The Leav-ers vs the Leftovers.
Prince sang “Let’s Pretend we’re Married.” Well this conference is, for one more season.
Tammy Wynette sang in a country twang, D-I-V-O-R-C-E. This conference will be, next year.
The coaches, the players, and the commentators will feign ignorance and indifference. But I for one can’t wait to see the last time around the conference for those who are leaving for greener pastures.
The three programs, Cincinatti, Houston, and UCF are playing just one more year in the AAC.
Financial summary;Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF are paying to leave the conference early. according to Bloomberg, it’s $18 million apiece to leave July 1, 2023. But they’ll have to strap on the helmets one last time.
Now, that sort of money is not comparable to buying someone a drink, saying you’ll be right back, and climbing out a bathroom window—- all just to avoid an ex. But there are some interesting parallels.
For every 99 stories that mention how great for those 3 teams joining the Big 12, there’s 1 (this one) talking about how difficult, how very grating, it is to see 3 leave because your conference isn’t “good enough” for them.
But business is business, and football is football, and this group of young players has to line up just one last time against the teams they are better than. And they’ll have 3 last months to prove it.
For the future, AAC commissioner Mike Aresco announced that the six new member schools–Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA–will join the conference on July 1, 2023.
The new members will be eligible for competition when the 2023–24 athletic season begins. But this AAC football season will be about the three who are going their way. And when the financial people have had their say, the speeches made, the papers signed, and new office complexes leased for the executives, just one last thing remains unfinished.
The Leftovers getting down into their stance, and whispering through tightened chin-guard “Welcome to my Office”.
