. All America linebacker Tyler Matekevich of Temple won the Bednarik and Nagurski awards as the nation’s top defensive player. Quarterback Paxton Lynch of Memphis was an NFL first-round draft pick. Temple defeated Penn State for the first time since 1941 before a sellout crowd in Philadelphia. Memphis defeated SEC power and local rival Ole Miss before more than 60,000 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Cincinnati beat a then-undefeated Miami team before a sellout crowd at Nippert Stadium. Houston defeated Navy at sold out TDECU Stadium in front of a national TV audience the Friday after Thanksgiving. And The American staged its first championship game between Houston and Temple. The league had five ABC national telecasts and ESPN College GameDay was onsite for both the Temple-Notre Dame and Army-Navy games.
“We are the American Athletic Conference, and 'American' stands for many worthy values; it embodies a competitive spirit which applauds upward mobility, which believes that an underdog can win and take its place in a hierarchy of merit,” Aresco said. “Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, a member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, echoed these themes in her 2016 NCAA Convention keynote address when she emphasized a fundamental American value-- the idea that where you come from does not matter, but where you are going does. Many of our schools have great tradition, but we are not staking our future on the past. Our motto could easily be, “Forget Tradition.” We are upwardly mobile, Our success has not been confined to a few teams.
When Aresco looks at this season, he sees a league with nine returning quarterbacks, including Ward, who could be a Heisman finalist, an excellent core of young, energized coaches like Tom Herman of Houston, and Matt Rhule of Temple who are rising stars, improved teams, high scoring offenses and big nonleague games. Among the teams on The American’s nonconference ledger are Oklahoma, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ole Miss.
“We know that this is a tough slate,” Aresco said. “But we draw inspiration from President Kennedy's words when he discussed our nation's goal of reaching the moon, 'We do it not because it is easy, but because it is hard.’”
No one knows what the future holds. Aresco rebuilt this league once and he is set to stake The American as a Power 6 again, no matter what happens in this latest round of conference realignment.