(06-09-2021 01:19 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  That's the rub - I don't think Air Force is any more valuable than Fresno State, Army any more valuable than Colorado State, etc.

I don't get why people think they are almost quasi-P level in terms of brand.

Last night, this bugged me, and I pulled the NCAA 2019 football attendance PDF. Attendance isn't the be-all and end-all metric, but it's a handy metric.

Army averaged 30,989 butts-in-seats, Navy 31,970, Air Force 27,084.

14 non-P5 schools had attendance over 25,000 per game. 1 of them is BYU. 8 of them are in the AAC. 4 are in the Mountain West. 3 of them are service academies.

Yes, realignment message board fans tend to overrate the value of the service academies. But you're underrating their value. Army, Navy, Air Force--nobody anywhere asks who those schools are when they're playing. Can't say that about even a Southern Miss or an East Carolina or a South Florida.

Or, looking at it another way, you're overestimating the value of the other G5 schools, the Colorado States and Fresno State and Buffaloes and Southern Mississippis.

(06-09-2021 03:05 PM)SMUstang Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20.

Moving Navy around doesn't do you any good. (Also, Navy does NOT want a 9 game conference slate--9 games plus Army, Notre Dame, Air Force and that's their full slate)

You COULD put Navy back in the West, and have 2 of the other 5 Western teams play an extra conference game.

Or, let's get nuts. Scrap the east-west divisions, go zipper format. Make SMU-Houston, USF-UCF, maybe Memphis-Tulane protected cross-division rivalries. That way when one of those schools plays a 9th conference game, it doesn't sting as much.

(Does Navy still really really care about being in the Western division, or was that about Texas AND San Diego AND Boise State?)

It was and is about Tulane and SMU and to some extent, Tulsa. The privates that they are competitive with.

Top line Navy is a National program. The broader footpront is better; the more regionalized East less good.
Some of that is Texas and Tennessee and Louisiana for recruiting (and football recruiting much bigger impact than Academy-wide recruiting impact which is more impacted than Navy wide recruiting by the fottball team being around every other year)
Some of that is also institutional fit with the private schools (including more football history than the East teams)

Yes, Navy still strongly prefers West

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20.

Moving Navy around doesn't do you any good. (Also, Navy does NOT want a 9 game conference slate--9 games plus Army, Notre Dame, Air Force and that's their full slate)

You COULD put Navy back in the West, and have 2 of the other 5 Western teams play an extra conference game.

Or, let's get nuts. Scrap the east-west divisions, go zipper format. Make SMU-Houston, USF-UCF, maybe Memphis-Tulane protected cross-division rivalries. That way when one of those schools plays a 9th conference game, it doesn't sting as much.

(Does Navy still really really care about being in the Western division, or was that about Texas AND San Diego AND Boise State?)

You’re right, the math still doesn’t work.

It’s too bad they can’t just make an arrangement with Navy where they aren’t eligible for the CCG or technically a member of either division but still have them play 5-8 AAC games each year.

Navy is just too valuable to forcibly demote against their will.

(06-09-2021 05:12 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20.

Moving Navy around doesn't do you any good. (Also, Navy does NOT want a 9 game conference slate--9 games plus Army, Notre Dame, Air Force and that's their full slate)

You COULD put Navy back in the West, and have 2 of the other 5 Western teams play an extra conference game.

Or, let's get nuts. Scrap the east-west divisions, go zipper format. Make SMU-Houston, USF-UCF, maybe Memphis-Tulane protected cross-division rivalries. That way when one of those schools plays a 9th conference game, it doesn't sting as much.

(Does Navy still really really care about being in the Western division, or was that about Texas AND San Diego AND Boise State?)

You’re right, the math still doesn’t work.

It’s too bad they can’t just make an arrangement with Navy where they aren’t eligible for the CCG or technically a member of either division but still have them play 5-8 AAC games each year.

