G5 MINUTE: AAC READY TO FIGHT

Original G5 Content

The AAC  wrapped up its annual spring meeting in Key Biscayne, Florida yesterday. Mike Aresco, the AAC Commissioner, released some of the  highlights from that  meeting on the AAC   web site. In the highlights the AAC  announced that it was on board with any new NCAA structural changes as well as being fully  committed to paying any new so called cost of attendance fees to athletes.

With this  announcement also comes a sharper picture  of the AAC strategy going forward. A strategy that calls for the AAC to continue to distance itself from the rest of the G5 as well as position them as a P5 contender. It is unclear of course, how much fruit this plan will produce for the conference.

It is becoming clearer though,  that the  AAC  in recent months,  has begun to take a more aggressive , tactical  stand with its future. A stand that the league hopes will give it a strategic advantage  in the new landscape that is college sports. With  a new quasi relationship with BYU, a commitment to spending whatever it takes to compete in the new landscape of college football, and a steady drum beat from Aresco and others that the AAC is P5 worthy, the league  has announced that it is willing to fight for relevancy in college sports.

With the AAC ready to mount a campaign to compete with  the P5,  it is now up to  the Sun Belt, CUSA, MAC and MWC to clarify their own goals and vision in the months ahead. All four conferences will need to tell their fans  and supporters how they plan to remain competitive in the new landscape of college sports. Staying on the sidelines or relying on past performance guidelines are no longer an option for the G5 and the schools that make up these conferences. The AAC, with its willingness to do and pay  whatever it takes to compete and survive, has set the bar high for the other G5 conferences to follow. Stay tuned to see how the other G5  respond  with vision and plans of their own.