Some food for thought in regards to potentially joining the AAC:
The AAC has an 10 million entry fee to join. Would UD be willing to pay this fee under current circumstances?
The current TV contract for the AAC is about 2 million per year, per member. This is compared to 200K (Not positive on this number) per year, per member for the A-10. However, basketball members make only 30% of a share in regards TV contract revenue.
The negotiation positions for the A10 and AAC are completely different over the next 2 years. The last time the A10 negotiated a TV deal, we had
Temple, X, and Butler in the wings. We don't have these schools this time around. George Mason and Davidson don't replace these schools. This is while when the AAC negotiated its deal, no one would know if the conference would last long term so TV low balled their deal. Currently people are estimating the new AAC deal would be worth 6-8 million per year per member in 2020.
The aforementioned better visibility the AAC provides. Pure speculation on my part, but it would not shock me if ESPN has the AAC some of the A10 to help with their declining profit margin.
