Memphis, Tulane and South Florida are expected to announce they will continue with the American Athletic Conference after turning down serious interest from the Pac-12, sources told Yahoo Sports on Monday. UTSA, which has received an invitation from the Pac-12, is also expected to announce it will join the AAC.
After several days of discussions with the Pac-12, the schools decided as a group to remain in their current conference while AAC Commissioner Tim Pernetti explores avenues to increase revenue, including private equity involvement, new distribution models and further expansion of the league.
The four AAC programs received proposed terms from the Pac-12 on Monday, which included projected annual revenues ($10 million to $15 million), a five-year rights grant and a share of the AAC exit fee estimated at about $25 million per school. As Yahoo Sports reported Friday, none of this was unexpected.
The Pac-12 plans to continue recruiting new expansion members with the goal of adding two to four more programs as Oregon State and Washington State work to reach eight members. Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Fresno State joined the membership last week.
A group of potential expansion members, including UNLV, Air Force and Utah State, have already watched the league’s expansion presentation and have engaged with those schools over the past two days.
Meanwhile, in the Mountain West, the league and commissioner Gloria Nevarez are working to secure membership for both UNLV and Air Force in a long-term contract with the league that includes financial incentives for both schools. The league set a deadline of Monday for schools to agree to new rights grants.
