(NEW YORK) — The American Athletic Conference has announced the addition of six new schools to its conference.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Florida Atlantic University, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, The University of North Texas, Rice University, and the University of Texas at San Antonio will join the conference at a date to be determined.
The six new schools will join the nine current members to bring the conference to 15 schools. The conference will compete as a 14 team league in football, and men’s and women’s basketball.
“I am extremely pleased to welcome these six outstanding universities to the American Athletic Conference,” said AAC commissioner Mike Aresco in a statement. “This is a strategic expansion that accomplishes a number of goals as we take the conference into its second decade. We are adding excellent institutions that are established in major cities and have invested in competing at the highest level. We have enhanced geographical concentration which will especially help the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball and Olympic sports teams.”
The conference is replacing Cincinnati, Houston, and the University of Central Florida, which accepted invitations to join the Big 12.
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