2016 American Athletic Conference
football season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision)
SportFootball
DurationSeptember 1, 2016
through January 2017
Number of teams12
TV partner(s)ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network
2017 NFL Draft
Top draft pickHaason Reddick (Temple)
Picked byArizona Cardinals, 13th overall
Regular season
Top scorerWill Worth (150 points)
East championsTemple
  East runners-upSouth Florida
West championsNavy
  West runners-upTulsa
The American Championship
ChampionsTemple
  Runners-upNavy
Football seasons
← 2015
2017 →
2016 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Temple xy$   7 – 1     10 – 4  
No. 19 South Florida x   7 – 1     11 – 2  
UCF   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Cincinnati   1 – 7     4 – 8  
UConn   1 – 7     3 – 9  
East Carolina   1 – 7     3 – 9  
West Division
Navy xy   7 – 1     9 – 5  
Tulsa   6 – 2     10 – 3  
Memphis   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Houston   5 – 3     9 – 4  
SMU   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Tulane   1 – 7     4 – 8  
Championship: Temple 34, Navy 10
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2016 American Athletic Conference football season was the 25th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season was the third since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, and the third season with the College Football Playoff in place. The American was considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5) with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. Whereas under the previous system the champion of the conference was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, the highest-ranked champion member of the G5 received a bid to one of the six major bowls.[1]

The American consisted of 12 members: Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, UConn, Navy. In June 2015, the Collegiate Commissioner's Association announced that it would postpone final rankings until after the annual Army–Navy Game if Navy or Army are in contention for a spot in the semifinals or a New Years Six bowl. If Navy was the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion and loses to Army, it would be replaced by next highest-ranked Group of 5 champion in the New Years Six Bowl.[2]

In the 2016 season, the American had four new coaches. Willie Fritz, formerly the head coach at Georgia Southern, was hired by Tulane to replace Curtis Johnson. After beginning the 2013 season, Johnson lost 22 of his final 27 games against FBS opponents. He finished at Tulane with a 15–4 record through four full seasons. He compiled a 7–9 conference record in the C-USA (2012–2013), and a 3–13 conference record in the American Athletic Conference (2014–2015). On December 1, 2015, UCF hired Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost.[3] Frost replaced longtime UCF head coach George O'Leary and interim head coach Danny Barrett, who took over the Knights when O'Leary resigned following an 0–8 start. On December 3, 2015, Memphis hired Arizona State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Norvell, replacing Justin Fuente who took the job at Virginia Tech.[4] On December 13, 2015, East Carolina hired Duke (OC/QB) Scottie Montgomery.[5] replacing Ruffin McNeill who was relieved of his duties as ECU head coach after finishing the season with a record of 5–7.[6]

American Athletic Conference Media Day

The American Athletic Conference Media Day took place August 12 in Newport, Rhode Island.[7]

Preseason poll

Head coaches

Recruiting classes

Rankings
Team ESPN[8] Rivals[9] Scout[10] 24/7[11] Signees
Cincinnati 75 75 73 76 21
Connecticut – – 101 98 16
East Carolina – 81 88 77 22
Houston 30 44 51 40 19
Memphis 72 72 69 63 22
Navy – – 98 83 36
SMU 67 74 61 72 22
South Florida 63 70 77 61 16
Temple 59 59 76 57 26
Tulane – 86 100 89 24
Tulsa – 87 85 92 20
UCF 66 58 74 66 20

Rankings

Main article: 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  No change in ranking from previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
  Pre Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Wk
13		 Wk
14		 Wk
15		 Final
Cincinnati AP RV
C
CFP Not released
Connecticut AP
C
CFP Not released
East Carolina AP
C
CFP Not released
Houston AP 15 6 6 6 6 6 13 11 RV RV RV RV 18 RV RV
C 13 7 7 7 7 5 12 11 24 RV RV RV 21 RV RV
CFP Not released 20 24
Memphis AP RV
C RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released
Navy AP RV RV 25 24 22 RV RV RV 20 RV
C RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 22 RV RV RV RV 20 RV
CFP Not released 25 19 25
SMU AP RV
C
CFP Not released
South Florida AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 24 25
C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 23 22
CFP Not released
Temple AP RV RV 23
C RV 24
CFP Not released 24
Tulane AP
C
CFP Not released
Tulsa AP RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released
UCF AP
C
CFP Not released

