All three AAC programs are under the notion that they will be joining the Big 12 for the 2023-24 academic year. The Big 12 needed to start thinking about creating a future plan without Oklahoma and Texas. This would eliminate the traditional round-robin format that the basketball side has had for a while.Ĭincinnati, UCF, Houston and BYU were formally invited to the Big 12 Conference back in September 2021. Rothstein also reported that since Oklahoma and Texas are still planning on heading to the SEC in 2025, the Big 12 will have 14 teams for football and men’s basketball for the 2023-25 seasons. Huggins, who has a 345-203 record in 16 seasons with the Mountaineers, will have to rebuild a large part of his roster again this season after Erik Stevenson, Kedrian Johnson and Emmitt Matthews, Jr. The conference already requires members for a 27-month notice in advance as well as a $10 million buyout. Sources told FanDuel that the AAC is still having conversations about what the exit fees would be for UC, UCF and UH. NEWS: Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF are all planning to join the Big 12 for the 23-24 academic year. The fourth new Big 12 member, BYU, is also planning on joining in 2023. The departure of those six schools from Conference USA next year was expected to become official soon, but Charlotte, FAU, and UTSA put out statements announcing they would be joining the AAC in 2023.It was first reported by Jon Rothstein on Wednesday afternoon that American Athletic Conference members Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston are set to join the Big 12 at the start of the 2023-24 academic year. Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA were all targeting 2023 to make the switch from C-USA to the American. The new-look AAC is also preparing to have 14 teams in 2023, with six schools from Conference USA having already accepted invitations. Houston won the American men's basketball title last season and reached the Final Four in 2021. Houston, which lost to Cincinnati in last season's title game, has one conference title. It will certainly be awkward having Oklahoma and Texas in the league, along with new members like UCF, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati. UCF has also won two AAC football titles (2017-18). The Big 12 Conference is reportedly planning on going with two seven-team divisions as they spend at least a couple of seasons with 14 teams in the league. "We wish them the best and look forward to having them compete in our conference in 2022-23.”Ĭincinnati has won the last two AAC football championships and reached the College Football Playoff last season. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the conference nor the schools are releasing the terms of the agreement.Īmerican Commissioner Mike Aresco thanked the leadership of the departing schools for arriving at a “sensible resolution.”Īll three institutions enjoyed tremendous success under the American Athletic Conference banner, and all three were instrumental in taking the conference "to great heights, both athletically and academically," Aresco said. The AAC said its remaining members agreed to terminate the memberships of Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF, effective July 1, 2023.Įach departing school agreed to pay the AAC $18 million, with more than half paid out by 2024 and the rest due over a period of 12 years, two people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The American requires its members give more than two years' notice before they can leave the conference, plus a $10 million exit fee. The three schools announced in September they had accepted invitations to join the Big 12, which moved quickly to rebuild its membership after Texas and Oklahoma revealed they planned to join the Southeastern Conference in 2025.Īlong with the addition of BYU in 2023, the Big 12 is set to be a 14-team conference for two years. The American Athletic Conference announced an agreement Friday with Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF that paves the way for the schools to join the Big 12 in 2023.
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