By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Four schools with athletics programs in the American Athletic Conference, including UTSA, have elected to remain in the league after a few weeks of speculation that they had fielded inquiries on their interest in joining a revamped Pac 12.
The American on Monday afternoon sent out a release on social media topped with the logos of AAC members Memphis, South Florida, UTSA and Tulane. Under the logos in the post on X, formerly Twitter, a headline stated, “We are The American Athletic Conference.”
According to the post, the AAC is “a conference that prioritizes student-athlete welfare, has proud academic institutions, produces fierce competition at the highest level, and has outstanding linear and direct-to-consumer national media partners.
“Together,” the statement continued, “we are committed to continuing to build the American brand, exploring new opportunities for exposure and value, and developing innovative economic resources—all in service of our student-athletes.
“While we acknowledge receiving interest in our institutions from other conferences, we firmly believe that it is in our individual and collective best interests to uphold our commitment to each other. Together, we will continue to modernize the conference, elevate the student-athlete experience, achieve championship-winning successes, and build the future.”
UTSA athletics also posted on X, saying, “Together, we are committed to the American Conference.” The post included a graphic display of a map identifying the locales of all 15 AAC members.
The Pac 12 has been decimated by conference realignment in recent years, with former longstanding members starting play this season in the Big Ten and the Atlantic Coast Conference. The shuffle has left the Pac 12 with only two schools, Oregon State and Washington State universities.
Recently, the Pac 12 announced the addition of four schools from the Mountain West, including Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Fresno State, for the 2026-27 season.
Reportedly the Pac 12 had targeted the four schools from the AAC, among others, as possible entries.
UTSA has emerged as something of a hot commodity since it started playing football in 2011. By 2012, the school played as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. In 2013, UTSA started a 10-year run in Conference USA during which it won football titles in 2021 and 2022.
Last season, in 2023-24, UTSA played its first season in the American.