Press Release:
IRVING, Texas – The American Athletic Conference presidents, athletic directors, senior woman administrators and faculty athletic representatives concluded the conference’s annual meetings on Thursday poised to continue the remarkable record of success in The American through its first eight years.
Meetings were held virtually from June 1-3, during which The American adopted a number of initiatives to further strengthen itself as one of the leading conferences in FBS and Division I. The meetings came on the heels of another highly successful season that saw The American place a team (Cincinnati) in a New Year’s Six bowl for the fourth consecutive year and also saw men’s basketball teams reach the Final Four (Houston) and win the NIT championship (Memphis).
“I could not be happier with the direction of the conference and the unity and camaraderie of our schools,” said American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco. “We emerged from a trying and challenging year having competed safely during the pandemic and having enjoyed continued competitive success. Our schools have an unwavering commitment to student-athlete health and well-being, which will always be our top priority. I am proud of our conference’s leadership in health and safety, civic engagement, racial equality and mental health awareness, which were all focal points of our meetings. Our Racial Equality Action Group has worked hard and well to fulfill its mission to address racial inequality and injustice.
“I applaud our student-athletes, coaches, staffs and administrators for their outstanding efforts in dealing successfully with the many challenges they faced this year. This conference continues to perform at the highest level, and a major upcoming initiative, which we discussed at our meetings, will be to improve our position in the College Football Playoff if indeed expansion of the playoff is seriously considered. We will also continue our advocacy for inclusion in the autonomy group of conferences, which we have earned. I also want to thank our outgoing Board chair, Dr. David Rudd, President of the University of Memphis, for his outstanding service to the conference and his notable achievements at Memphis, and Michael Kelly of the University of South Florida for his important contributions as Chair of our Athletics Directors Committee. I also welcome Neville Pinto of the University of Cincinnati as our new Board chair and look forward to working with him.”
Among the many issues addressed during the meetings were The American’s strategy with respect to autonomy group membership, the college football postseason, nonconference scheduling models in men’s and women’s basketball, and the conference’s continued leadership position in the areas of student-athlete well-being. With respect to the latter, the conference’s Board of Directors formally approved the continuation of the conference's Medical Advisory Group -- which was initially formed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Medical Advisory Group will continue to oversee the safe return to competition this fall and will collaborate with member institutions and other conferences regarding important national issues, and will establish best practices with respect to various sports-related issues and the treatment of injuries. The Medical Advisory Group will also coordinate with The American’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s successful Pow6rful Minds campaign to support mental health among student-athletes.
NCAA President Mark Emmert provided an update on a number of global issues in college athletics, including the state of name, image and likeness legislation at the state, federal and national office level. Dr. Derrick Gragg, the NCAA Senior Vice-President for Inclusion, Education and Community Engagement -- and the former athletic director at Tulsa -- shared an update on efforts of the national office in areas of diversity and inclusion and student-athletes’ roles in a number of national issues. Dr. Jeremy Jordan, the Associate Dean of the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management at Temple and the chair of The American’s faculty athletics representatives, presented on behalf of the conference’s academic consortium, which has funded more than $230,000 in research projects to support student-athlete well-being. The consortium will further provide $1,500 to each institutional Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to enhance the Pow6rful Minds campaign on each campus.
Tulsa football student-athlete Chris Paul, who chairs The American’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a member of the NCAA SAAC, joined Temple men’s golf student-athlete Matt Kristick, the vice-chair of the conference SAAC, to highlight the progress made in the last year in areas of student-athlete advocacy, civic engagement, diversity and inclusion, mental health, and transfer policies. The American announced the expansion of the conference SAAC to include a third individual from each institution, including at least one minority representative from each school.
Additionally, the conference discussed an extension of its agreement with Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, as the site of its men's and women's basketball championships, which would keep the events at that venue well into the future.
The American approved the implementation of video replay challenges at all home facilities in women's volleyball and adjusted the scheduling format for conference matches to include a 20-match double-round-robin regular season, which will determine the recipient of the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The conference will not conduct a postseason championship in women’s volleyball, effective in 2021. The conference approved a return to four-umpire crew for conference baseball games as well as increased fees for umpires in both baseball and softball in order to attract the highest-quality game officials. The American had used a three-person crew for conference baseball games in 2021 as part of the conference’s health and safety protocols. The conference also approved the implementation of headsets for use by referees and assistant referees in the sports of men's and women's soccer.
Finally, The American announced the following appointments to conference committees, effective June 4:
theamerican.org
IRVING, Texas – The American Athletic Conference presidents, athletic directors, senior woman administrators and faculty athletic representatives concluded the conference’s annual meetings on Thursday poised to continue the remarkable record of success in The American through its first eight years.
Meetings were held virtually from June 1-3, during which The American adopted a number of initiatives to further strengthen itself as one of the leading conferences in FBS and Division I. The meetings came on the heels of another highly successful season that saw The American place a team (Cincinnati) in a New Year’s Six bowl for the fourth consecutive year and also saw men’s basketball teams reach the Final Four (Houston) and win the NIT championship (Memphis).
“I could not be happier with the direction of the conference and the unity and camaraderie of our schools,” said American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco. “We emerged from a trying and challenging year having competed safely during the pandemic and having enjoyed continued competitive success. Our schools have an unwavering commitment to student-athlete health and well-being, which will always be our top priority. I am proud of our conference’s leadership in health and safety, civic engagement, racial equality and mental health awareness, which were all focal points of our meetings. Our Racial Equality Action Group has worked hard and well to fulfill its mission to address racial inequality and injustice.
