The American Athletic Conference is targeting Air Force as its next member, multiple outlets reported Monday. ESPN first reported the news.
The news comes after the Pac-12 swiped four Mountain West members -- Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State -- for membership beginning with the 2026 football season. Those departures drop the MW's roster to seven football-playing institutions, including Air Force.
Sensing the opportunity, the American is looking to put all three service academies in the same conference for the first time. Air Force, Army and Navy have competed annually for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy since 1972, but never for a conference title. Army has been an independent for all but seven years of its history until this season, having newly joined the AAC. Navy was an independent until joining the AAC in 2015.
Air Force, on the other hand, was a member of the WAC from 1980 through 1998, then broke away along with seven others to form the Mountain West in 1999.
Once Colorado State and San Diego State leave, Air Force, New Mexico, UNLV and Wyoming will be the only original members left in the quarter-century old conference.
The Air Force addition could also be a preemptive strike (pun intended) by the AAC against future defections. Tulane and Memphis have been mentioned as possibilities to become the Pac-12's seventh and eighth members. (What a time to be alive.)
As it stands, the AAC has 14 football-playing members (plus Wichita State); three of the 14 have been in the conference since its 2013 founding.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.