AAC should also consider Air Force, SDSU, Boise St., and UNLV for all sports, and Gonzaga and BYU for Olympic sports as part of a western expansion, along with the Wichita St. and VCU expansion. The AAC could then affiliate with Army and BYU for some OOC football games and bowls.

The four new football members, plus BYU and Army away games at AAC venues would bring substantial value to the next AAC TV contract. It is interesting to note that ESPN has a 2019 option for its contract with BYU and the AAC and MWC contracts are both up for renewal after the 2019 season. Personally, I do not think it is a coincidence...at all.

FOOTBALL DIVISIONS

EAST: UConn, Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF, Memphis, Tulane
WEST: Navy, Air Force, Houston, SMU, Tulsa, Boise St., SDSU, UNLV
* Army and BYU as football affiliates

BOWL LINEUP:
- NY6 (de facto annual bid?)
- Military (v. ACC)
- Las Vegas (v. PAC)
- Armed Forces (v. B12/B1G)
- Birmingham (v. SEC)
- St. Petersburg (v. ACC)
- Miami Beach (v. CUSA)
- Hawaii (v. MWC)
- Boca Raton (v. MAC/CUSA)
- Cure (v. Sun belt)
... and probably a couple of others....

AAC basketball would get a huge shot in the arm and would be undeniable as a "power" basketball conference.

BASKETBALL
- UConn, Temple, Cincinnati, Dayton, ECU, VCU, UCF, USF, Memphis, Tulane
- Houston, SMU, Tulsa, Wichita St., Air Force, Boise St., SDSU, UNLV, BYU, Gonzaga

Perhaps have a schedule where you play everyone in your division once (9 games), with 6 home-away matchups from your division (additional 6 games), and 5 games from the other division (with peers or TV matchups).

For instance, Gonzaga's schedule might include:
Home: BYU, Boise St., UNLV, SDSU, Air Force, Wichita St., Tulsa, SMU, UConn, Temple
Road: BYU, Boise St., UNLV, SDSU, Air Force, Wichita St., Houston, Memphis, Cincy, Dayton

UConn's schedule might include:
Home: Temple, Cincinnati, Dayton, ECU, VCU, Memphis, Tulane, SMU, Tulsa, Wichita St.
Road: Temple, Cincinnati, Dayton, ECU, VCU, Memphis, UCF, USF, Gonzaga, Boise St.

The conference could align road trips such that no team makes more than one multi-game, cross-country road trip per season and most other road trips align nearby schools (ie, visit to both UCF and USF, Cincy and Dayton, SDSU and UNLV, etc.).