Schedule

All Times and Dates are Tentative,[12] The 2016 conference football schedule was released February 9[13]

Index to colors and formatting
American member won
American member loss
American teams in bold

Week 1

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 1 7:00 p.m. UT Martin Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN3 W 28–7   28,520
September 1 7:00 p.m. Maine Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT ASN W 24–21   29,377
September 1 7:00 p.m. Tulane Wake Forest BB&T Field • Winston-Salem, NC ESPN3 L 3–7   24,398
September 2 7:00 p.m. Army Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA CBSSN L 13–28   34,005
September 3 Noon No. 3 Oklahoma No. 15 Houston NRG Stadium • Houston, TX (Texas Kickoff) ABC W 33–23   71,016
September 3 Noon Fordham Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN W 52–16   28,238
September 3 6:00 p.m. Western Carolina East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN3 W 52–7   44,161
September 3 7:00 p.m. South Carolina State UCF Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPN3 W 38–0   36,260
September 3 7:00 p.m. No. 24 (FCS) Towson South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ASN W 56–20   35,976
September 3 7:00 p.m. Southeast Missouri State Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN3 W 35–17   42,876
September 3 7:00 p.m. SMU North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX ASN W 34–21   24,718
September 3 7:00 p.m. San Jose State Tulsa Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK CBSSN W 45–10   18,748
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 2

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 10 Noon UCF No. 5 Michigan Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI ABC L 14–51   109,295
September 10 Noon Cincinnati Purdue Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN BTN W 38–20   33,068
September 10 Noon NC State East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPNU W 33–30   50,719
September 10 Noon Lamar No. 6 Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ASN W 42–0   39,402
September 10 1:00 p.m. Stony Brook Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPN3 W 38–0   22,296
September 10 3:30 p.m. Connecticut Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  NAVY 28–24   31,501
September 10 3:30 p.m. SMU No. 23 Baylor McLane Stadium • Waco, TX FS1 L 13–40   45,499
September 10 3:30 p.m. Tulsa No. 4 Ohio State Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH ABC L 3–48   104,410
September 10 7:00 p.m. Northern Illinois South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL CBSSN W 48–17   36,557
September 10 8:00 p.m. Southern Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN3 W 66–21   27,179
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
September 10 Memphis

Week 3

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 15 7:30 p.m. No. 6 Houston Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN  HOU 40–16   40,015
September 17 Noon Temple Penn State Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA BTN L 27–34   100,420
September 17 Noon Kansas Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPNU W 43–7   34,448
September 17 1:30 p.m. Virginia Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT SNY W 13–10   31,036
September 17 2:00 p.m. North Carolina A&T Tulsa Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN3 W 58–21   16,111
September 17 3:30 p.m. South Florida Syracuse Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY ESPN3 W 45–20   32,288
September 17 4:00 p.m. East Carolina South Carolina Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC SEC Network L 15–20   80,384
September 17 7:00 p.m. Maryland UCF Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL CBSSN L 24–30 2OT  43,197
September 17 7:00 p.m. Navy Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ASN  NAVY 21–14   21,503
September 17 7:00 p.m. Liberty SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPN3 W 29–14   22,127
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 4

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 23 8:00 p.m. TCU SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX (Battle for the Iron Skillet) ESPN L 3–33   30,987
September 24 Noon No. 13 Florida State South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ABC L 35–55   61,665
September 24 Noon Charlotte Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ASN W 48–20   27,786
September 24 12:30 p.m. East Carolina Virginia Tech Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA ACCN L 17–54   63,712
September 24 1:00 p.m. Syracuse Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT CBSSN L 24–31   31,899
September 24 3:30 p.m. Miami (OH) Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (121st Battle for the Victory Bell) ESPNews W 27–20   38,112
September 24 4:30 p.m. Tulsa Fresno State Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA MWTV W 48–41 2OT  23,273
September 24 7:00 p.m. UCF FIU FIU Stadium • Miami, FL BeIN Sports W 53–14   18,524
September 24 7:00 p.m. No. 6 Houston Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX ESPNU W 64–3   33,133
September 24 8:00 p.m. Bowling Green Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPNews W 77–3   38,713
September 24 8:00 p.m. Louisiana–Lafayette Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN3 W 41–39 4OT  24,253
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
September 24 Navy

