The AAC has put on a big marketing campaign around becoming a P6 league thinking that if they could just become a P6 all of their issues surrounding TV revenue and perception can be solved.
The simple fact of the matter is the AAC could get a contract with a bowl for itself in an expanded CFP field and a larger TV deal but that wouldn't move the needle very far with the committee who will continue to trash its scheduled.
The AAC doesn't have a money problem. The problem is it lacks elite football programs which draw 70, 80, 90 thousand or more a game. Their place in college football won't change if they have a contract bowl.
One look at the overall conference ratings from last year shows its a futile climb.
Conference/Avg. Rating
ACC/41.42
SEC/45.60
B1G/45.73
PAC/46.41
B12/48.72
AAC/66.82
MWC/83.97
MAC/84.73
CUSA/91.81
SBC/101.93
https://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare.htm
There is 3 points of gap between what is regarded by most as the strongest football conference in the SEC and the B12 which is thought to be the weak man of the P5. The gap between the B12 and AAC is 18 points a 6 times larger gap.
Half of the AAC is a "P" material conference in Cincinnati, UCF, USF, Houston, Memphis, UConn. The other half with Temple, ECU, Navy, Tulane, SMU, Tulane is not "P" material. The recruiting potential of the AAC to catch the P5 in quality simply isn't there.