Charlotte 49ers expected to leave Conference USA for the American. Here’s what we know
The Charlotte 49ers are on the verge of leaving Conference USA to join the American Athletic Conference.
According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo!, six C-USA schools — Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Texas-San Antonio, Alabama-Birmingham, Rice and North Texas — will send applications to the AAC this week. The expectation, Thamel reported, is that the applications will be accepted.
This move by the AAC comes in the aftermath of Central Florida, Houston and Cincinnati announcing they would leave the conference for the Big 12. The new AAC would consist of 14 members and for Charlotte would provide an in-state rival with East Carolina.
Should the applications be accepted, the AAC would likely be divided into two divisions.
East: Temple, Navy, East Carolina, Charlotte, South Florida, Florida Atlantic and Alabama-Birmingham.
West: Memphis, Tulane, Rice, Texas-San Antonio, Southern Methodist, North Texas and Tulsa.
Sources: The American Athletic Conference is expected examine expansion this week, with six schools expected to send applications. The AAC is expected to receive an application from – FAU, Charlotte, North Texas, UTSA, Rice and UAB this week. 1/2
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 18, 2021
The AAC adding three Texas schools prevents the Mountain West — a close competitor in the Group of Five landscape — from easily expanding eastward.
The 49ers being accepted would require them to provide C-USA with an exit notice to begin a 14-month process that will include a fee of two years of conference distribution. For the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Charlotte’s NCAA/conference distribution total was $5,325,217. For reference, the 49ers’ donor contributions from 2019 totaled $5,484,455.
C-USA commissioner Judy MacLeod submitted a letter to the AAC last week requesting a merger between the two conferences. Instead of a merger, the league is in danger of losing six teams, a blow the conference likely would not be able to sustain.
C-USA’s television contract provides each member program nearly $400,000 annually, according to the Virginia Pilot. The jump to the AAC could net Charlotte more than $6 million per year, as the American signed a 12-year, $1 billion television deal with ESPN in 2019. The deal provides the conference with $83.3 million annually, with each member university receiving nearly $7 million per year.
A clause in the television deal also states that it can be renegotiated with major changes in the conference’s membership.
If the deal with ESPN holds, 49ers football games would be televised on ESPN’s family. Basketball games would air across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, with many on the ESPN+ subscription service.
Coached by Will Healy, Charlotte’s football team is 3-0 in nationally televised games on CBS Sports Network this season, which includes its first Power Five victory over Duke in the season opener. The 49ers are 4-2 overall, leading C-USA’s East Division at 2-0 in conference play.
It has been just nine years since the school added football, and just seven since Charlotte made the jump to the FBS. The 2019 season was the first winning record (7-6) and first bowl appearance for the program.
The 49ers’ cross-country program made the NCAAs for the first time last year, and men’s soccer, men’s baseball and golf all made the NCAA tournament, with women’s basketball making an appearance in the NIT.
