AAC Expansion reports: Army Football Considering Joining American Athletic Conference

Army could be the latest team to be involved in college football realignment, especially in the AAC.

Army is currently an independent football program and has been for its entire existence except for seven seasons from 1998 until 2004, when they were part of Conference USA.

However, this summer, plenty of teams have joined different conferences, and after SMU left the American Athletic Conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference, the AAC is looking to replace them.

According to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel, the AAC has circled Army as the school they want to join the conference to replace.

Will Army Football replace SMU?

As of right now, there is no agreement in place for the Army to join the AAC and replace SMU. However, the conference is hoping something can get done soon.

Following the news that Army Football could potentially join the AAC, Army head coach Jeff Monken was asked about it and was brutally honest in saying he didn't like the idea.

"I've talked about this before. I think with conference realignment and just the changing landscape of college football, we have very much embraced and valued our independence. I think it's great for this university, for this program, to have national exposure like we have... I value our independency. I think it's fantastic to be able to play people all over the country."

However, as Monken says, he knows it's not his decision, but he is clear that he would prefer to have the Army remain independent. Being an independent football program certainly has its perks, and it also comes with a history, which Monken wants to keep.

In total, the Army has been independent from 1891 until 1998 and then from 2004 until the present. So, should the program decide to remain independent, it's uncertain who else the AAC would be interested in adding to replace SMU.

How many teams are in the AAC?

In the 2023 football season, the AAC had 14 schools, but with SMU leaving, the conference is down to 13 for 2024.

This past year, the AAC saw Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF leave for the Big 12, but they were replaced by Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA.

Entering 2024, the schools that will be part of the AAC in football are Charlotte, East Carolina, FAU, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, Rice, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, and UTSA.