American Conference Football Championship Game

Last updated

American Conference Football Championship Game
American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game Logo.svg
Sport Football
Conference American Conference
Played2015–present
Last contest 2024
Current champion Army
Most championships UCF, 4
TV partner(s) ABC
Official website theamerican.org/football
Sponsors
Roofclaim.com (2021–2022)
Host stadiums
Best conference team's home field (2015–present)

The American Conference Football Championship Game is a college football game currently held by the American Conference (American) [a] each year to determine the conference's season champion. The inaugural game was held on December 5, 2015, at 12:00 pm ET. [1]

Contents

The game previously pitted the champion of the Eastern Division (UCF, Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, South Florida, and Temple) against the champion of the Western Division (Houston, Memphis, Navy, SMU, Tulane, and Tulsa). The game was played at the home stadium of the division winner with the better conference record. [2]

In 2020, UConn left the conference, leading to the dissolution of the divisions. Because of new NCAA rules regarding conference championships, the game has become a matchup between the top two teams in the conference.

Television broadcast rights to the game are owned by ESPN, with the game airing on ABC. [1]

History

American Conference Football Championship Game
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480km
298miles
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Army
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UAB
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North Texas
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Navy
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Tulsa
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Tulane
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Memphis
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Rice
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Temple
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USF
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East Carolina
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UTSA
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Florida Atlantic
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Charlotte

The American was reorganized following the tumultuous period of realignment that hobbled the Big East between 2010 and 2013. In all, 14 member schools announced their departure for other conferences, and 15 other schools announced plans to join the conference (eight as all-sports members, and four for football only). In December 2012, the Big East's seven remaining non-FBS schools, all Catholic institutions – DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villanova – announced that they voted unanimously to leave the conference.

After a settlement in 2013 between the non-FBS schools and the FBS schools regarding the use of the conference name, the ten remaining football playing members renamed themselves the American Athletic Conference. [3] In 2014, Louisville and Rutgers departed the conference and joined the ACC and Big Ten, respectively. Their departure was succeeded on the same day by the entrance of East Carolina, Tulane, and Tulsa for all sports. [4] In 2015, the U.S. Naval Academy joined the conference for football, bringing the membership total in that sport to twelve teams. At which time, the conference split into two six-team divisions and established a football conference championship game. [2]

On July 1, 2020, UConn officially left The American, with its football team becoming an FBS independent once the school joined the Big East. [5] After a brief exploration period, The American elected not to add another team to rebalance divisions. Beginning with the 2020 season, divisions were eliminated, and since then the championship game has been played by the two teams that achieved the best record in regular season conference play. Despite further conference expansion in 2023–24, division play did not return.

SMU left for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024, [6] with Army becoming a football-only replacement at the same time. [7]

Pre-championship game era

The 2013 and 2014 American Athletic Conference football champions were determined by the team(s) with the best conference record. There was no championship game held. In years when two or more teams tied in conference record, co-champions were declared.

SeasonChampion/sConf.
rec.
Over.
rec.
2013 UCF 8–012–1
2014 Memphis 7–110–3
Cincinnati 7–19–4
UCF 7–19–4

Results

Below are the results from all American Championship Games played. The winning team appears in bold font, on a background of their primary team color. Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.

YearWest DivisionEast DivisionVenueAtt.MVP
2015 17 Houston Cougars 2420 Temple Owls 13 TDECU StadiumHouston, Texas 35,721 Greg Ward, Houston
2016 20 Navy Midshipmen 10 Temple Owls 34 Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, Maryland 22,815 P. J. Walker, Temple
2017 16 Memphis Tigers 5512 UCF Knights 62 (2OT) Spectrum StadiumOrlando, Florida 41,433 McKenzie Milton, UCF
2018 Memphis Tigers 417 UCF Knights 5645,176Darriel Mack Jr., UCF
2019 16 Memphis Tigers 2921 Cincinnati Bearcats 24 Liberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMemphis, Tennessee 33,008 Antonio Gibson, Memphis
YearNo. 1 seedNo. 2 seedVenueAtt.MVP
2020 6 Cincinnati Bearcats 2720 Tulsa Golden Hurricane 24 Nippert StadiumCincinnati, Ohio 5,831 Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
2021 3 Cincinnati Bearcats 3516 Houston Cougars 2037,978 Jerome Ford, Cincinnati
2022 18 Tulane Green Wave 4522 UCF Knights 28 Yulman StadiumNew Orleans, Louisiana 30,118 Michael Pratt, Tulane
2023 17 Tulane Green Wave 1425 SMU Mustangs 2625,206 Isaiah Nwokobia, SMU
2024 24 Army Black Knights 35 Tulane Green Wave 14 Michie StadiumWest Point, New York 14,016 Bryson Daily, Army

