The American unveils 2015-18 scheduling format

By Brian Wilmer -

The American Athletic Conference today announced its plans for conference football scheduling for the 2015-2018 seasons. The highlight of the plan is the organization of the league into two six-team divisions.

The divisions will be represented as follows:

East: UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, USF, Temple
West: Houston, Memphis, Navy, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa

Three of the schools in the West Division (Houston, SMU and Tulsa) will feature new coaches.

Divisional opponents will play each other once a year, with cross-division games taking place between three of the teams in the opposite division one year, and the remaining three the next. This will, as the conference states, allow all American teams to play each other once at home and once on the road over a standard student-athlete’s four-year stay at a member institution.

The league will also sponsor a conference championship game. Much like the MAC, Conference USA and other similar leagues, the championship game will be played at the site of one of the competing institutions.

“This format is a sensible and fair model that will protect traditional rivalries and allow each school to travel across our geographic footprint on a regular basis,” said AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco in the release. “It will make for an exciting and extremely competitive regular season, adding to the drama which annually makes the college football regular season the best in all of sports, and it will produce two strong and tested teams who will then compete in our inaugural conference championship game.”

2015 AAC Matchups

EAST DIVISION

UCF

  • Home: UConn, East Carolina, Houston, USF
  • Away: Cincinnati, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa

Cincinnati

  • Home: UCF, UConn, Temple, Tulsa
  • Away: East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, USF

UConn

  • Home: East Carolina, Houston, Navy, USF
  • Away: UCF, Cincinnati, Temple, Tulane

East Carolina

  • Home: Cincinnati, USF, Temple, Tulsa
  • Away: UCF, UConn, Navy, SMU

USF

  • Home: Cincinnati, Memphis, SMU, Temple
  • Away: UCF, UConn, East Carolina, Navy

Temple

  • Home: UCF, UConn, Memphis, Tulane
  • Away: Cincinnati, East Carolina, USF, SMU

WEST DIVISION

Houston

  • Home: Cincinnati, Memphis, Navy, SMU
  • Away: UCF, UConn, Tulane, Tulsa

Memphis

  • Home: Cincinnati, Navy, SMU, Tulane
  • Away: Houston, USF, Temple, Tulsa

Navy

  • Home: East Carolina, USF, SMU, Tulane
    Away: UConn, Houston, Memphis, Tulsa

SMU

  • Home: East Carolina, Temple, Tulsa, Tulane
  • Away: Houston, Memphis, Navy, USF

Tulane

  • Home: UCF, UConn, Houston, Tulsa
  • Away: Memphis, Navy, SMU, Temple

Tulsa

  • Home: UCF, Houston, Memphis, Navy
  • Away: Cincinnati, East Carolina, SMU, Tulane

2016 AAC Matchups

EAST DIVISION

UCF

  • Home: Cincinnati, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa
  • Away: UConn, East Carolina, Houston, USF

Cincinnati

  • Home: East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, USF
  • Away: UCF, UConn, Temple, Tulsa

UConn

  • Home: UCF, Cincinnati, Temple, Tulane
  • Away: East Carolina, Houston, Navy, USF

East Carolina

  • Home: UCF, UConn, Navy, SMU
  • Away: Cincinnati, USF, Temple, Tulsa

USF

  • Home: UCF, UConn, East Carolina, Navy
  • Away: Cincinnati, Memphis, SMU, Temple

Temple

  • Home: Cincinnati, East Carolina, USF, SMU
  • Away: UCF, UConn, Memphis, Tulane

WEST DIVISION

Houston

  • Home: UCF, UConn, Tulane, Tulsa
  • Away: Cincinnati, Memphis, Navy, SMU

Memphis

  • Home: Houston, USF, Temple, Tulsa
  • Away: Cincinnati, Navy, SMU, Tulane

Navy

  • Home: UConn, Houston, Memphis, Tulsa
  • Away: East Carolina, USF, SMU, Tulane

SMU

  • Home: Houston, Memphis, Navy, USF
  • Away: East Carolina, Temple, Tulsa, Tulane

