Charlotte 49ers officially join American Athletic Conference

CHARLOTTE — The American Athletic Conference is adding UAB, Texas-San Antonio, Rice, North Texas, Charlotte and Florida Atlantic to the league, replacing three schools that are scheduled to depart for the Big 12 Conference and growing to 14 teams.

The AAC announced the additions Thursday, a move that it hopes will stabilize the conference in the short term and allow it to withstand future poaching of its members by wealthier leagues.

The conference said when exactly the new members join is still to be determined.

“Since UNC Charlotte’s founding just 75 years ago, we have had many transformative milestones, and this is certainly one of those moments,” said UNC-Charlotte Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber. “This invitation by The American not only recognizes the accomplishments of our University and athletics program to date, but it also demonstrates belief in our rising trajectory. We are a university on the move, shaping what’s next for our city, our region and beyond.”

The American, formerly the Big East, has been a feeder conference from Power Five leagues for nearly two decades. Most recently, the Big 12 announced the additions of AAC powers Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida to replace Southeastern Conference-bound Oklahoma and Texas.

The Sooners and Longhorns have said they will join the SEC in 2025, but quicker is possible.

The AAC’s move strips Conference USA of six schools, leaving that league both searching for new members and trying to fend off other poachers. The Sun Belt has said it is interested in expanding beyond its current 10 football members and some of C-USA’s remaining eight schools would be geographic fits.

The American was born in 2013 from the downfall of Big East football, rebuilding around mostly C-USA schools. The AAC emerged as the strongest of the so-called Group of Five conferences when it comes to football during the College Football Playoff era. Five times in seven seasons, the American has earned the New Year’s Six bowl spot that goes to the highest-ranked G5 conference champion.

But four of those championships were won by the schools now heading to the Big 12.

The AAC targeted schools located in big media markets and fertile recruiting territory, hoping that with better exposure and more revenue, they develop into the next UCF.

“This is a moment of celebration for Niner Nation and the culmination of years of hard, strategic work to position us for championship-level success,” said UNCC Director of Athletics Mike Hill. “As Charlotte’s hometown team, our membership in The American provides us with an incredible platform to grow our program as well as share the remarkable story of our extraordinary institution and city.”

The AAC is at the front end of a 10-year deal with ESPN that will pay the conference’s schools between $7 million and $8 million per year over the length of the contract. It is unclear whether the value of the deal will be impacted by the change in membership, but the contract makes the conference the wealthiest in major college football outside the Power Five.

Conference USA has floundered in recent seasons by comparison, with TV deals that have generated well under $1 million per year per school and made the league’s games tricky for its fans to find.

The most recent deal provides more consistency with CBS Sports Network as the primary cable TV home of C-USA’s games and some streaming on ESPN+.

Charlotte initially joined Conference USA as a charter member from 1995-2005. After an eight-year stint in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Charlotte returned to C-USA in 2013. The 49ers’ football program began competition in the league in 2015. At the Division I level, Charlotte has also been members of the Metro Conference (1991-1995) and the Sun Belt Conference (1976-1991).

“We thank the American Athletic Conference and Commissioner Mike Aresco for this recognition of what Charlotte will bring to the league. We are excited about joining this outstanding group of competitors under Mike’s leadership,” said Hill.  “We are also extremely grateful to our colleagues in Conference USA for providing us with such a wonderful home over the years. I especially want to acknowledge Commissioner Judy MacLeod, who always leads with class and represents everything good about college athletics.”

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