(05-03-2016 03:39 PM)NorCour Wrote:  I know I'm way late on this conversation, but I've thought about this for a while and wanted to post it somewhere.

I love college football, and I love conference expansion. It is fascinating to see new matchups, new divisions, etc. That is how, as an SEC fan, I can actually get pumped for the AAC.

Expansion and realignment will be coming soon. How soon, now that's up for debate. It seems that the power 5 will, at some point, become the power 4. The ACC or Big 12 will fall. For the AAC, this is not good news. The loser of the ACC or Big 12 will try to fill back up with the next best teams, and most of those are in the AAC. The AAC should try to get strong and stable enough to become the 5th best conference in the nation when this shift occurs.


This is my fan theory on how they do it...


The AAC can't compete when it comes to classic college football. Their teams don't stack up, their rivalries are not worth getting too excited about, and their history is lacking since they're only a few years old. They need to market themselves according to their strength. Thankfully, their new name helps.

The American Athletic Conference should start branding themselves as America's conference, as they try to reach across the entire US. They're at 12 teams currently, but I believe they should get to 20. Yes, 20. It is whispered about this as a possibility for the B1G, so why not be the pioneers of it? (Side note: feel free to shoot me down about markets and money, I've done none of that research).

Here is who they should add:

1. BYU
2. Boise State
3. Colorado State
4. Northern Illinois
5. Air Force
6. Toledo
7. San Diego State
8. Army

Essentially I looked for the best teams in the other group of 5 conferences that have been discussed as expansion candidates for other conferences. I also added the other 2 military academies, because whats more American than that?! With 20 teams, 2 divisions of 10 would be impossible. This is where they can truly pioneer within college football: 4 divisions of 5.

East:
ECU
Navy
Temple
UConn
Army*

South:
UCF
USF
Tulane
Houston
SMU

Central:
Memphis
Cincinnati
Tulsa
Toledo*
NIU*

West:
Air Force*
Boise State*
BYU*
Colorado State*
San Diego State*

*=expansion team

I've made a map of this, and all of the divisions make geographic sense. For the season, have 2 divisions play each other round robin (9 conference games), and take the two division champions at the end of the season for the conference championship. Rotate each year, and your school would play every team in the conference in three years.

There are several decent objections to this - first, the travel. San Diego State and UConn in the same conference? Crazy, I know. The divisions themselves are close, but there will be some long road games. Perhaps the AAC can use the recently vacated stadium in St. Louis (close to the middle of America.. think branding, here) to have kickoff games, and schedule those strategically to avoid insanely long road games. Another objection is rivalries that wouldn't be maintained. I get that, I would hate as a UGA fan to not play Florida each season, but for the AAC, they need to brand themselves in a way that is attractive. That means sacrificing in some areas.

So, I said they should brand to their strength, and I've hinted at it already. Be the American Conference. Cover America. Have all of your schools play across America consistently. Have your championship game in the middle of the conference, the middle of America. Make a big deal out of the geographic divisions, and work for division pride. Have the military academies bolster the idea of it being the "American." You would beat out the B1G by being the first conference to get to 20 teams, stealing the spotlight on the excitement. You would basically embarrass the Big 12 by stealing some of their expansion candidates while having double their numbers. You could brag against the SEC, ACC, and B1G for how your 20 schools play each other every year, but their 14 team conferences don't even come close to doing that. Recruit athletes by telling them that they can experience all the corners of the nation. Eyes in Florida, Ohio, California, North Carolina, Idaho, etc. will all be watching them play in just 3 years.

I believe this would make the AAC the clear 6th best conference, and it could stabilize them during the next expansion chapter. There would absolutely be a separation between the AAC and the other 4 in the "group of 5." And, if the best teams do get poached, you'll be next in line to poach from the group of 5. That's okay. You can't survive if your marketing is based on the quality of teams you have. Make it about the process, the experience, and the patriotism.

I rest my case.