The American Athletic Conference (additionally referred to as The American and is also often times shortened AAC) is actually an American collegiate athletic conference, highlighting twelve member universities as well as 6 affiliate member universities which contend as part of the (NCAA) National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I, among their football organizations contending as part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Member universities signify a variety of exclusive as well as public universities of different registration sizes situated mainly inside urbanized metropolitan locations around the Northeastern, Midwestern and south regions out of the United States.

The league is actually the product of significant hardship inside the old Big East throughout the 2010-2014 conference realignment time period. It is 1 of 2 conferences to surface from the all-sports Big East in the year 2013. Although the other successor, which really does not support football, obtained the Big East Conference label, The American inherited the old Big East’s framework and also is that particular conference’s legitimate replacement.

Nevertheless, both the conferences declare 1979 as their particular starting date, and also the exact same history upwards to the year 2013. The American is actually based inside Providence, Rhode Island, and is also directed by Commissioner Michael Aresco.

The American’s legal predecessor, the original Big East Conference, had been regarded as one out of the 6 collegiate power conferences concerning the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) period as part of college football, and The American inherited just that position as part of the BCS’s last season. Alongside the introduction regarding the College Football Playoff as part of 2014, The American started to be the “Group of Five” conference, that shares 1 guaranteed position as part of the New Year’s Six bowl matches.