Week 5

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 29 8:00 p.m. Connecticut No. 6 Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN  HOU 42–14   40,873
October 1 Noon UCF East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC (rivalry) CBSSN  UCF 47–29   46,042
October 1 Noon SMU Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPNews  TEM 45–20   22,401
October 1 3:30 p.m. Navy Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBSSN L 14–28   43,063
October 1 3:30 p.m. Tulane UMass Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, MA ASN W 31–24   14,892
October 1 7:00 p.m. South Florida Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPNU  USF 45–20   35,108
October 1 7:00 p.m. Memphis No. 16 Ole Miss Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS ESPN2 L 28–48   65,889
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
October 1 Tulsa

Week 6

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 6 8:00 p.m. Temple Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN  MEM 34–27   34,743
October 7 8:00 p.m. Tulane UCF Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPNU  Postponed[a]    
October 7 8:00 p.m. SMU Tulsa Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN2  TLSA 43–40 OT  20,089
October 8 11:30 a.m. Cincinnati Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT CBSSN  CONN 20–9   24,169
October 8 Noon East Carolina South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPNews  USF 38–22   30,397
October 8 3:00 p.m. No. 6 Houston Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  NAVY 46–40   34,531
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[a] The October 7th game in Orlando between Tulane and UCF was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew and rescheduled for November 5, a date which both teams had open.[14]

Week 7

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 13 7:30 p.m. No. 25 Navy East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN  Postponed[b]    
October 14 8:00 p.m. Memphis Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPNU  MEM 24–14   21,098
October 15 7:00 p.m. Connecticut South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL CBSSN  USF 42–27   30,297
October 15 7:00 p.m. Tulsa No. 13 Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN2  HOU 38–31   38,221
October 15 7:30 p.m. Temple UCF Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPNU  TEM 26–25   38,299
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
October 15 Cincinnati SMU

^[b] The October 13th game in Greenville, NC between Navy and East Carolina was postponed due because of flooding associated with Hurricane Matthew, the game will be rescheduled for November 19, a date which both teams had open.[15]

Week 8

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 21 7:00 p.m. South Florida Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPN  TEM 46–30   25,950
October 22 Noon UCF Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT (Civil Conflict) ESPNews  UCF 24–16   28,008
October 22 3:30 p.m. Memphis No. 24 Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  NAVY 42–28   35,943
October 22 3:45 p.m. Tulane Tulsa Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPNU  TLSA 50–27   22,349
October 22 7:00 p.m. East Carolina Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH CBSSN  CIN 31–19   32,022
October 22 7:00 p.m. No. 11 Houston SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPN2  SMU 38–16   25,079
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 9

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 28 7:00 p.m. No. 22 Navy South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN2  USF 52–45   31,824
October 29 Noon UCF Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPNU  HOU 31–24   35,846
October 29 Noon Connecticut East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPNews  ECU 41–3   41,370
October 29 3:30 p.m. Cincinnati Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA CBSSN  TEM 34–13   29,763
October 29 4:00 p.m. SMU Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPNews  SMU 35–31   25,780
October 29 8:00 p.m. Tulsa Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPNews  TLSA 59–30   36,894
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 10

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 4 7:00 p.m. Temple Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT ESPN2  TEM 21–0   22,316
November 5 11:30 a.m. Notre Dame Navy EverBank Field • Jacksonville, FL (Rip Miller Trophy) CBS W 28–27   50,867
November 5 3:30 p.m. BYU Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH CBSSN L 3–20   37,522
November 5 4:00 p.m. Memphis SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPNews  MEM 51–7   24,379
November 5 5:00 p.m. Tulane UCF Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPN3  UCF 31–6   31,571
November 5 8:00 p.m. East Carolina Tulsa Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPNews  TLSA 45–24   17,557
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
November 5 South Florida Houston

Week 11

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 12 Noon Tulsa Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  NAVY 42–40   36,397
November 12 Noon Cincinnati UCF Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPNU  UCF 24–3   30,346
November 12 Noon SMU East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPNews  SMU 55–31   42,908
November 12 3:30 p.m. Tulane Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX CBSSN  HOU 30–18   36,552
November 12 7:00 p.m. South Florida Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPNU  USF 49–42   37,218
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
November 12 Connecticut Temple

