Cincinnati, Houston and UCF have reached an agreement on a deal to exit the AAC and join the Big 12 in the summer of 2023. AAC commissioner Mike Aresco released a statement Friday morning to formalize the move.
Houston, Cincinnati and UCF will each pay the AAC an $18 million buyout to depart early, sources told The Athletic. The $18-million buyouts for leaving early will be paid over 14 years. If the schools did not leave early, the original buyout would have cost each institution $10 million (four years to pay). The original $10 million exit fee will be paid prior to 2025, per the payment schedule in the AAC's bylaws, Houston athletic director Chris Pezman confirmed to The Athletic. The remaining $8 million owed will be paid over a 12-year period starting in 2025.
In 2019, UConn negotiated a 12-month exit from the AAC in exchange for giving up $17 million when it chose to leave for the Big East.
"All three institutions enjoyed tremendous success under the American Athletic Conference banner, and all three were instrumental in taking the conference to great heights, both athletically and academically," Aresco said. "We wish them the best and look forward to having them compete in our conference in 2022-23."
BYU, the fourth school tabbed to join the Big 12 last September in response to the departure of Texas and Oklahoma for the SEC, had already announced that it would enter the conference beginning in 2023. Members of the AAC are required to give 27 months’ notice and pay a $10 million penalty for leaving the conference, but the expectation all along was that the three departing schools would work to negotiate an earlier exit.
Oklahoma and Texas have not yet given notice that they intend to exit for the SEC earlier than their initial announced departure date of July 1, 2025, when the Big 12’s grant of rights expires.
The six Conference USA schools leaving C-USA for the AAC — Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA — are expected to finalize that move for July 1, 2023 in the next few days, sources told The Athletic's Chris Vannini. Charlotte made its move official on Friday morning shortly after the AAC exits were announced. Conference USA will in turn add Liberty, New Mexico State, Sam Houston and Jacksonville State on July 1, 2023, in a move announced last fall.
The story will be updated.
(Photo: Kareem Elgazzar / The Cincinnati Enquirer via USA Today)
What does this mean for Texas and Oklahoma's departure timeline?
Max Olson, senior college football writer: Today’s news is unlikely to have a big impact on the silent standoff between the Big 12, Oklahoma and Texas over the timing of their SEC exit. Those schools need to give notice by the end of this year if they’re determined to join the SEC in July 2024.
The Big 12 hopes to have its next commissioner hired by the end of the summer. For now, Bob Bowlsby and the conference have no motivation to let them leave for a reduced exit fee. We’ll see if the next leader is more amenable to negotiating.
How important were the buyouts?
Justin Williams, Cincinnati beat reporter: The early buyout was the final sticking point for the three AAC programs to join the Big 12 next summer. What started with the AAC reportedly asking for $45 million per departing school has been negotiated down to $18 million per school, paid over 14 years. That dollar figure is only slightly more than the $17 million that UConn negotiated in 2020, which Cincinnati, Houston and UCF believed established a precedent. The incoming Big 12 programs should also be in line to receive full-member financial benefits of the conference’s next television rights deal, which is slated to update in 2025.
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Why has the AAC news triggered other realignment moves to go official?
Chris Vannini, senior college football writer: The six C-USA schools moving to the AAC have been waiting for weeks to get the green light, but they needed Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to first announce their own departure date.
The six schools received an extension waiver from C-USA to work on their departures without breaking the conference’s 14-month bylaw requirement — something Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss ignored in moving to the Sun Belt this year — making it a more cordial process. That extension was set to expire soon. The AAC will now be a 14-team conference in 2023 without divisions and likely staying at eight conference games.
What do the 3 ex-AAC schools bring to the Big 12?
Sam Khan Jr., senior college football writer: Competitive, driven football programs and athletic departments. Each enjoyed notable success over the last decade: Cincinnati is coming off a College Football Playoff appearance and consecutive New Year's Six bowls; UCF played in three NY6 games since 2013 (including 13-0 season in 2017); and Houston won a Peach Bowl in 2015 and went 12-2 last year under Dana Holgorsen. They've been aggressive in hiring and retaining quality coaches and spending on athletics. UH is a natural geographic fit, but Cincinnati and UCF bring attractive recruiting footprints via their respective home states. Future Big 12 football and basketball should be fun.