Navy is just too valuable to forcibly demote against their will.

I'm actually curious on the value of Navy football vs a non football #12. If there's no good #12 football playing school for all sports then I wonder how much money would be lost dumping Navy football and picking the best non football playing school. Would there be a viable non football school that could be a good sports add that limits the Navy hit on the tv deal?

(06-09-2021 06:10 PM)46566 Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 05:12 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20.

Moving Navy around doesn't do you any good. (Also, Navy does NOT want a 9 game conference slate--9 games plus Army, Notre Dame, Air Force and that's their full slate)

You COULD put Navy back in the West, and have 2 of the other 5 Western teams play an extra conference game.

Or, let's get nuts. Scrap the east-west divisions, go zipper format. Make SMU-Houston, USF-UCF, maybe Memphis-Tulane protected cross-division rivalries. That way when one of those schools plays a 9th conference game, it doesn't sting as much.

(Does Navy still really really care about being in the Western division, or was that about Texas AND San Diego AND Boise State?)

You’re right, the math still doesn’t work.

It’s too bad they can’t just make an arrangement with Navy where they aren’t eligible for the CCG or technically a member of either division but still have them play 5-8 AAC games each year.

Navy is just too valuable to forcibly demote against their will.

I'm actually curious on the value of Navy football vs a non football #12. If there's no good #12 football playing school for all sports then I wonder how much money would be lost dumping Navy football and picking the best non football playing school. Would there be a viable non football school that could be a good sports add that limits the Navy hit on the tv deal?

Are you advocating for a 10 team football conference and a 12 team basketball conference instead of the current 11 and 11? Why?

(06-09-2021 06:10 PM)46566 Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 05:12 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20.

Moving Navy around doesn't do you any good. (Also, Navy does NOT want a 9 game conference slate--9 games plus Army, Notre Dame, Air Force and that's their full slate)

You COULD put Navy back in the West, and have 2 of the other 5 Western teams play an extra conference game.

Or, let's get nuts. Scrap the east-west divisions, go zipper format. Make SMU-Houston, USF-UCF, maybe Memphis-Tulane protected cross-division rivalries. That way when one of those schools plays a 9th conference game, it doesn't sting as much.

(Does Navy still really really care about being in the Western division, or was that about Texas AND San Diego AND Boise State?)

You’re right, the math still doesn’t work.

It’s too bad they can’t just make an arrangement with Navy where they aren’t eligible for the CCG or technically a member of either division but still have them play 5-8 AAC games each year.

Navy is just too valuable to forcibly demote against their will.

I'm actually curious on the value of Navy football vs a non football #12. If there's no good #12 football playing school for all sports then I wonder how much money would be lost dumping Navy football and picking the best non football playing school.

Why would a league dump one of their more valuable football brands?

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20. ...

"Doesn't quite solve the problem" in the sense of making the problem worse ... the big and little conference both playing eight only makes a mismatch of 2 games.

The least departure from a balanced schedule would be Navy staying put, Navy playing 7 conference games, and one team in the East on a rotating schedule playing 9 conference games. One round of that gives 5 years after the waiver expires to sort something out, which ought to be enough time for realignment to shake something lose in some way.

The Eastern division schools could draw lots for which year they play an extra game.

(06-09-2021 07:48 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20. ...

"Doesn't quite solve the problem" in the sense of making the problem worse ... the big and little conference both playing eight only makes a mismatch of 2 games.

The least departure from a balanced schedule would be Navy staying put, Navy playing 7 conference games, and one team in the East on a rotating schedule playing 9 conference games. One round of that gives 5 years after the waiver expires to sort something out, which ought to be enough time for realignment to shake something lose in some way.

The Eastern division schools could draw lots for which year they play an extra game.

If you play uneven divisions, you can have nine teams with 8 conference games and two teams with 7 conference games.
(Or you could have two teams with 9 conference games, but that is less good)

It's not brain surgery

(06-09-2021 07:05 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 06:10 PM)46566 Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 05:12 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20.