Week 12

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 17 8:00 p.m. No. 3 Louisville Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN W 36–10   42,822
November 18 8:00 p.m. Memphis Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH CBSSN  MEM 34–7   25,796
November 19 1:00 p.m. Connecticut Boston College Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA ACCN Extra L 0–30   36,220
November 19 3:30 p.m. Temple Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ASN  TEM 31–0   16,497
November 19 4:00 p.m. Navy East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPNews  NAVY 66–31   39,480
November 19 7:00 p.m. South Florida SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX CBSSN  USF 35–27   18,417
November 19 8:00 p.m. Tulsa UCF Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPNews  TLSA 35–20   35,141
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 13

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 25 Noon No. 18 Houston Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ABC  MEM 48–44   36,527
November 25 8:30 p.m. Cincinnati Tulsa Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPNU  TLSA 40–37   18,550
November 26 Noon UCF South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL (War on I-4) CBSSN  USF 48–31   36,056
November 26 3:30 p.m. Navy SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX (Gansz Trophy) ESPNU  NAVY 75–31   21,283
November 26 4:00 p.m. Tulane Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT ESPNews  TULN 38–13   20,764
November 26 7:30 p.m. East Carolina Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPNews  TEM 37–10   28,373
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

American Athletic Conference Championship Game

Main article: 2016 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
December 3 Noon Temple No. 20 Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD ABC  TEM 34–10   22,815
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 15

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
December 10 3:00 p.m. Army Navy M&T Bank Stadium • Baltimore, MD (117th Army–Navy Game/Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBS L 17–21   71,600
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Bowl games

American Athletic Conference bowl games[16] for the 2016 season are:

See also: 2016–17 NCAA football bowl games
Bowl game Date Site Television Time (EST) AAC team Opponent Score Attendance
Las Vegas Bowl December 17 Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV ABC 3:30 p.m. Houston San Diego State 10–34 29,286
AutoNation Cure Bowl December 17 Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL CBSSN 5:30 p.m. UCF Arkansas State 13–31 27,213
Miami Beach Bowl December 19 Marlins Park • Miami, FL ESPN 2:30 p.m. Tulsa Central Michigan 55–10 15,262
Marmot Boca Raton Bowl December 20 FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL ESPN 7:00 p.m. Memphis WKU 31–51 24,726
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl December 23 Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX ESPN 4:30 p.m. #25 Navy Louisiana Tech 45–48 40,542
Military Bowl December 27 Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD ESPN 3:30 p.m. #24 Temple Wake Forest 26–34 26,656
Birmingham Bowl December 29 Legion Field • Birmingham, Alabama ESPN 2:00 p.m. South Florida South Carolina 46–39 OT 31,229

Rankings are from CFP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.

Selection of teams

Records against FBS conferences

2016 records against FBS conferences

Through Dec 29, 2016

Conference Record
ACC 4–6
Big Ten 1–4
Big 12 2–2
C-USA 3–2
Independents 2–3
MAC 4–0
Mountain West 2–2
SEC 1–2
Sun Belt 2–1
Total 21–22

The American vs. Power Conferences

Index to colors and formatting
American member won
American member loss
Date Visitor Home Winning Team Opponent
Conference
September 1 Tulane Wake Forest Wake Forest ACC
September 3‡ #3 Oklahoma #15 Houston Houston Big 12
September 10 Cincinnati Purdue Cincinnati Big Ten
September 10 UCF #5 Michigan Michigan Big Ten
September 10 NC State East Carolina East Carolina ACC
September 10 SMU #23 Baylor Baylor Big 12
September 10 Tulsa #4 Ohio State Ohio State Big Ten
September 17 Maryland UCF Maryland Big Ten
September 17 Virginia Connecticut Connecticut ACC
September 17 East Carolina South Carolina South Carolina SEC
September 17 Kansas Memphis Memphis Big 12
September 17 South Florida Syracuse South Florida ACC
September 17 Temple Penn State Penn State Big Ten
September 24 Syracuse Connecticut Syracuse ACC
September 24 East Carolina Virginia Tech Virginia Tech ACC
September 24 TCU SMU TCU Big 12
September 24 #13 Florida State South Florida Florida State ACC
October 1 Memphis #16 Ole Miss Ole Miss SEC
November 5‡ Notre Dame Navy Navy IND
November 17 #3 Louisville Houston Houston ACC
November 19 Connecticut Boston College Boston College ACC
December 27‡ Wake Forest #23 Temple Wake Forest ACC
December 29‡ South Carolina #25 South Florida South Florida SEC

