Army joins American: Service academy will enter conference as football-only member beginning in 2024 season

Army will sign up for the American Athletic Conference as a football-only member in time for the 2024 university soccer season, the provider academy introduced on Wednesday. The transfer comes in the wake of SMU’s plans to leave the AAC for the ACC in 2024, leaving the league with 13 groups. CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd reported in September that the 2 facets had temporarily engaged in “positive talks” for the Black Knights to switch the Mustangs. Those talks materialized into Wednesday’s announcement that Army will now serve as the 14th soccer member of the conference. 

“I am excited to start the next chapter of Army football,” Black Knights athletic director Mike Buddie mentioned in a remark. “In today’s evolving collegiate athletics landscape, it is great to partner with established, respected programs to secure the future success of Army football. New NCAA rules, the evolution and growth of the College Football Playoff, the transfer portal, and name, image and likeness have all impacted our competitive landscape, so having a clear path to a Conference Championship, while continuing to fight for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, will help us attract, retain, and showcase our exceptional coaches and cadets. What better pairing than to have America’s Team joining the American Athletic Conference?”

In a Wednesday media teleconference AAC commissioner Mike Aresco mentioned the league is not pursuing further enlargement “at this point” with Army offsetting the lack of SMU. The AAC is these days in its first season as a 14-school conference. The conference noticed 3 faculties — Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — leave for the Big 12 in the offseason, however nonetheless greater its club with six faculties becoming a member of the league amid the ones departures. 

The Black Knights have operated on the impartial degree since 2014 following a seven-year stint as a member of Conference USA, a league which Army left in large part because of aggressive causes. Over the process the previous decade, on the other hand, this system has observed a resurgence underneath the path of trainer Jeff Monken. Since taking up Army soccer in 2014, Monken has guided the Black Knights to a 66-54 report together with back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2017-18. 

“Like many of the proud moments that Army Football has enjoyed over the last several seasons including victories over our academy rivals, record-setting seasons, Commander-in-Chief’s trophies, and multiple bowl games, Army’s alliance with the American Athletic Conference is a source of pride for our Academy, our program, and for me personally,” Monken mentioned in a remark. “I am proud to be West Point’s coach as we take this step from a history of independency to conference affiliation and take on the challenges of the competition in the American Athletic Conference. Our membership in the AAC partners us with outstanding Universities and athletic programs from around the nation and will give our football program the opportunity to compete for a conference championship and for our exceptional Cadet-Athletes to represent and showcase America’s premier service academy.” 

With the transfer, Army will now be conference associates with conventional rival Navy. It used to be showed in the announcement that the Army vs. Navy Game — which airs every season on CBS — will stay at the agenda for the second one week in December as a nonconference showdown. Both methods are eligible to participate in the AAC Championship Game, which is featured the week prior.