Army will reportedly join the American Athletic Conference as a football-only member in 2024, as the AAC looks to protect its future amid ongoing conference realignment chaos.
Multiple news reports emerged Wednesday morning linking Army to the AAC, and a formal announcement is expected later in the day, according to The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach.
Auerbach also reported that conference realignment will not affect the annual Army-Navy game, which traditionally marks the end of the regular season.
“Army-Navy will remain a nonconference game on its traditional date. (It) will not count in conference standings,” she said on X. “Army will also continue to play Air Force in early November.”
What teams are in the AAC?
This summer, the AAC said goodbye to Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, which, like BYU, became part of the Big 12.
But it added UAB, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice, North Texas and Texas-San Antonio from Conference USA, according to AL.com, giving it 14 football programs to work with this season.
Navy is one of those 14 schools, but its participation in the AAC is limited to football, according to the conference website.
Wichita State, on the other hand, does not compete in football, but, instead, in basketball and the Olympic sports.
SMU, or Southern Methodist University, will leave the AAC for the ACC in July 2024. Army will fill its spot to keep the football group at 14.
Once the Army move is finalized, Notre Dame, UConn and UMass will be the only remaining independents in the FBS, according to AL.com.
“Army plays in the Patriot League in sports other than football,” the article noted.