‡This game was played at a neutral site

Players of the Week

Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams
Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position Team
Week 1 Greg Ward Jr. QB Houston Trent Martin LB Tulsa Brandon Wilson CB Houston
Week 2 Quinton Flowers QB USF Alohi Gilman LB/DB Navy Sherman Badie RB Tulane
Week 3 Greg Ward Jr. QB Houston Steven Taylor LB Houston Bobby Puyol K UConn
Week 4 Riley Ferguson QB Memphis Jeremy Brady S Tulsa Andrew DiRocco K Tulane
Week 5 Greg Ward Jr. QB Houston Haason Reddick DE Temple Adrian Killins RB UCF
Week 6 Will Worth QB Navy Josiah Powell LB Navy Bennett Moehring K Navy
Week 7 Will Worth QB Navy Jarvis Pruitt DE SMU Aaron Boumerhi K Temple
Week 8 James Flanders RB Tulsa Shaquem Griffin LB UCF Jake Elliott K Memphis
Week 9 Riley Ferguson QB Memphis Drico Johnson DB UCF Aaron Boumerhi K Temple
Week 10 Quinton Flowers QB USF Horace Richardson CB SMU Dane Roy P Houston
Week 11
Week 12

Awards and honors

Conference awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the American Athletic Conference football coaches at the end of the season

2016 American Athletic Conference Individual Awards
Award Recipient(s)
Offensive Player of the Year Quinton Flowers
Defensive Player of the Year Shaquem Griffin
Special Teams Player of the Year Tony Pollard
Rookie of the Year Ed Oliver
Coach of the Year Ken Niumatalolo
2016 All-American Athletic Conference Football Teams
First Team Second Team
Offense Defense Offense Defense

WR – Zay Jones, East Carolina
WR – Courtland Sutton, SMU
WR – Keevan Lucas, Tulsa
OT – Kofi Amichia, South Florida
OT – Dion Dawkins, Temple
OG – Adam West, Navy
OG – Black Belcher, Tulsa
C – Chandler Miller, Tulsa
TE – Daniel Montiel, Memphis
QB – Quinton Flowers, South Florida
RB – Marlon Mack, South Florida
K – Jake Elliott, Memphis
RS – Tony Pollard, Memphis

DL – Haason Reddick, Temple*
DL – Ed Oliver, Houston*
DL – Tanzel Smart, Tulane
DL Justin Lawler, SMU
LB – Shaquem Griffin, UCF
LB – Eric Wilson, Cincinnati
LB – Steven Taylor, Houston
LB – Genard Avery, Memphis
LB – Nico Marley, Tulane
CB Horace Richardson, SMU
CB – Howard Wilson, Houston
S – Darrion Millines, SMU
S – Obi Melifonwu, UConn
P – Spencer Smith, Memphis

WR – Noel Thomas, UConn
WR – Anthony Miller, Memphis
WR – Rodney Adams, South Florida
OT – Blake Copeland, Navy
OT – Evan Plagg, Tulsa
OG – Dominique Threatt, South Florida
OG – Tyler Bowling, Tulsa
C – Maurice Morris, Navy
TE – Mitchell Wilcox, South Florida
QB – Greg Ward Jr., Houston
RB – Jahad Thomas, Temple
RB – D'Angelo Brewer, Tulsa
K – Aaron Boumerhi, Temple
RS – D'Ernest Johnson, South Florida

DL – Jamiyus Pittman, UCF
DL – Cortez Broughton, Cincinnati
DL – Deadrin Senat, South Florida
DL – Praise Martin-Oguike, Temple
LB – Tyus Bowser, Houston
LB – Micah Thomas, Navy
LB – Auggie Sanchez, South Florida
LB – Avery Williams, Temple
CB – Shaquill Griffin, UCF
CB – Brandon Wilson, Houston
CB – Deatrick Nichols, South Florida
CB – Parry Nickerson, Tulane
S – Garrett Davis, Houston
S – Sean Chandler, Temple
P – Worth Gregory, ECU

^ - denotes unanimous selection  Additional players added to the all-conference teams due to ties in the voting.[17]

NFL Draft

The American had a conference-record 15 players selected in the 2017 NFL draft, which placed it as the fifth most prolific conference in the draft. The American made headlines by having more selections than the Big 12 Conference, a Power 5 Conference.[18]

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2017 NFL draft.

