Bryant, the AAC has no connection to Rhode Island and I have no idea why they go there. I would assume that in the the states, or even cities, of the AAC that there are places that would be just as appealing for the conference media day.
I will admit that Newport is a very nice place; coming in from sea, Narragansett Bay offers a beautiful view. My last home port was Quonset Point, RI so I am familiar with the area – or what it was 50 years ago.
But my question is still, why do we have to go somewhere not affiliated with any of our schools? To me, UConn doesn’t count anymore, so the fact that is is next to RI means nothing.
I was born on Quonset Pt NAS in 1951, as my dad was a Seebee. When I needed a birth certificate, mine said North Kingstown. I graduated from Warwick Veterans Memorial in 1969. Small world, Dan and Mike. FWIW, don’t miss it at all. Texan through and through, though with an atrocious accent.
I served aboard the USS Intrepid CVS-11, for my last 9 or so months I was in the navy. I went aboard while it was in the Philly shipyard for an overhaul and after a shakedown cruise and ORI, we went to our new home port of Quonset Point. That was in 1969. I got out of the Navy on June 19, 1970 at which time the Fighting I had just gone into the Boston shipyard for routine maintenance and repairs.
I do remember there was a big Seabee base at Quonset Point. My dad was a Marine serving in the Pacific during WWII and he said they had to hurry and take the islands or they would get run over by Seabee bulldozers.
My dad was in the Coast Guard stationed in Newport my last 3 years of high school.
We lived in old base housing near the closed seaport. Then dad got transferred to Galveston the summer I graduated HS and boom U of H.
Full info on media days. Not much happening on Monday just the clam bake ADN comes on in the evening. All day Tuesday are the interviews on ADN and ESPN3 has a 2 hour slot on Tuesday.
3) How immediate will Dana Holgorsen’s impact be at Houston?
It is always big news when a coach leaves a Power Five conference for a Group of Five league, as Holgorsen did when he departed West Virginia. The same decision did not work out for Cincinnati and coach Tommy Tuberville, who went 1-7 in the AAC in 2016 and resigned four years after ditching Texas Tech. Holgorsen, though, is 11 years younger than Tuberville was, and Houston has the best resources in the AAC West.
The American Athletic Conference Digital Network will have coverage Monday and Tuesday.
Monday’s show begins at 6 p.m. (CDT) at the annual New England-style clambake as The American’s Hali Oughton joins Andy Katz and Andy Gresh for interviews with coaches, student-athletes and guests.
Tuesday’s coverage begins at 7:30 a.m. (CDT) with the announcement of the league’s preseason poll.
Legendary sports broadcaster Verne Lundquist serves as the host of Tuesday’s podium sessions, which feagtures opening remarks from Commissioner Mike Aresco, three coaches’ roundtable sessions and a student-athlete roundtable discussion.
ESPN3 COVERAGE ESPN will show live coverage of the Summer Kickoff and Media Days from Noon to 2 p.m. (CDT), Tuesday. Matt Schick and Rene Ingoglia will anchor the coverage, which will feature interviews with all 12 head coaches as well as Aresco.
*What is UConn football coach Randy Edsall supposed to say? *
The school announced last month its intended exit to the Big East next summer. That’s a better fit for basketball, but what will happen to the Huskies’ football program? UConn has won just four of the 20 games, including a 1-11 record and an all-time terrible defense last season.
Sticking with the AAC as a football-only member school is a no-go, and it’s difficult to speculate what conference could be a landing spot. Perhaps going the Independent route or even Division 1-AA will be the move.
Memphis, the division winner the past two years, must replace two of its most productive players (Darrell Henderson and Tony Pollard) but returns 3,000-yard passer Brady White and 1,100-yard rusher Patrick Taylor Jr. D’Eriq King, who set an AAC single-season record with 50 total touchdowns, returns after missing the final two-plus games with a knee injury and has his top playmakers back in the passing game as the Cougars figure to score lots of points in Holgorsen’s system. The defense, one of the worst in the nation a year ago, underwent a makeover in the offseason and will switch to a four-man front. Looking for a sleeper? Tulane. The Green Wave should be improved on offense and have the type of defensive front that could make them serious challengers.
And if the AAC stays at 11 teams —the most likely bet — that says there aren’t any teams that add value to the conference. It also means the pool of potential expansion candidates won’t be large in the next shift.
Swag jet or bust. I like it. Big 12 media days unveiled the name “Big 12 Now” as the semi-network where their content will be on ESPN+. I hope the AAC comes up with a similar name/semi-network for their ESPN+ content.