Tulane

  • Home: Memphis, Navy, SMU, Temple
  • Away: UCF, UConn, Houston, Tulsa

Tulsa

  • Home: Cincinnati, East Carolina, SMU, Tulane
  • Away: UCF, Houston, Memphis, Navy

2017 AAC Matchups

EAST DIVISION

UCF

  • Home: UConn, East Carolina, Memphis, USF
  • Away: Cincinnati, Navy, SMU, Temple

Cincinnati

  • Home: UCF, UConn, SMU, Temple
  • Away: East Carolina, Navy, USF, Tulane

UConn

  • Home: East Carolina, Memphis, USF, Tulsa
  • Away: UCF, Cincinnati, SMU, Temple

East Carolina

  • Home: Cincinnati, USF, Temple, Tulane
  • Away: UCF, UConn, Houston, Memphis

USF

  • Home: Cincinnati, Houston, Temple, Tulsa
  • Away: UCF, UConn, East Carolina, Tulane

Temple

  • Home: UCF, UConn, Houston, Navy
  • Away: Cincinnati, East Carolina, USF, Tulsa

WEST DIVISION

Houston

  • Home: East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, SMU
  • Away: USF, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa

Memphis

  • Home: East Carolina, Navy, SMU, Tulane
  • Away: UCF, UConn, Houston, Tulsa

Navy

  • Home: UCF, Cincinnati, SMU, Tulane
  • Away: Houston, Memphis, Temple, Tulsa

SMU

  • Home: UCF, UConn, Tulane, Tulsa
  • Away: Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, Navy

Tulane

  • Home: Cincinnati, Houston, USF, Tulsa
  • Away: East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, SMU

Tulsa

  • Home: Houston, Memphis, Navy, Temple
  • Away: UConn, USF, SMU, Tulane

2018 AAC Matchups

EAST DIVISION

UCF

  • Home: Cincinnati, Navy, SMU, Temple
  • Away: UConn, East Carolina, Memphis, USF

Cincinnati

  • Home: East Carolina, Navy, USF, Tulane
  • Away: UCF, UConn, SMU, Temple

UConn

  • Home: UCF, Cincinnati, SMU, Temple
  • Away: East Carolina, Memphis, USF, Tulsa

East Carolina

  • Home: UCF, UConn, Houston, Memphis
  • Away: Cincinnati, USF, Temple, Tulane

USF

  • Home: UCF, UConn, East Carolina, Tulane
  • Away: Cincinnati, Houston, Temple, Tulsa

Temple

  • Home: Cincinnati, East Carolina, USF, Tulsa
  • Away: UCF, UConn, Houston, Navy

WEST DIVISION

Houston

  • Home: USF, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa
  • Away: East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, SMU

Memphis

  • Home: UCF, UConn, Houston, Tulsa
  • Away: East Carolina, Navy, SMU, Tulane

Navy

  • Home: Houston, Memphis, Temple, Tulsa
  • Away: UCF, Cincinnati, SMU, Tulane

SMU

  • Home: Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, Navy
  • Away: UCF, UConn, Tulane, Tulsa

Tulane

  • Home: East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, SMU
  • Away: Cincinnati, Houston, USF, Tulsa

Tulsa

  • Home: UConn, USF, SMU, Tulane
  • Away: Houston, Memphis, Navy, Temple

Comments (13)

Leaving the B12 and Sunbelt as the only two conferences in FBS football without a Conference Championship Game. Get with the program already Big 12!!!!!

No complaints here. As a non-power five conference this schedule makes complete sense. Good Job AAC.

