The American Athletic Conference has been performing admirably. Pac-12 colleges are likely to join the AAC in the near future. The Pac-12 is down to four teams following a major exodus from the conference, and there are concerns about a television rights deal.
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According to On3's Eric Prisbell, the four surviving Pac-12 colleges may join the AAC, but not as a merger. His piece contains some intriguing nuggets, as the AAC is interested in recruiting all four clubs. However, this is not debated between conferences; rather, it is discussed between universities.
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"The conversations that are ensuing now are likely between the remaining Pac-12 schools and schools in the AAC, rather than between conference offices. A merger is not said to be in play at the moment; it would entail a variety of complicating factors. Instead, the AAC is focused on potentially adding Pac-12 schools."
It's also crucial to remember that there is no sign that the remaining four Pac-12 institutions, Stanford, Oregon State, California, and Washington State, will coordinate their actions. Instead, they can be viewing this as partners or as individuals.
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The addition of Pac-12 colleges to the AAC might benefit both the four clubs and the conference. The AAC will most likely be elevated to the Power Five, taking the position of the Pac-12. The Pac-12 might possibly disband, which would be a big blow to college football history.
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The benefit of having Pac-12 schools to AAC for the conference would be having some westward expansion. There are some teams that are located in Texas, and that would make travel a bit easier. Adding some more programs never hurts as the AAC tries to gain more visibility.
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Pat McAfee couldn't just sit there and talk about the Atlantic Coast Conference's big media agreement worth $240,000,000 until the year 2036; as soon as he mentioned the figure, he sprang up in his seat. McAfee revealed the following while speaking with ESPN football reporter Pete Thamel:
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"That ACC deal is a long time, bro. So, they got people traveling to Charlotte to come to look at a deal that says, 'Yeah, you're f*cked for another 12 years.' I mean, I don't know which judge would say it, but one of them that looked at it would say that, because did they just sign that deal because they thought, '$240 million. Yeah, this is a lot of money.'?"
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McAfee talked about how funding for live sports has increased recently. In 2012, the ACC and ESPN signed a new 15-year media deal, reportedly worth $3.6 billion. The contract has a yearly value of $240 million. "Look, the money that's being spent on live sports, bro, that's what this is. Live sports are the only thing that carries ratings anymore."
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The 15-year media contract renewal between the ACC and ESPN starts in 2019. The agreement ensured that three Friday ACC football games would be shown on ESPN each season. With the current state of conference alignment, the ACC and its two strongest teams, Florida State and Clemson, might lose a lot of money in their deal.
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