2020 game attendance limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results by team

App.SchoolWinsLoss.Pct.Year(s) WonYear(s) Lost
3 UCF Knights 21.6672017, 20182022
Cincinnati Bearcats 21.6672020, 20212019
Memphis Tigers 12.33320192017, 2018
Tulane Green Wave 12.50020222023, 2024
2 Houston Cougars 11.50020152021
Temple Owls 11.50020162015
1 Army Black Knights 101.0002024 
SMU Mustangs 101.0002023 
Navy Midshipmen 01.000 2016
Tulsa Golden Hurricane 01.000 2020

Game records

TeamRecord, Team vs. OpponentYear
Most points scored (one team)62, UCF vs. Memphis2017
Most points scored (losing team)55, Memphis vs. UCF2017
Most points scored (both teams)117, UCF (62) vs. Memphis (55)2017
Fewest points scored (winning team)24, Houston vs. Temple2015
Fewest points allowed10, Temple vs. Navy2016
Fewest points scored (both teams)37, Houston (24) vs. Temple (13)2015
Most points scored in a half38, Memphis (1st half) vs. UCF2018
Most points scored in a half (both teams)59, UCF vs. Memphis (1st half)2018
Largest margin of victory24, Temple (34) vs. Navy (10)2016
Smallest margin of victory3, Cincinnati (27) vs. Tulsa (24)2020
Total yards753, Memphis (471 passing, 282 rushing) vs. UCF2017
Rushing yards401, Memphis vs. UCF2018
Passing yards494, UCF vs. Memphis2017
First downs34, UCF vs. Memphis2018
Fewest yards allowed306, Temple vs. Navy (138 passing, 168 rushing)2016
Fewest rushing yards allowed98, Houston vs. Temple2015
Fewest passing yards allowed17, Tulane vs. Army2024
IndividualRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
All-purpose yards558, McKenzie Milton, UCF vs. Memphis2017
Touchdowns responsible for6, McKenzie Milton, UCF vs. Memphis2017
Rushing yards210, Darrell Henderson, Memphis vs. UCF2018
Rushing touchdowns4, shared by:
Darriel Mack Jr., UCF vs. Memphis
Bryson Daily, Army vs. Tulane

2018
2024
Passing yards494, McKenzie Milton, UCF vs. Memphis2017
Passing touchdowns5, McKenzie Milton, UCF vs. Memphis2017
Receiving yards195, Anthony Miller, Memphis vs. UCF2017
Receiving touchdowns3, Anthony Miller, Memphis vs. UCF2017
Tackles14, shared by:
Curtis Akins, Memphis vs. UCF
Sam Howard, Tulane vs. Army

2018
2024
Sacks2, shared by:
Shaquem Griffin, UCF vs. Memphis
Treyvon Reeves, Tulsa vs. Cincinnati
 
2017
2020
Interceptions1, shared by fifteen players, most recent:
Andon Thomas, Army vs. Tulane

2024
Long PlaysRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
Touchdown run82, Darrell Henderson, Memphis vs. UCF2018
Touchdown pass68, Anthony Miller from Riley Ferguson, Memphis vs. UCF2017
Kickoff return35, Rayshawn Pleasant, Tulane vs. Army2024
Punt return42, Otis Anderson Jr., UCF vs. Memphis2018
Interception return70, Ja'Von Hicks, Cincinnati vs. Memphis2019
Fumble return6, Justin Wright, Tulsa vs. Cincinnati2020
Punt63, Alex Barta, Navy vs. Temple2016
Field goal52, Riley Patterson, Memphis vs. Cincinnati2019
MiscellaneousRecord, Team vs. TeamYear
Game attendance45,176, UCF vs. Memphis2018

Source: [8]

Selection criteria

Team selection

The two teams with the best winning percentage in conference play will play in the Championship Game. If there's a two-team tie for first place, both teams will play in the Championship Game. In the event that two teams are tied for second place, head-to head result would break the tie. If the two teams did not play, the team with higher CFP Rankings will be in the Championship game. If a team or teams lose in the final weekend of the Conference play to create a tie, and there are subsequent CFP rankings, those subsequent rankings break ties.

