March Madness 2023: FAU Final Four Run Puts Realignment in Spotlight
Florida Atlantic University’s men’s basketball team, having reached its first Final Four in program history, is currently the crown jewel of Conference USA.
That is, at least until July, when FAU will officially become a member of the American Athletic Conference, along with North Texas, Rice, UAB, Charlotte and UTSA. And the Owls are not the only Final Four team making realignment headlines. San Diego State, part of the Mountain West, is considered one of the top realignment candidates and has been linked to the Pac-12, while UConn returned to the Big East in 2020 after seven years in the AAC.
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“You just can’t take it personally,” AAC commissioner Mike Aresco said in an interview. “If someone is looking for greener pastures, and they feel there’s more money and prestige if they move, that’s their prerogative. That’s the nature of college sports.”
This year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament shines a light on the realignment business, as six teams in the tournament have recently entered or are set to exit their respective conference within the next two years. And as teams move, the money they earn from deep NCAA tournament runs stays with the previous conference.
FAU, for example, will leave behind about $10 million in units with C-USA for their improbable run to the Final Four this year. The AAC, meanwhile, hasn’t decided yet how it will share units and exit fees with new schools like FAU from what was left behind by departing schools. Aresco doesn’t view FAU’s season as a missed financial opportunity; he believes the rising profile of the program will benefit the conference’s overall competitiveness in basketball.
“It’s a nice legacy for C-USA, and it’ll help them financially,” Aresco said. “They earned it in Conference USA. Just like Houston earned some units for us, yet they’re going to the Big 12… We don’t worry about that, it’s just one of those things. We’re happy for [FAU].”
Realignment isn’t new; it’s typically driven by football programs and lucrative media rights deals that provide opportunities to gain greater exposure. The SEC, for example, is set to welcome Texas and Oklahoma in 2024, while UCLA and USC are also changing scenery by heading to the Big Ten next year.
Houston, which was defeated by Miami in the Sweet 16, is leaving the AAC for the Big 12 this July. The Kelvin Sampson-led program has earned 17 units since 2018, which will equate to more than $30 million for the conference over a six-year period. The Cougars, who are giving the conference a $6 million parting gift with three units secured this year, are exiting alongside Cincinnati and UCF.
Howard, a MEAC school that made its first tournament appearance since 1992 this year and earned one unit for the conference, reportedly turned down an invite from the Colonial Athletic Conference. Meanwhile Kennesaw State, which reached its first NCAA tournament in school history this year, is leaving the Atlantic Sun Conference to join the C-USA next year—and will also leave behind a unit.
Kennesaw State athletic director Milton Overton admits that rearranging conferences isn’t ideal, since it dissolves long-standing rivalries and often forces family members to travel farther, but he believes creating long-term financial sustainability is imperative.
“Is this what we got into [college athletics] for? Not necessarily, but as the business changes you have to adapt and maintain your value system along the way,” Overton said in an interview. “Your first obligation is to your institution and then your conference. It must be in that order.”
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