Moving Navy around doesn't do you any good. (Also, Navy does NOT want a 9 game conference slate--9 games plus Army, Notre Dame, Air Force and that's their full slate)

You COULD put Navy back in the West, and have 2 of the other 5 Western teams play an extra conference game.

Or, let's get nuts. Scrap the east-west divisions, go zipper format. Make SMU-Houston, USF-UCF, maybe Memphis-Tulane protected cross-division rivalries. That way when one of those schools plays a 9th conference game, it doesn't sting as much.

(Does Navy still really really care about being in the Western division, or was that about Texas AND San Diego AND Boise State?)

You’re right, the math still doesn’t work.

It’s too bad they can’t just make an arrangement with Navy where they aren’t eligible for the CCG or technically a member of either division but still have them play 5-8 AAC games each year.

Navy is just too valuable to forcibly demote against their will.

I'm actually curious on the value of Navy football vs a non football #12. If there's no good #12 football playing school for all sports then I wonder how much money would be lost dumping Navy football and picking the best non football playing school.

Why would a league dump one of their more valuable football brands?

Yup. Navy is one the top AAC brands.

(06-09-2021 08:10 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 07:48 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20. ...

"Doesn't quite solve the problem" in the sense of making the problem worse ... the big and little conference both playing eight only makes a mismatch of 2 games.

The least departure from a balanced schedule would be Navy staying put, Navy playing 7 conference games, and one team in the East on a rotating schedule playing 9 conference games. One round of that gives 5 years after the waiver expires to sort something out, which ought to be enough time for realignment to shake something lose in some way.

The Eastern division schools could draw lots for which year they play an extra game.

If you play uneven divisions, you can have nine teams with 8 conference games and two teams with 7 conference games.
(Or you could have two teams with 9 conference games, but that is less good)

It's not brain surgery

All you have to do is look at how the MAC did it before they added Buffalo. Everyone played the same amount of conference games. One division just played an extra crossover.

(06-09-2021 05:12 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20.

Moving Navy around doesn't do you any good. (Also, Navy does NOT want a 9 game conference slate--9 games plus Army, Notre Dame, Air Force and that's their full slate)

You COULD put Navy back in the West, and have 2 of the other 5 Western teams play an extra conference game.

Or, let's get nuts. Scrap the east-west divisions, go zipper format. Make SMU-Houston, USF-UCF, maybe Memphis-Tulane protected cross-division rivalries. That way when one of those schools plays a 9th conference game, it doesn't sting as much.

(Does Navy still really really care about being in the Western division, or was that about Texas AND San Diego AND Boise State?)

You’re right, the math still doesn’t work.

It’s too bad they can’t just make an arrangement with Navy where they aren’t eligible for the CCG or technically a member of either division but still have them play 5-8 AAC games each year.

Navy is just too valuable to forcibly demote against their will.

That's pretty much Notre Dame's football status within the ACC. I would suggest that the AAC even allow Navy to specify Houston and SMU as protected annual games (the main reason they wanted to be in the west division), and to choose how many other games they want to play every year. I would also give them access to the AAC bowl lineup when they are eligible. If they want to play only six AAC games, pay them 75% of what they're paid now.

IMO, there are several all-sport, football-first, athletic programs that could definitely grow and develop over time under the American banner. The AAC will likely wait for a sure thing that immediately provides value (Boise, BYU, Army, etc.). They haven't come, nor will they for various reasons.

With the right investment, they can add a program that can get a boost with recruiting and viewership, and in the right market, it could pay huge dividends as a long-term asset to the league.

I doubt anyone gets added, but there are a few programs with strong potential with the AAC association.

(06-09-2021 06:17 PM)SMUstang Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 06:10 PM)46566 Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 05:12 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20.