“I applaud our student-athletes, coaches, staffs and administrators for their outstanding efforts in dealing successfully with the many challenges they faced this year. This conference continues to perform at the highest level, and a major upcoming initiative, which we discussed at our meetings, will be to improve our position in the College Football Playoff if indeed expansion of the playoff is seriously considered. We will also continue our advocacy for inclusion in the autonomy group of conferences, which we have earned. I also want to thank our outgoing Board chair, Dr. David Rudd, President of the University of Memphis, for his outstanding service to the conference and his notable achievements at Memphis, and Michael Kelly of the University of South Florida for his important contributions as Chair of our Athletics Directors Committee. I also welcome Neville Pinto of the University of Cincinnati as our new Board chair and look forward to working with him.”
Among the many issues addressed during the meetings were The American’s strategy with respect to autonomy group membership, the college football postseason, nonconference scheduling models in men’s and women’s basketball, and the conference’s continued leadership position in the areas of student-athlete well-being. With respect to the latter, the conference’s Board of Directors formally approved the continuation of the conference's Medical Advisory Group -- which was initially formed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Medical Advisory Group will continue to oversee the safe return to competition this fall and will collaborate with member institutions and other conferences regarding important national issues, and will establish best practices with respect to various sports-related issues and the treatment of injuries. The Medical Advisory Group will also coordinate with The American’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s successful Pow6rful Minds campaign to support mental health among student-athletes.
NCAA President Mark Emmert provided an update on a number of global issues in college athletics, including the state of name, image and likeness legislation at the state, federal and national office level. Dr. Derrick Gragg, the NCAA Senior Vice-President for Inclusion, Education and Community Engagement -- and the former athletic director at Tulsa -- shared an update on efforts of the national office in areas of diversity and inclusion and student-athletes’ roles in a number of national issues. Dr. Jeremy Jordan, the Associate Dean of the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management at Temple and the chair of The American’s faculty athletics representatives, presented on behalf of the conference’s academic consortium, which has funded more than $230,000 in research projects to support student-athlete well-being. The consortium will further provide $1,500 to each institutional Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to enhance the Pow6rful Minds campaign on each campus.
Tulsa football student-athlete Chris Paul, who chairs The American’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a member of the NCAA SAAC, joined Temple men’s golf student-athlete Matt Kristick, the vice-chair of the conference SAAC, to highlight the progress made in the last year in areas of student-athlete advocacy, civic engagement, diversity and inclusion, mental health, and transfer policies. The American announced the expansion of the conference SAAC to include a third individual from each institution, including at least one minority representative from each school.
Additionally, the conference discussed an extension of its agreement with Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, as the site of its men's and women's basketball championships, which would keep the events at that venue well into the future.
The American approved the implementation of video replay challenges at all home facilities in women's volleyball and adjusted the scheduling format for conference matches to include a 20-match double-round-robin regular season, which will determine the recipient of the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The conference will not conduct a postseason championship in women’s volleyball, effective in 2021. The conference approved a return to four-umpire crew for conference baseball games as well as increased fees for umpires in both baseball and softball in order to attract the highest-quality game officials. The American had used a three-person crew for conference baseball games in 2021 as part of the conference’s health and safety protocols. The conference also approved the implementation of headsets for use by referees and assistant referees in the sports of men's and women's soccer.
Finally, The American announced the following appointments to conference committees, effective June 4:
- Neville G. Pinto, president of the University of Cincinnati, has been named Chair of the American Athletic Conference Board of Directors. Michael A. Fitts, president of Tulane University, will serve as Vice Chair. Philip G. Rogers, chancellor of East Carolina University and Brad Carson, president-elect of the University of Tulsa, will join the Board of Directors Audit Committee.
- Jon Gilbert (East Carolina) and Chet Gladchuk (Navy) have been appointed to the Athletic Directors Executive Committee through 2023.
- Terry Mohajir (UCF) will serve on the Athletic Directors Finance Committee (through 2023). Jon Gilbert (East Carolina) will continue to chair the Finance Committee through 2022.
- Charvi Greer (Senior Woman Administrator, Tulane) will serve on the Athletic Directors Executive Sportsmanship Committee through 2023.
- Rick Hart (SMU) will serve as the Athletic Director Liaison to the Men’s Basketball Coaches through 2023.
- John Cunningham (Cincinnati) and Marquita Armstead (Senior Woman Administrator, South Florida) will serve as Liaisons to the Women’s Basketball Coaches through 2023.
- John Cunningham (Cincinnati), Michele Adams (Faculty Athletics Representative, Tulane) and Charvi Greer (Senior Woman Administrator, Tulane) will serve as Liaisons to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Cunningham and Adams will serve through 2023, while Greer’s term was extended to expire in 2022.
- Brian Hatch (Faculty Athletics Representative, Cincinnati) will serve as Chair of the Faculty Athletics Representative Committee through 2023.
American Athletic Conference Concludes Successful 2021 Annual Meeting
IRVING, Texas – The American Athletic Conference presidents, athletic directors, senior woman administrators and faculty athletic representatives concluded the conference’s annual meetings on Thursday poised to continue the remarkable record of success in The American through its first eight years.
theamerican.org