If regular season ends and the Championship Game is scheduled for the next Saturday, the following tiebreakers are used:

  1. if one of the tied teams wins in the final week it will be in the Championship. If that team loses, a composite average of selected computer rankings are used to determine participants.
  2. If both teams are ranked in the latest CFP Rankings, the higher ranked team that wins in the final weekend will be in the Championship.
  3. If neither of the tied teams ranked in the latest CFP Rankings win, a composite average of selected computer rankings are used to determine participants.
  4. If no teams are ranked in the latest CFP Rankings rankings, a composite average of selected computer rankings are used to determine participants.

The following procedures are used when there's a multiple team tie.

  1. Conference Records of tied teams in a mini round-robin
  2. The team with higher CFP Ranking; If a team or teams lose in the final weekend of the Conference season to create a tie, and there are subsequent CFP rankings, those subsequent rankings break ties.

If regular season ends and the Championship Game is scheduled for the next Saturday, the following tiebreakers are used to break multi-team ties:

  1. if the highest ranked team in the latest CFP Rankings wins in the final week it will be in the Championship. If that team loses, a composite average of selected computer rankings are used to break ties.
  2. If there are multiple teams ranked in the latest CFP Rankings, the higher ranked team or teams that wins will be in the Championship.
  3. If neither of the tied teams are ranked in the latest CFP Rankings win, a composite average of selected computer rankings are used to break ties.
  4. If no teams are ranked in the latest CFP Rankings ranked, a composite average of selected computer rankings are used to break ties.

Site selection

The team with the highest winning percentage in Conference play will host. If both participants are tied, Head-to-head is the tie breaker. If the two teams did not play, the team with the higher CFP Ranking will host. The latest CFP Rankings will be used to break ties. If a team or teams lose in the final weekend of the Conference season to create a tie, and there are subsequent CFP rankings, those subsequent rankings break ties. [9]

If regular season ends and the Championship Game is scheduled for the next Saturday, the following tiebreakers are used:

  1. if one of the tied teams wins in the final week it will host. If that team loses, a composite average of selected computer rankings will be used to determine host.
  2. If both teams are ranked in the latest CFP Rankings multiple, the higher ranked team that wins in the final weekend will host.
  3. If neither of the tied teams ranked in the latest CFP Rankings win, a composite average of selected computer rankings are used to determine host.
  4. If no teams are ranked in the latest CFP Rankings rankings, a composite average of selected computer rankings are used to determine host.

*Note: If the number one seed is unable to host, the other team will host.

See also

Footnotes

  1. The conference changed its name from "American Athletic Conference" in July 2025. With the name change, it officially stopped using an initialism, instead using "American".

References

  1. 1 2 "The American Championship Central". American Athletic Conference. June 4, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "American Announces Football Schedule Format for 2015-18". USA Today . December 18, 2012.
  3. Wolken, Dan (May 29, 2013). "American Athletic Conference unveils its primary logos". USA Today . Beyond the challenge of avoiding something that looked corporate, the league also couldn't build the logo around an acronym. From the very beginning, the conference office has been adamant that it wants to be known as The American instead of the AAC to avoid confusion with the Atlantic Coast Conference.
  4. "At a glance: Latest wave of conference realignment". USA Today . June 29, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  5. Borzello, Jeff (July 26, 2019). "UConn leaving AAC in '20, will owe $17M exit fee". ESPN . Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  6. "The Atlantic Coast Conference Welcomes the University of California, Berkeley, Southern Methodist University and Stanford University as New Members" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  7. "United States Military Academy at West Point to Join American Athletic Conference" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  8. "2021 Football Media Guide" (PDF). theamerican.org. p. 81. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  9. "2020 Football Tiebreakers" (PDF). American Athletic Conference. October 26, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.