AAC votes to accept Army as football-only member starting in 2024: sources

The American Athletic Conference has voted to admit Army as a football-only member starting in 2024, two sources familiar with the vote confirmed to The athleteAn official announcement is expected later on Wednesday. Yahoo Sports first announced the vote.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Military football spent from 1998 to 2004 in Conference USA before becoming an independent.
• The AAC welcomed six new schools ahead of the 2023 football season to grow to 14 members but will lose SMU to the ACC next year.
• Army reached a contract extension with coach Jeff Monken this fall that will pay the coach an average salary of more than $2 million per year and run through the 2027 season.

Why does the military join the AAC?

On the one hand, football independence is more difficult than ever. Only UConn and UMass remain true independents not tied to the Football Conference. Conferences continue to gain more power and influence, and the 12-team College Football Playoff offers a realistic path to the postseason for the Group of Five. Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk recently said Army should join the AAC because of the league’s stability and infrastructure. For the AAC, this is another program with a national brand and fan base, one that has had four seasons of at least nine wins since 2017.

The AAC’s ESPN contract through 2031-32 provides stability, though it remains unclear at this time whether Army home games will move to that deal or remain on CBS Sports Network through 2028, as part of the contract being extended. last year. The conference includes schools with strong academic traditions such as Tulane, Rice, and of course, Navy. The AAC also has a large footprint in Texas, where the three service academies are heavily recruiting for football. Army’s 2023 roster includes 27 players from the Lone Star State.

In 2021, Air Force and three other Mountain West schools have expressed interest in joining the AAC. The possibility of having the three service academies was discussed extensively at the conference. The three already have regular calls as a group. With the Mountain West TV deal expiring in a few years, the possibility of adding Air Force (7-0) could arise again, but the MWC itself could be strengthened depending on the fate of the Pac-12’s remnants in Oregon and Washington State. state. —Chris Vannini, senior college football writer

Army call

West Point is a school located in the northeast and has an obvious long-standing rivalry with AAC football member Navy. The Army-Navy game is being played as a standalone exhibition after the conference championship games and will remain a non-conference game, a source confirmed Wednesday. Army will also continue to play Air Force annually in November.

The Army and AAC had discussions in 2021 as well when the Air Force was part of the talks. Most other Army and Navy sports are in the Patriot League. – My vanity

Required reading

(Photo: Danny Wild/USA Today)