(12-30-2020 03:52 PM)Bull Wrote:  Everyone is free to disagree with me, but I feel the AAC DOES have a defined, and quite unique, identity. We are (with a few well-loved exceptions like Navy), the big city conference. We are big schools, in big cities, well served by big airports. Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Philly, Tampa, Cinci, etc. Its not geographic, but it's a real identity. I feel most of our schools are very similar in concerns and position in the pecking order. But distance is not much of a factor when we are all mostly by major airports.

That said, the Big East was largely ridiculed when we tried to go coast to coast before... I am really leery of trying that again. I love our current membership and footprint. BSU for 12 (or with BYU and AFA for 14) for football only sounds perfect to me.

This is a succinct and clear articulation of the AAC POV.

I tried to give the Boise State perspective, which is the American would be the right move for them if they would also take their Olympic Sports. As that is an opportunity for Football and a step up for Basketball to potentially become a major National program. The other side of it is financial, as moving All Sports gets the full payments of the American, without the negative charges of the other leagues like the Big West. Without it the finances are much less advantageous for a football only move.

That basically is why it's at an impasses, and will likely remain so. The American is quite happy with their Basketball line up and is not likely to want to add trips to Idaho on the schedule; and Boise State is not willing to downgrade their Basketball program level, or to move for less than the full American payout. This really has been the situation for the last 8 years.