Moving Navy around doesn't do you any good. (Also, Navy does NOT want a 9 game conference slate--9 games plus Army, Notre Dame, Air Force and that's their full slate)

You COULD put Navy back in the West, and have 2 of the other 5 Western teams play an extra conference game.

Or, let's get nuts. Scrap the east-west divisions, go zipper format. Make SMU-Houston, USF-UCF, maybe Memphis-Tulane protected cross-division rivalries. That way when one of those schools plays a 9th conference game, it doesn't sting as much.

(Does Navy still really really care about being in the Western division, or was that about Texas AND San Diego AND Boise State?)

You’re right, the math still doesn’t work.

It’s too bad they can’t just make an arrangement with Navy where they aren’t eligible for the CCG or technically a member of either division but still have them play 5-8 AAC games each year.

Navy is just too valuable to forcibly demote against their will.

I'm actually curious on the value of Navy football vs a non football #12. If there's no good #12 football playing school for all sports then I wonder how much money would be lost dumping Navy football and picking the best non football playing school. Would there be a viable non football school that could be a good sports add that limits the Navy hit on the tv deal?

Are you advocating for a 10 team football conference and a 12 team basketball conference instead of the current 11 and 11? Why?

The biggest argument for no #12 is there is no value in any of the current #12 football schools. The AAC has unbalanced divisions. All I'm asking or saying is how much of a hit would losing Navy football be on the TV contract if they picked up a non football #12. The NCAA already approved a 10 team championship game for the Sun Belt. People are making it like Navy is the linchpin school of the conference.

I think Navy can be a problem for the AAC in the long run. Boise State football only no longer is happening so most other options are for full membership. If no football schools move the needle and who knows how long the waiver is going to last. I think dumping Navy is a possibility they need to look into.

Let's say if the CFP is expanded and the #12 team for football is found would the AAC want their champion Navy lose to Army a week after the conference championship game? I doubt Navy is going to move the Army-Navy game. Basically I'm looking for either a 10/12 AAC or 12/12 without Navy. (In this case wichita state is dropped also) I just don't think Navy is as valuable as people think they are.

“Dropping Navy and Wichita St” is the part where we’ve gone from a reality-based discussion to a fantasy-based discussion where we’re ignoring basic fundamentals of realignment.

(06-10-2021 12:32 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  “Dropping Navy and Wichita St” is the part where we’ve gone from a reality-based discussion to a fantasy-based discussion where we’re ignoring basic fundamentals of realignment.

LOL! This discussion left reality a while back.

(06-10-2021 12:03 AM)46566 Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 06:17 PM)SMUstang Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 06:10 PM)46566 Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 05:12 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20.

Moving Navy around doesn't do you any good. (Also, Navy does NOT want a 9 game conference slate--9 games plus Army, Notre Dame, Air Force and that's their full slate)

You COULD put Navy back in the West, and have 2 of the other 5 Western teams play an extra conference game.

Or, let's get nuts. Scrap the east-west divisions, go zipper format. Make SMU-Houston, USF-UCF, maybe Memphis-Tulane protected cross-division rivalries. That way when one of those schools plays a 9th conference game, it doesn't sting as much.

(Does Navy still really really care about being in the Western division, or was that about Texas AND San Diego AND Boise State?)

You’re right, the math still doesn’t work.

It’s too bad they can’t just make an arrangement with Navy where they aren’t eligible for the CCG or technically a member of either division but still have them play 5-8 AAC games each year.

Navy is just too valuable to forcibly demote against their will.

I'm actually curious on the value of Navy football vs a non football #12. If there's no good #12 football playing school for all sports then I wonder how much money would be lost dumping Navy football and picking the best non football playing school. Would there be a viable non football school that could be a good sports add that limits the Navy hit on the tv deal?

Are you advocating for a 10 team football conference and a 12 team basketball conference instead of the current 11 and 11? Why?

