AAC is done deal

[wpgrad]

Word on the street is Army to the AAC is a done deal other than dotting the i's and crossing the t's. And getting out of scheduled games through 2032 with dozens of teams.

Personally, I hate the move.

[WrekDivr]

Any idea when the first season in the AAC is supposed to be?

[thedoc85]

Hate this. Really hate this.

[gabn92]

I think this was inevitable with the changing landscape of college football. The Monken extension is huge and likely all part of a single decision.

Monken is not Berry so joining a conference does not mean failure just because the CUSA experiment went so badly.

Don’t like the A-N game being a non-conference game. Think we need to get over the mid-December time slot and just negotiate to have it as the last game of the regular season each year.

[Oliphant]

I think this was inevitable with the changing landscape of college football. The Monken extension is huge and likely all part of a single decision.

Monken is not Berry so joining a conference does not mean failure just because the CUSA experiment went so badly.

Don’t like the A-N game being a non-conference game. Think we need to get over the mid-December time slot and just negotiate to have it as the last game of the regular season each year.

It can serve as the lead-in game to the 3:30 CBS game.

[Oliphant]

Not a fan of the move.

The current edition of the AAC lacks prestige and value.

What teams have a history with us or national respect outside Memphis, Navy, Rice, Tulane, Tulsa, and Temple? And outside of Navy, those schools have nothing but random games with Army and a shared conference for seven years. Woo hoo. Does any Army fan say, "the schedule feels empty without a game against those schools?" No.

ECU has a rich history, but they are another southern directional school. USF is whatever. UAB is the AAC version of Troy.

FAU, UNT, UTSA, Charlotte, etc., are either new programs or lack any relevance on the national stage. The original rendition of the AAC was legitimate. But most of those teams bolted for greener pastures.

It is a skeleton crew of interests for Army.

I enjoy our independent schedule. Now, we only have four OOC games. Navy and Air Force will be two of them. The FCS game is obligatory because of our Patriot League deal, so farewell to any chance of Notre Dame or other unique big-time matchups. It is either that or a series with Wake/Duke or a middling G5.

Independence was perfect for us. We have three rivals historically (Navy, AFA, and ND). Notre Dame is dormant. (So is Yale.) We already play AFA and Navy. That is our conference. The CIC Trophy Conference.

But we will have an NY6 slot! Sure, we will. And I will have a chance with Carrie Underwood.

[gaetano01]

I mean every team in the AAC is a team Army would try to, and has scheduled as an independent. The weird thing will be Army-Navy as a non-conference game, so neither program actually gets the benefit of an additional OOC game to schedule.

[USMA76]

I fully understand the economic and competitive realities of the current college football landscape that drove this decision. That doesn't mean I embrace or particularly like it.

Playing a schedule of varying difficulty is far more interesting to me. We could play the Eastern Michigans and Temples of the world or we could play the Oklahomas and Michigans. I see no way that this move doesn't diminish the uniqueness of the Army - Navy game. Great plan (?) for two teams from the same conference playing a non-conference game at the end of the season...for appearances sake.

Again, I get the big picture and I guess these are just the muddled musings of an aging boomer, sigh.

[RABBLE]

I have completely aged. In the 1950's I bought an Army-Navy ticket for $12.50 and a Michie Stadium seat for 4 dollars.
In the 1960's our Coach Paul Dietzel made $20,000 a year.
Today,..., well, you know the rest of the story.

[palidog]

C'mon guys, this has to happen. Buddie has been pretty clear that fewer teams want to play Army and, more importantly, play Army at Michie Stadium. And, the money is in the conferences. No money, no good coach, no good players. The AAC is really our only choice, too. The Power 5 are simply too strong and they dont want us. The Sun Belt and Conference USA are not good enough and a step down for the program. That leaves the Mountain West, which is geographically unacceptable, and the American.....we play these teams any how, just have to play more of them. Navy and Temple are regional rivals. Rumor is that UCONN is trying to get in for football only. Navy competes against them and does okay, and sometimes better than okay and the league is not as good as it was just a few years ago. FOR ARMY TO STAY COMPETITIVE, THEY NEED TO BE IN A LEAGUE...and this one makes sense.