As for the Big 12 and the SEC, you still need to look at what you’re doing. If you want to consider yourself a Power Five Conference, then you should play a Conference Championship game and have Nine Conference games, Period! Let’s judge all the so-called Power Five Teams with the same scale. The Pac 12, Big 10, and ACC seem to understand this, why can’t the other two? To some degree I understand the Big 12’s issue with only 10 teams, but I know a Cincinnati and Tulane would welcome the chance to join the Big 12 and add TV sets to the conference’s market. And for the SEC playing only an eight conference game schedule and not nine games it appears to be based on fear. So sad we judge the weakest as the strongest, if not for Alabama the SEC is really nothing special, sorry to those fans of the other 13 schools, but it’s true.

Agree completely with your comment.

Except you need to remember the ACC only plays 8 conference games too, just like the SEC.

Good Point Travis. Is the ACC going to nine game conference schedule? I thought they were just like the Big Ten is going to in 2016.

Thanks for the note Kevin. The ACC requirement of eight conference games and at least one Power Five game should be a minimum and I believe short of what should be happening. Would be appropriate for all Power Five teams to play nine conference games and a minimum of one Power Five non conference opponent.

Continue conversation of the Power Five scheduling:

In 2016, three of the five Power Five Conferences will be playing a nine game conference schedule, thus automatically having those teams play a minimum of nine Power Five opponents. The ACC and SEC will continue to play only an eight game conference schedule. This may appear not to be much of a scheduling advantage or disadvantage for these two situations, but it does create a potential weakness in the ACC and SEC schedules if they don’t schedule up.

When looking at the 2016 schedules at first appearances it looks relatively simple to see some issues;

The ACC appears to be scheduling up in 2016 with only one team (BC) currently having no NC games from Power 5 conferences. Of the 14 ACC teams, six of them are currently scheduled to play two Power 5 conference games to make for a total of ten Power 5 games on their individual schedules. [6 of 14 play 10+ P5 games]

The Big 10 for the most part has scheduled up with a nine game conference schedule and only two of their 14 conference teams (Maryland and Purdue) currently showing no Power 5 NC games. [12 of 14 play 10+ P5 games]

The Big 12 as well has nine conference games, but three (3) of their ten conference teams (Baylor, Kansas, and Kansas State) are playing no Power 5 NC games in 2016. Kansas State still has an open date in 2016, so perhaps they’ll fill that in with a Power 5 NC game. As well in the Big 12, Texas is one of only a few teams nation wide that play two Power Five NC games beyond their nine conference games. [7 of 10 play 10+ P5 games]

The PAC 12 has always been willing to schedule the power NC games in the past, but at this time there are three (Arizona, Utah, and Washington State) showing no Power 5 NC games. Of the three without a Power 5 NC game only Arizona has an open date in 2016. Both Oregon and USC have two Power 5 NC games, making for their schedules to have 11 Power 5 games. [9 of 12 play 10+ P5 games]

And finally The SEC will continue to have only the eight conference games leaving four open slots for NC games. Of the 14 SEC schools only one (Mississippi State) has not scheduled a single Power 5 opponent and the other 13 have scheduled only one Power 5 NC game each. [0 of 14 play 10+ P5 games]

You can look at information and details in many different ways, but the facts do show the SEC at this time for 2016 has a very limited schedule. If the SEC wants to continue to be viewed as a “power conference” I believe they’ll need to start scheduling like one. My hopes would be that all Power Five Conference Schools would play a nine game conference schedule and schedule a minimum of one Power 5 NC game. Past Reputation and Win-Loss Records of prior seasons should not and will not give you credit towards rankings into the College Football Playoff era.

Sorry for the long winded comment.

AAC West is the weaker division. You have two urban schools and four private schools. UH and Memphis have a huge recruiting advantage over the other four. Cincinnati or UCF should have been in the West instead of Navy.

This schedule benefits Navy in their first in year in the conference (and last year with Keenan Reynolds at QB)… They miss Cincy and UCF, and get the weakened ECU at home. At Memphis will be their only difficult AAC game. Now I’m not complaining – I would love to see Reynolds and Navy’s triple option offense in the national spotlight and in the AP Top 25 this year – but it is a bit odd.