(10-14-2021 11:17 AM)banker Wrote:  Just a question. What does UAB, who seems to be the one lock, gain from joining the AAC? Yes, the current TV revenue is $6MM higher annually, but the have to pay entry and exit fees plus they have to increase their budget at least $5MM a year (based on 2020 data from USA Today).

With the loss of Cincinnati and Houston, the AAC is a guaranteed multi-bid NCAA league anymore when you consider they are adding 3-4 schools from a one bid league. In football they are just another G5 league with similar, although currently, slightly better bowl tie-ins. I can’t think of any Olympic sport that the AAC is known for.

If the TV revenue is reduced, or additional schools leave, anyone going to the AAC essentially has gained little to nothing and spent a lot of money to do it. At least that’s how I see it.

Prestige.

As long as there's any semblance of a pecking order in college football, schools will strive to stay atop it. Facts and data aside, the AAC and MWC are at the top of the perceived G5 pecking order.