The biggest argument for no #12 is there is no value in any of the current #12 football schools. The AAC has unbalanced divisions. All I'm asking or saying is how much of a hit would losing Navy football be on the TV contract if they picked up a non football #12. The NCAA already approved a 10 team championship game for the Sun Belt. People are making it like Navy is the linchpin school of the conference.

I think Navy can be a problem for the AAC in the long run. Boise State football only no longer is happening so most other options are for full membership. If no football schools move the needle and who knows how long the waiver is going to last. I think dumping Navy is a possibility they need to look into.

Let's say if the CFP is expanded and the #12 team for football is found would the AAC want their champion Navy lose to Army a week after the conference championship game? I doubt Navy is going to move the Army-Navy game. Basically I'm looking for either a 10/12 AAC or 12/12 without Navy. (In this case wichita state is dropped also) I just don't think Navy is as valuable as people think they are.

There is zero chance the AAC would have any interest in "dumping" Navy. Navy was pursued by the old Big East and the is one of the best brands in the AAC. Hell, the real desire is exactly the opposite. The league would be VERY interested in ADDING another academy---namely Army. That said, league would MUCH prefer unbalance divisions to losing of Navy (or any other member for that matter). Frankly, I think a rule change will be the end of this issue for the forseeable future.

(06-09-2021 08:10 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 07:48 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 02:36 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-09-2021 01:23 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ve got a solution to the 11 teams/divisional thing:

East: Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF
West: Memphis, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulane

Navy alternates between the 2: Odd years in the East, Even years in the West.

In the years when Navy is in your division, those 5 schools play a 9th conference game.

Doesn't quite solve the problem. Say Navy is in the East this year.
East teams have 5 division games, 4 crossover games x 6 = 24 crossover games
West teams have 4 division games, 4 crossover games x 5 = 20 crossover games

24 is more than 20. ...

"Doesn't quite solve the problem" in the sense of making the problem worse ... the big and little conference both playing eight only makes a mismatch of 2 games.

The least departure from a balanced schedule would be Navy staying put, Navy playing 7 conference games, and one team in the East on a rotating schedule playing 9 conference games. One round of that gives 5 years after the waiver expires to sort something out, which ought to be enough time for realignment to shake something lose in some way.

The Eastern division schools could draw lots for which year they play an extra game.

If you play uneven divisions, you can have nine teams with 8 conference games and two teams with 7 conference games.
(Or you could have two teams with 9 conference games, but that is less good)

It's not brain surgery

It's also not the only two alternatives.

It's ALSO not rocket science that you could have one team with 7 conference games in the "big" division and one team with 9 conference games in the "small" division.

And further non-rocket science that, as far as unbalanced schedules go, there is one affiliate member, who as an academy is likely to be able to get an additional game without too much trouble, and who wouldn't mind the opportunity to have a bit more of a national schedule, so if Navy is ALWAYS the "little division" member with one fewer game, there is only one full conference member per year that has to depart from a balanced schedule.

I assume Wichita doesn’t see any football money?

Stay at 11 with waivers as long as possible to see if Aresco can land a permanent play off spot for the AAC. If he can BYU (the main target) will come running for FB only. If he can't and BYU stays away, then bring in Colorado ST for all sports in the western division for a safe add and move Memphis to the eastern division. UConn replacement complete if the AAC can't get the NCAA legislation changed to stay at 11 FB schools with a championship game without unbalanced divisions, without stretching the conference geographical boundaries to far.

Navy and Wichita are very valuable brands to the American. They will not be "dumped" so that the AAC can have balanced divisions in football or so as to nix the hybrid model. That would be absurd.

The American is in very fine shape (not "great," admittedly, but very fine). It is an all-sports league with a quality mix of academics (including six medical schools), athletics and universities with strong histories and city locations. It is joined by the Big East and the Mountain West as the three best NCAA D-I conferences (though some would add the Ivy League to that group) that are not part of the Power Five.