(09-11-2021 07:01 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote: I think this was already posted elsewhere on the board but apparently not everyone has seen it:
Aresco said his conference plans to move "deliberately and expeditiously" to add two to four teams and beef up the league to 10 or 12 following the three departures. Aresco declined to name specific schools the AAC is interested in, but said it would only "entertain institutions that have shown an interest in us."
"We're not trying to poach, we're not trying to persuade," he said. "There have been schools that have shown interest in us. I'm trying not to create any instability in the system. We're just trying right now to regroup. We know we need to get bigger. That's just a fact of life based on what's happened, but I'm trying not to rile things up."
Aresco said the AAC would likely look for members in all sports, not just football, but that's also a possibility.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/st...r-exit-fee
That sounds like weeks to me, not months or years.
Interestingly, almost everyone, so far, seems to expect invitations to go out at some point in the middle of the football season.
However, "Murphy's law" ("anything that can go wrong will go wrong"), tends to throw a monkey wrench into the works, and this could slow down the process somewhat.
One thing I find troubling about what Aresco said is that he has no intention of discussing possible membership with any school that doesn't contact him first. That could easily have a devastating impact on the pool of potential members.
The AAC would be most likely to be able to add the best teams if it were to draw up a list of their top choices and contact all of those.
It would be very possible that some schools would join the AAC if invited, even if they don't take the first step. Some university presidents and ADs may hope or expect that the AAC will reach out to them, and may be disappointed when they don't receive an invitation.
At the very least, it would seem that Aresco should send a letter to all of the G5 ADs and presidents, informing them that any school that would be interested in joining the AAC will have to contact him in order to be considered as a possible member. But somehow, it seems unlikely that he'll do that.
Sitting back and waiting for people to contact him may explain why ESPN has reported that Aresco has had discussions about membership with Rice and UNCC -- two of the worst FB/BB schools in the entire G5. If he had held discussions with Marshall and Appalachian State, ESPN surely would had reported that - - but they haven't. Maybe he's not as capable as some people to think he is, when it comes to adding quality members.
"we're not trying to persuade (any schools to join the AAC)" -Commissioner Aresco
This may explain why he failed to bring Boise State into the conference last year.
What the bleep is he supposed to be doing, if not to persuade the best teams to join the conference? He's being far too passive about this, if you ask me.
How can he expect anyone to take him seriously when he claims that the AAC will remain a "P6" conference when he's not even willing to pick up the phone and invite any school that hasn't reached out to him first?
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On another matter, he may have dropped a hint when he said that he's looking for teams that are good in all sports, not just football.
Since there are few schools that are terrific in all sports, this may suggest that the AAC will consider adding 1 or more BB/olympic sports members and FB-only members. Another possibility is that they will consider adding schools with good FB programs and halfway decent BB schools (e.g., Marshall, ULL, UAB, & Louisiana Tech).
Overall, I haven't seen anything in these remarks by Aresco that makes me feel confident that he's going to bring the best available teams into the AAC.
If he brings Rice and Charlotte in, he might end up consigning the AAC to oblivion.