(05-18-2022 06:40 AM)TroyTBoy Wrote: (05-18-2022 06:12 AM)Milwaukee Wrote: .
I'm an AAC fan (and have usually been a TroyTBoy fan), but I consider it a horrible idea to continue the P6 campaign, because it's an embarrassing reminder of the complete and utter failure of Aresco's so-called "P6" strategic plan.
It is an absolute fraud, a complete misrepresentation to try to pretend that the AAC is going to be a P6 conference, when it's not even likely to be any stronger than the MWC or the SBC in football on a consistent basis.
Frankly, there isn't likely to be a P6 conference for the foreseeable future, but the closest thing to it will probably be the MWC.
Better to just let sleeping dogs lie than to make an argument with zero credibility that the AAC is going to be a power conference any time soon.
Trying to claim the AAC is a power conference will just make the conference's fans look like idiotic simpletons who don't have a clue about collegiate athletics.
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I understand your perspective. Nevertheless, I feel that Aresco's calculus regarding the continued campaign has a lot to do with his confidence that the structure of the CFP (whether it's the current NY6 Access bowl or the 12 team playoff) will still favor the American (most likely the 8 highest paid of the group - at least initially).
The importance of New Years Day can't be understated - when it comes to the P6 campaign. Aresco is already set on eliminating the divisional alignments, so he can leverage the fertile recruiting grounds that sit in the AAC footprint.
His belief (and I don't disagree) is that the new rules regulating the transfer portal and NIL will put further competitive distance between the AAC and the 4 other non-autonomy conferences, because the AAC schools will get great players on the bounce-back (from local P5s) as well as from the High Schools.
As you said though (and I don't disagree), the AAC is dealing with a credibility issue right now from being poached of its bellcows. Inevitably performance over a prolonged period will shape the debate as the CFP-12 comes and goes. The AAC is really in a complicated position, because Aresco's best argument (a conference member making the CFP) happened less than 6 months ago.
He wants to capitalize on that.
I respect what you're trying to do and have nicknamed you as the recreational director of the "S.S. American Athletic Association cruise ship".
However, I have absolutely zero faith in Commissioner Aresco's ability to do anything but negotiate successfully with ESPN, his former employer for broadcasting agreements.
As I see it, Aresco's predecessors did a much better job of replacing departing Big East schools with qualified replacements.
Former Big East commissioner Tranghese brought Cincinnati, Louisville, and USF into the conference, and Connecticut's FB program transitioned to FBS.
As I understand it, former Big East commissioner Marinatto brought Temple back into the Big East in 2012, and then brought UCF, Memphis, Houston, and SMU into the conference, and he signed Navy to join in 2015 as a FB member. In addition, he made strong moves to add TCU, Boise St., and SDSU, although these fell through.
If my understanding is correct, Aresco was the one who oversaw the addition of Tulsa, Tulane, and ECU - - and this contributed to the decisions of TCU, Boise St., and SDSU to back out of their commitments to join the conference.
Aresco only ended up with the job, as I understand it, because the existing Big East schools foolishly turned down ESPN's offer for a broadcasting deal, without having a backup plan, and this caused the implosion of the conference - - which was simply too much for Marinatto to bear, so he couldn't take it any more, and Aresco simply inherited the mess from him. All Aresco ever did besides adding Tul/Tul/ECU was to add Wichita State, but he utterly failed to replace UConn.
Another disaster that took place after Aresco became the commissioner was the decision to sell the Big East name to the original Big East basketball schools. In retrospect, that seems to many of us to have been an incredibly thoughtless and irresponsible decision.
To me,
Aresco is, as the saying goes, "All hat and no cattle." In other words, he does a lot of talking, but hardly ever gets anything of importance done. I'm not even sure that he deserves any substantive credit for the ESPN broadcasting deal, since it can be argued that it was ESPN who was driving the American as the Captain (e.g., Picard) of the ship all along, and Aresco was just the First Officer (e.g., Riker) in the whole deal.
I hope you'll realize that it's going to be seen as a complete mockery and a sham to claim that the AAC 2.0 is going to be a power conference from the get-go when it's plain to everyone that the AAC 2.0 isn't even likely to be the best of the G5 conferences with respect to either football or basketball.
If there is any semblance of a "P6" now, it's the Mountain West Conference, but you won't find any MWC fans making that kind of ridiculous claim for which they're perfectly aware they would be justifiably ridiculed.
I don't want to see you lambasted as a clown (or worse), TTB, so I hope you'll back off this P6 claim, which seems absolutely bonkers to me.
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