American Athletic

Does the American Athletic Conference make the Power Five a Power Six?

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:22 a.m. ET

Fansided, Zach Bigalke/FanSided via Saturday Blitz

The American Athletic Conference schools have started wearing 'Power Six' decals on their helmets. Do they really bridge the Group of Five divide?

The American Athletic Conference was born out of the ashes of the Big East. The defection of Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia, Louisville, and Rutgers put the American among the Group of Five. They might aspire to Power Five status, but do they measure up against the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12?

Recently the American has tried to sell itself as a "Power Six" conference. Its performance, however, leaves much to be desired. We can stare all day at the number of NFL Draft picks from the league relative to the Power Five. After all, the conference had more draft picks than the Big 12. But draft picks only measure a part of the story. And NFL success often tells little about actual college performance on the field.

The American has talked a big game, but has it really managed to back up that talk with its showings on the gridiron. Here are three reasons why the conference still has a ways to go before it can aspire to breaking the Power Five club and recreating the Power Six of the BCS era.

Here's why the AAC doesn't deserve to make the Power Five a Power Six.

3. The American is a diluted version of the Big East

It is important to remember that UCF was effectively a BCS Buster in the final year of the former system that reigned over FBS football for a decade and a half. The Big East enjoyed BCS status during its final season, it is true. But it was always recognized as a second-tier league even among the major conferences during the BCS era.

The conference entered the Bowl Championship Series in 1999 with members like Miami, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. None of those teams remain in the league. A conference that was already a laughingstock among the BCS six has seen most of its prominent programs move on to other leagues.

Among the Big East teams remaining, Cincinnati and Connecticut were the only one aside from UCF who reached a BCS game before the College Football Playoff era. None have been relevant since, with only UCF reaching a bowl game last year.

Dec 31, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Jay Ajayi (27) runs the ball for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Arizona Wildcats in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl at Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

2. The American isn't even the best Group of Five conference

The Big East wasn't even necessarily the sixth-best conference in the country for most of its existence. The rise of the Mountain West helped in large part to break the BCS system and force greater inclusivity in the new College Football Playoff system. Just like the American absorbed Conference USA teams, in turn the Mountain West took in the best programs from the dying Western Athletic Conference.

The Mountain West lost TCU to the Big 12, Utah to the Pac-12, and BYU to independence. The American lost Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Louisville to the ACC. That doesn't end the list of defections, as Rutgers went to the Big Ten and West Virginia to the Big 12. Miami and Virginia Tech had already bolted for the ACC with Boston College a decade earlier.

The numbers bear out that reality, as the American has landed just one spot in one of the New Year's Six bowl games since the birth of the College Football Playoff. Boise State beat Arizona in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. Houston took down Florida State in the 2015 Peach Bowl, sure, but the league couldn't back up that performance in 2016-2017. Instead Western Michigan took the spot against Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl, giving three different Group of Five leagues access over the first three years of the College Football Playoff system.

Dec 17, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Diego State Aztecs running back Donnel Pumphrey (19) is defended by Houston Cougars safety Garrett Davis (1) during the second quarter at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports

1. The American is a conference that remains in flux

The American, we must remember, only enters its fifth official season of existence in 2017. At this point, the league seems to have solidified its membership. Rutgers and Louisville left at the end of year one, and nobody has departed since. But realignment is always only a single shift away in college football, and the American certainly has schools in some of the most attractive media markets.

The Big 12 already has a lock on Texas recruiting. But the SEC and ACC could both eventually hold interest in Houston as another major Texas market. And the Big 12 still is short two teams of its official moniker. The Cougars offer the promise of a dormant powerhouse on a metro campus that could sustain a solid alumni backing.

This is exactly why the American lost Rutgers and Louisville. Their positioning as solid media markets with strong enough fan support made them attractive to larger conferences. Cincinnati, South Florida, and UCF offer their own advantages to leagues looking to expand. It is more likely to be poached by the Power Five compared to the MAC or Mountain West.

The American cannot challenge the Power Five than a conference when it'll need further reinforcement by stealing schools from C-USA and the Sun Belt.