(09-11-2021 08:26 PM)Milwaukee Wrote:  Interestingly, almost everyone, so far, seems to expect invitations to go out at some point in the middle of the football season.

Put it this way: I believe Aresco’s plan is to do that. His intention is to do that. If he winds up not doing that, it’s because his plan didn’t work out.

Quote: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.

If things go wrong, the plan will change. Yes.

Quote: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.

Only if you think there are schools that want to join the American, but have not reached out to Aresco or any of the AAC Presidents/Chancellors/etc. That just doesn’t sound real to me. Disagree if you like.

Quote: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.

I really have no doubt whatsoever that every school Aresco is interested in, is aware of that interest. Now, that doesn’t mean the interest is mutual. But the interest is known, and acknowledged in one way or another. Zero doubt.

Quote:[Aresco] 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

True. That wouldn’t surprise me at all.

Quote: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.

Define “available”.

I’d put it this way: Aresco, and the AAC’s institutional leaders, and the AAC’s media partners (primarily ESPN, of course) know exactly what criteria they are using, and they know exactly what the pecking order is for each possible candidate. They can’t force someone to say yes that doesn’t want to. But they are not going to get confused and bypass A in favor of B unless A explicitly says no.

Quote:If he brings Rice and Charlotte in, he might end up consigning the AAC to oblivion.

That’s true. Bringing in Rice and Charlotte would be a disaster for the AAC. But it would be wonderful for C-USA! Here’s hoping.