PROVIDENCE, RI –   The presidents, athletic directors, senior woman administrators and faculty athletic representatives from the American Athletic Conference’s 13 member institutions gathered at the Grand Hyatt DFW in Dallas, Texas for its annual meeting, May 29-30. 
 
The American’s recently concluded landmark television/media rights agreement with ESPN was the focal point of the meetings. The presidents, athletic directors and conference staff discussed how the significantly enhanced revenue would be distributed and also reviewed future ESPN+ production plans.
 
“I was extremely pleased with the discussions among our membership during our two days of meetings” said American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco. “There is a palpable sense of excitement about the future of our conference in the wake of our new television/media deal with our valued partner ESPN. We took the opportunity to address important topics regarding the direction of the conference, we reflected on the tremendous progress we have made over the past six years, and we charted a vigorous future course.
 
“As always, we discussed the major issues facing college athletics generally, and we heard from Stan Wilcox, the NCAA’s Executive Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, who provided updates and insights into several of those issues being addressed by the NCAA, including academic reforms, initiatives dealing with the legalization of gambling in various states, the name, image and likeness review and the newly adopted basketball-related legislation, among others. 
 
“Our conference intends to play a major role in the future of college athletics, and our Power 6 initiative will have renewed energy by virtue of our new television/media agreement and our continued competitive success.” 
 
Manoj Chopra from the University of Central Florida, who served as chair of The American’s Faculty Athletic Representative (FARs) group for the past two years, provided a recap of the third annual Academic Consortium Symposium, which was held in March at the University of Tulsa. This year’s two-day event, which continued its focus on student-athlete wellness and mental health, drew 115 attendees that included 42 student-athletes from 12 American member institutions. He noted that the Symposium in 2020 will be held at the University of South Florida in Tampa and will look to include American coaches and sport administrators. 
 
Kiera Dalmass from the University of Connecticut and Din Selmanovic from the University of Cincinnati, members of The American’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, attended the meeting and outlined SAAC’s initiatives during the 2018-19 school year. Dalmass and Selmanovic illustrated the successes of the Conference’s #Pow6rfulMinds Campaign, which focuses on mental health and awareness, and the attention and recognition that it has received nationally.
 
Wilcox provided updates on current national issues in intercollegiate athletics, including the NCAA’s recent decision to appoint a working group to examine issues highlighted in proposed federal and state legislation related to student-athlete name, image and likeness, and the current FBI investigation in men’s basketball. Wilcox also reviewed the recent survey sent by the NCAA to its member institutions for feedback on academic misconduct, potential modifications to the infractions penalty structure, basketball-related concepts under development, and the ad hoc committee on sports wagering.
 
Football discussions outlined initiatives which will take place during the 2019 football season, including the league’s participation in CF150, Extra Yard for Teachers and Football Matters.
 
Several appointments for the upcoming 2019-20 academic year also were announced. Dr. David Rudd, President at the University of Memphis, was named chair of the Conference’s Board of Directors through 2021, while Neville Pinto of the University of Cincinnati, will serve as the vice chair.
       
Tulane’s Troy Dannen will serve a one-year term as chair of the Athletic Directors Executive Committee, while Patrick Kraft from Temple University was named vice chair. Kraft was also selected as the Conference’s representative to the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee.
 
Darron Boatright from Wichita State University, Lynda Black from Memphis and Charvi Greer from Tulane were named as liaisons to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
 
Additionally, Kraft will serve as the liaison to the football coaches group, while Chris Pezman from the University of Houston will be the liaison to the men’s basketball coaches, and Michael Kelly from the University of South Florida was appointed as the liaison to the women’s basketball coaches.
 
Jeremy Jordan from Temple was selected as chair of The American’s Faculty Athletic Representatives group.
 
At the conclusion of Thursday’s meeting, Commissioner Aresco recognized the accomplishments and contributions of retiring president Judy Genshaft (USF) and outgoing presidents Superintendent VADM Ted Carter (United Naval Academy), Susan Herbst (UConn), Cecil Staton (ECU) and Dale Whittaker (UCF). He also paid tribute to the late John Bardo (Wichita State).