We. Are. The. American.

Sport & Story Daily July 22, 2025: The American Athletic Conference is now just the American Conference. The league announced a conference rebrand, including a new name, no acronym, a mascot, motto and more.

The American Athletic Conference is now just the American Conference. The league announced a conference rebrand, including a new name, no acronym, a mascot, motto and more.

July 22, 2025

The American Drops ‘Athletic’ From Conference Name, Adds Mascot as Part of Rebrand
The Athletic’s Chris Vannini writes, “The American Athletic Conference has a new name. It’s now just the American Conference. The league announced a conference rebrand on Monday, which includes the new name, no acronym, a mascot, motto and more.

“The league took the name ‘American Athletic Conference’ in 2013 amid a wave of realignment within the Big East, when the conference’s non-football schools broke off to form their own league and took the Big East name with them. The American has gone through a lot of change in the ensuing 12 years, losing and adding schools, but it also established itself as the top Group of 5 football conference in most years, and it was the only G5 league to have a team make the four-team College Football Playoff, when now-former member Cincinnati did in 2021.”
The Athletic

Denny Medley-Imagn Images

NFL Owners Told to Prep for Potential Disney Media Deal Vote
FOS’ Eric Fisher writes, “NFL owners have been informally told to be ready for a potential vote next month on a long-discussed acquisition of league media assets by ESPN parent company Walt Disney Co…

“For four years, the league has considered selling in-house media holdings such as the NFL Network and NFL RedZone, among other properties, with Disney easily standing as the most engaged among major networks in the on-again, off-again process. The NFL, in turn, could also acquire an equity stake in ESPN, which would complete another long-planned initiative on the company’s side of the table to potentially bring in outside investors.”
Front Office Sports

ESPN/ABC Sports Programming Having Best First Half Viewership Since 2016
ESPN programming is seeing a viewership increase through the first half of the year, with the flagship cable network up 4% in total-day audience and 9% in primetime. When sports on ABC are factored in, the combined entities are up 1% and at the best point halfway through the year since 2016. For 183 nights of primetime, ESPN is averaging 1.9 million viewers, which is the best mark since 2014.
Sports Business Journal

Fox Sees New Ad Dollars for Sports, News, Streaming in Latest Upfront Close
“The Fox portfolio of industry leading Sports, News and Entertainment content delivered double-digit revenue growth in the Upfront for the second year in a row,” said Jeff Collins, president of advertising sales, marketing and brand partnerships for Fox Corp., in a prepared statement. “Unprecedented audience growth across the Fox portfolio has driven better outcomes for our trusted client partners. 
Sports Business Journal

Wimbledon Expansion Clears Legal Challenge
Wimbledon has “won the latest battle in a war” with local residents over its US$269.7M expansion plans. Following a judicial review, a High Court judge “dismissed a legal challenge to last year’s decision by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to approve the landmark development.” But campaigners “immediately announced their intention to appeal against the verdict as the bitter dispute dragged on.” The All England Club looks to “build 39 new tennis courts, including an 8,000-seater show court” on the site of the neighboring Wimbledon Park Golf Club.
London Telegraph via Sports Business Journal

Hockey Canada Announces Full Coaching Staff for 2026 Winter Olympics
The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports: “The entire coaching staff of Canada’s gold-medal team from this year’s 4 Nations Face-Off is set to return at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, ensuring continuity behind the Canadian bench for the first Winter Games with NHL players since 2014. Assistant coaches Bruce Cassidy, Pete DeBoer, Rick Tocchet, Misha Donskov and Dave Alexander will all be back, Hockey Canada announced on Monday.”
The Athletic

Former NFLPA Executive Director Lloyd Howell Jr. Resigns From The Carlyle Group
The Athletic’s Jayna Bardahl writes, “On Thursday, Howell resigned from his role with the NFLPA amid rising criticism over the union’s leadership and concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving Howell and his involvement with The Carlyle Group. As reported by ESPN on July 10, Howell began working as a paid, part-time consultant to The Carlyle Group in March 2023, three months before he was elected NFLPA executive director. He stayed in the role even after the NFL approved private equity minority investors, including The Carlyle Group, in August 2024.”
The Athletic

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Imagn Images

Sources: Big 12 Won’t Add Memphis Despite Pitch
Multiple league sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Sports Business Journal that Memphis approached the conference with a pitch to become its 17th member in recent weeks. Big 12 presidents met on Monday to discuss the matter following a regularly scheduled call among the league’s ADs last week. The presidents did not hold a vote on Monday and instead decided against moving forward with the proposal, sources told SBJ.
Sports Business Journal

Why Dallas Baptist, With One D-I Sport, Opted Into Revenue Sharing
Dallas Baptist is one of nine schools that primarily competes at lower levels of college sports but opted into the new revenue-sharing model overseen by the College Sports Commission before this year’s June 30 deadline.

“The decision was not so much if we are going to opt in or not, but just how we’re going to adapt to the new climate,” Duce said in a phone interview. “If you don’t do it, then you’re gonna have a really hard time competing.”
Sports Business Journal

Nevada WR Catches Court Win as NCAA Eligibility Cases Split
Sportico’s Michael McCann writes, “In the latest twist on whether college athletes whose NCAA eligibility has expired have a legal right to keep playing for NIL deals and preparation for pro sports, a federal judge in Nevada last Friday blocked the NCAA from rendering University of Nevada wide receiver Cortez Braham Jr. ineligible for what will be his seventh season in college sports.

“U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du’s ruling, which the NCAA can appeal to the U.S. Court for the Ninth Circuit, sets the table for a potential circuit split that attracts the interest of the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Sportico

 Power 4 Conferences Keep Pushing Different CFP Plans, Stalling Change
FOS’ David Rumsey writes, “The future of the College Football Playoff will be in the spotlight this week, as the ACC and Big Ten host preseason media days—although there is not expected to be any movement toward reaching a consensus for expansion in 2026.

“When ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and his Big Ten counterpart Tony Petitti take their respective stages in Charlotte and Las Vegas on Tuesday, they are each expected to reiterate their preferences for differing CFP formats, should it expand to 16 teams next year.”
Sports Business Journal

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