Location United States of America | Number of teams 12 | |
 | ||
Duration September 3, 2015through January 2016 Similar 2016 American Athletic C, 2015 NCAA Division I, 2015 Mid‑American Conferen, 2015 Mountain West Con, 2016 Sun Belt Conferen | ||
The 2015 American Athletic Conference football season is the 25th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season is the third since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, and the second season with the new College Football Playoff in place. Under the playoff system, The American is no longer an Automatic Qualifying conference (AQ), and is considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5) with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. Whereas under the previous system the champion of the conference was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, now the highest-ranked member of the G5 will receive a bid to one of the six major bowls.
Contents
- Previous season
- American Athletic Conference Media Day
- East Division
- West Division
- Predicted American Championship Game Winner
- Changes after 2014 season
- Changes During 2015 Season
- Week 15
- Bowl games
- Selection of teams
- Records against FBS conferences
- The American vs Power Conferences
- Conference awards
- NFL Draft
- Attendance
- References
The American consists of 12 members: Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, and new member Navy. In June 2015, the Collegiate Commissioner's Association announced that it will postpone final rankings until after the annual Army–Navy Game if Navy or Army are in contention for a spot in the semifinals or a New Years Six bowl. If Navy is the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion and loses to Army, it would be replaced by next highest-ranked Group of 5 champion in the New Years Six Bowl.
Previous season
Memphis, Cincinnati, and UCF were declared Co-Champions for the 2014 season, with each team having a conference record of 7-1. Memphis finished the season ranked 25th after defeating BYU 55–48 in 2OT in the Miami Beach Bowl. UCF was defeated by NC State in the St. Petersburg Bowl, and Virginia Tech defeated Cincinnati in the Military Bowl. With less than 11 minutes left on the game clock in the Armed Forces Bowl, Houston trailed Pittsburgh by 25 points, but the Cougars went on to win by a score of 35–34. It was the biggest fourth quarter comeback in bowl history. Florida defeated East Carolina 28–20 in the Birmingham Bowl.
American Athletic Conference Media Day
The 2015 American Athletic Conference Media Day was held at the Hyatt Regency Newport in Newport, Rhode Island on August 3, 2015.
See Also: American Kickoff Media Day Central
East Division
- Cincinnati (29) 179
- UCF (1) 135
- Temple 116
- East Carolina 105
- South Florida 53
- Connecticut 42
West Division
Predicted American Championship Game Winner
- Cincinnati 22
- Memphis 5
- Houston 2
- UCF 1
Changes after 2014 season
* On December 1, 2014, Chad Morris (formerly Offensive Coordinator at Clemson) was hired by SMU as its new head football coach, replacing June Jones, who resigned on September 8, 2014, citing "personal issues".
* On December 11, 2014, Philip Montgomery (previously Offensive Coordinator at Baylor) was hired by Tulsa as its new head football coach, replacing Bill Blankenship, who was fired December 2, 2014.
* On December 15, 2014, Tom Herman (formerly Offensive Coordinator at Ohio State) was hired by Houston as its new head football coach, to replace Tony Levine, who was fired after three seasons on December 8, 2014.
Changes During 2015 Season
* George O'Leary resigned as UCF's head football coach after twelve seasons. Quarterbacks coach Danny Barrett was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Week 15
Rankings are from AP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.
Bowl games
(Rankings from final CFP Poll; All times Eastern)
Selection of teams
Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Memphis, Navy, South Florida, Temple, Tulsa
East Carolina, SMU, Tulane, UCF
Records against FBS conferences
2015 records against FBS conferences:
The American vs. Power Conferences
‡This game was played at a neutral site.
Conference awards
The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the American Athletic Conference football coaches at the end of the season
NFL Draft
The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2016 NFL draft.
Attendance
^* Games highlighted in green were sell-outs.