Sport Football East runners-up South Florida Location United States of America | East champions Temple Champion Temple Owls football Number of teams 12 | |
 | ||
League NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision) Duration September 1, 2016
through January 2017 TV partner(s) ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network Similar 2016 Sun Belt Conferen, 2016 Pac‑12 Conferen, 2015 NCAA Division I | ||
The 2016 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 third season with the College Football Playoff in place. The American 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, the highest-ranked champion member of the G5 will receive a bid to one of the six major bowls.
Contents
- American Athletic Conference Media Day
- Preseason poll
- Schedule
- Week 6
- Week 7
- Bowl games
- Selection of teams
- Records against FBS conferences
- The American vs Power Conferences
- Conference awards
- NFL Draft
- Attendance
- Attendance for neutral site games
- References
The American consists of 12 members: Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, 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.
In the 2016 season, the American has have four new coaches. Willie Fritz, formerly the head coach at Georgia Southern, was hired by Tulane to replace Curtis Johnson. After beginning the 2013 season, Johnson would go on to lose 22 of his final 27 games against FBS opponents. He finished at Tulane with a 15-34 record through four full seasons. He compiled a 7-9 conference record in the C-USA (2012 & 2013), and a 3-13 conference record in the American Athletic Conference (2014 and 2015). On December 1, 2015, UCF hired Oregon Offensive Coordinator Scott Frost. Frost replaced long time UCF head coach George O'Leary and interim head coach Danny Barrett, who took over the Knights when O'Leary resigned following an 0-8 start. On December 3, 2015, Memphis hired Arizona State (OC/QB) Mike Norvell replacing Justin Fuente who took the job at Virginia Tech. On December 13, 2015 East Carolina hired Duke (OC/QB) Scottie Montgomery. replacing Ruffin McNeill who was relieved of his duties as ECU head coach after finishing the season with a record of 5-7.
American Athletic Conference Media Day
The American Athletic Conference Media Day will take place August 1—2 in Newport, Rhode Island
See Also: 2016 Football Media Day
Preseason poll
Schedule
All Times and Dates are Tentative, The 2016 conference football schedule was released February 9
Week 6
^[a] The October 7th game in Orlando between Tulane and UCF was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew and rescheduled for November 5, a date which both teams had open.
Week 7
^[b] The October 13th game in Greenville, NC between Navy and East Carolina was postponed due because of flooding associated with Hurricane Matthew, the game will be rescheduled for November 19, a date which both teams had open.
Bowl games
American Athletic Conference bowl games for the 2016 season are:
Rankings are from CFP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.
Selection of teams
Records against FBS conferences
2016 records against FBS conferences
Through Dec 29, 2016
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 2017 NFL draft.