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2015 AMERICAN ATHLETIC
CONFERENCE |
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PRESEASON FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL |
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Conference Championship |
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Team |
Points |
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Cincinnati |
22 |
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Memphis |
5 |
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Houston |
2 |
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UCF |
1 |
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East Division |
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Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
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1. |
Cincinnati (29) |
179 |
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2. |
UCF (1) |
135 |
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3. |
Temple |
116 |
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4. |
East Carolina |
105 |
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5. |
USF |
53 |
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6. |
UConn |
42 |
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West Division |
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Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
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1. |
Memphis (13) |
153 |
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2. |
Houston (10) |
149 |
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3. |
Navy (7) |
148 |
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4. |
Tulane |
74 |
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5. |
SMU |
59 |
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6. |
Tulsa |
47 |
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Keeping pace with Power 5 |
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 NEWPORT,
RI �
For American
Athletic Conference
commissioner Mike Aresco,
one element of full cost
tuition for student-athletes
is keeping pace with the
Power Five conferences � the
ACC, the Big Ten, the Big
12, the Pac-12 and the SEC.
Aresco led off the AAC football media day Tuesday at the
Hyatt Regency with wide-ranging remarks and touched on the provisions
for payments to athletes that will begin this academic year. ...
More
from Al Myatt...
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Pictured: Commissioner Mike
Aresco led off the media day agenda by addressing a
number of big picture topics concerning the AAC. (Photo
by W.A. Myatt) |
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Monday Fun Day for AAC |
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 NEWPORT, RI �
The Big East
kept the name for its
contingent of
basketball-geared athletic
programs but the American
Athletic Conference retained
some impressive traditions
for its football kickoff.
Those events over the last three years for the AAC
include a round of golf for athletic directors, coaches and media
members at Newport National Golf Club, a well-maintained challenge
complete with occasional sea breezes. ...
More
from Al Myatt...
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Pictured: East
Carolina athletic director Jeff Compher
enjoyed playing golf at Newport National on
Monday as part of the AAC's football kickoff. (Photo by
Al Myatt) |
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By
Brian Bailey
�2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
I had the privilege of attending my first American Athletic Conference
Football Media Day earlier this week.
The American may not be a �Power 5� conference, but it certainly carries
itself that way.
The highlight of the two-day gathering of players and coaches was the
annual clam bake, which featured almost 300 lobsters, hundreds of clams,
corn, sausage, potatoes and more. It was a true �football feast� and it
came with the sun setting off the Newport, Rhode Island coast. It was
simply beautiful.
Cincinnati is the media�s pick to win the 2015 AAC championship. The
Bearcats picked up 22 of the 30 first place votes. Memphis was the
second pick, followed by Houston and Central Florida.
�I think it�s more of a testament to what we have done the last several
years,� said Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville. �We have won nine games
the last two years so it�s natural for us to get some recognition. But
as we sit here, I don�t know how good of a football team we will have.�
East Carolina is picked fourth in the East Division of the AAC standings
behind Cincinnati, UCF and Temple.
That�s certainly a by-product of losing the likes of Shane Carden and
Justin Hardy.
The prediction doesn�t factor in that the Pirates should be better on
defense in 2015. The Pirates also still have plenty of weapons on
offense and hope to fly under the radar while competing for a conference
championship.
�Predictions are just that, predictions,� said Pirate senior linebacker
Zeek Bigger. �People are going to think what they want to think. I�m
just ready to go out and get this thing started and start proving those
people wrong.�
�Polls are great, but let�s see where we are at the end of the season,�
said ECU coach Ruffin McNeill. �I have a lot of confidence in our
players and our staff and we look forward to battling for the division
title.�
Respect for Coach Ruff runs deep in the AAC. Every coach that I talked
to had nothing but kind words and pure respect for the Pirate coach.
�He�s like me, he�s old school,� said UCF Coach George O�Leary. �I like
spending time with him at events like this.�
�Coach McNeill comes from a defensive background like I did,� said Coach
Tuberville. �We have known each other for a long time and he is a great
man.�
Tuberville went so far as to reminisce about his extremely short tenure
at East Carolina.
�I spent two weeks in Greenville on Bill Lewis�s staff,� said Tuberville.
�I was looking forward to working at ECU, but then Jimmy Johnson called
and offered me a job at Miami that I couldn�t turn down.�
Commissioner Mike Aresco addressed the media on Tuesday and his message
was clear: The way to make it a �Power 6� in college football is to win
against the �Power 5� in non-conference play.
�Our teams certainly look a lot like most of the �Power 5� teams,� said
Aresco. �We just have to keep working and I�m confident we can continue
to be part of the conversation.�
East Carolina is all set to enter year two in the American Athletic
Conference. Expectations from the league aren�t all that high, but
that�s usually when the Pirates play their best, with that chip on their
shoulder.
Look out East Division of the AAC! The Pirates will be out to prove the
experts wrong in 2015.
BB
