AAC Commissioner bashes Power 5 branding and its aftereffects on teams like Stanford and Cal unable to find a new home

The AAC has remained open to the idea of adding the remaining four Pac-12 programs.

Conference commissioner Mike Aresco recently bashed the labels of 'Power Five' and 'Group of Five' when referring to NCAA conferences. He claims that it has prevented a potential expansion, according to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic who tweeted:

"AAC commissioner Aresco today reiterated his opposition to the terms “Power 5” and “Group of 5.” He believes they directly led to the latest round of realignment and to Cal & Stanford's pursuit of the ACC alongside SMU"

Aresco spoke with reporters following the College Football Playoff meeting:

"I’ve talked about how destructive this whole P5 thing can be. It’s all about branding. It’s all about the P5 conferences. We heard, ‘Well, Stanford and Cal have no place to go.’ They had a place to go. It may not be the place they wanted to go ideally, but they weren’t orphans. They had a chance to go somewhere."

"There’s this desperation now because of the P5 branding. That’s really what’s going on. … I understand the issue of money, and it’s based on TV deals. But guys are willing to go for virtually nothing because they feel like they have to have that — they feel that they need that branding.” [h/t The Athletic]

The American Athletic Conference remains in wait and see mode as the California Bears and Stanford Cardinal have been widely linked to the ACC.

Meanwhile, the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars have been linked to the MWC. One potential option that has been floated around, though, is a merger between the Pac-12 and the AAC.

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How would a merger between the Pac-12 and AAC look like?

The Pac-12 has been trending towards falling apart altogether after losing eight of their 12 member programs. As conference officials look to save the Pac-12, a merger with the AAC is a possibility, according to college football analyst Jim Williams, who tweeted:

"A PAC-American merger could be set where Stanford plays a pool of Cal, OSU, WSU, SMU, RICE, TULANE, USF, Navy, and Temple each year with the rest of the conference rotating on a yearly basis. Frankly it would be a schedule that fits their profile. Like the Big 12 helped make Texas happy, the American can make Stanford /pac happy! Welcome to college sports 2023 and beyond!"

While the direction of the Pac-12 remains unclear, all options remain on the table, including a potential merger with the AAC. The future of the conference will likely be determined by the decision made by the California Bears and Stanford Cardinal.