Player Position School Draft
Round 		Round
Pick 		Overall
Pick 		Team
Haason Reddick LB Temple 1 13 13 Arizona Cardinals
Zay Jones WR East Carolina 2 5 37 Buffalo Bills
Tyus Bowser OLB Houston 2 15 47 Baltimore Ravens
Obi Melifonwu S UConn 2 24 56 Oakland Raiders
Dion Dawkins G Temple 2 31 63 Buffalo Bills
Shaquill Griffin CB Central Florida 3 26 90 Seattle Seahawks
Howard Wilson CB Houston 4 19 126 Cleveland Browns
Marlon Mack RB South Florida 4 36 143 Indianapolis Colts
Jake Elliott K Memphis 5 9 153 Cincinnati Bengals
Nate Hairston CB Temple 5 14 158 Indianapolis Colts
Rodney Adams WR South Florida 5 26 170 Minnesota Vikings
Michael Tyson S Cincinnati 6 3 187 Seattle Seahawks
Tanzel Smart DT Tulane 6 5 189 Los Angeles Rams
Brandon Wilson CB Houston 6 23 207 Cincinnati Bengals
Kofi Amichia OT South Florida 6 28 212 Green Bay Packers

Attendance

Team Stadium Capacity Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Total Average % of Capacity
Cincinnati Nippert Stadium 40,000 28,520 40,015† 38,112 35,108 32,022 37,522 25,796 237,095 33,870 84.68%
Connecticut Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field 40,642 29,377 31,036 31,899† 24,169 28,008 22,316 20,764 187,569 26,795 65.93%
East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium 50,000 44,161 50,719† 46,042 41,370 42,908 39,480 — 264,680 44,113 88.23%
Houston TDECU Stadium 40,000 39,402 40,873 38,221 35,846 36,552 42,822† — 233,716 38,953 97.38%
Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 59,308 42,876† 34,448 38,713 34,743 36,894 37,218 36,527 261,419 37,345 62.97%
Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 34,000 28,238 31,501 34,531 35,943 36,397† — — 166,610 33,322 98.01%
SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium 32,000 22,127 30,987† 25,079 24,379 18,417 21,283 — 142,272 23,712 74.10%
South Florida Raymond James Stadium 65,890 35,976 36,557 61,665† 30,397 30,297 31,824 36,056 262,772 37,538 56.97%
Temple Lincoln Financial Field 69,176 34,005† 22,296 27,786 22,401 25,950 29,763 28,373 190,574 27,225 39.36%
Tulane Yulman Stadium 30,000 27,179† 21,503 24,253 21,098 25,780 16,497 — 136,310 22,718 75.73%
Tulsa Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium 30,000 18,748 16,111 20,089 22,349† 17,557 18,550 — 113,404 18,900 63.00%
UCF Bright House Networks Stadium 44,206 36,260 43,197 38,299† 31,571 30,346 35,141 — 214,814 35,802 80.99%

Attendance for neutral site games

[19]

References

  1. ^ About the College Football Playoff. ESPN.
  2. ^ "Playoff committee will wait for Army-Navy game if necessary". FOXSports.com. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "Frost a Knight - UCF Knights - Official Athletics Site". www.ucfknights.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015.
  4. ^ Calkins, Geoff (December 3, 2015). "ASU's Mike Norvell tapped to coach U of M football". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  5. ^ Keeley, Laura (December 13, 2015). "Duke offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery named ECU head coach". The News & Observer. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  6. ^ ESPN.com news services (December 4, 2015). "East Carolina fires Ruffin McNeill". espn.go.com. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  7. ^ 2016 Football Media Day
  8. ^ "RecruitingNation Class Rankings top75-ESPN". Insider.espn.go.com. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  9. ^ "2016 Rivals Team Rankings". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  10. ^ "2016 Scout.com College Football Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  11. ^ "2016 Football Recruiting Composite Team Rankings". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  12. ^ "AAC Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  13. ^ "American Athletic Conference Athletic Directors Conclude Winter Meetings". American Athletic Conference. SideArm Sports. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  14. ^ "Hurricane Matthew forces Knights to move football, volleyball contests". UCFKnights.com. Sidearm Sports. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  15. ^ "Navy-East Carolina Football Game Rescheduled For Nov. 19". ECUPirates.com. SideArm Sports. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  16. ^ "American Bowl Lineup 2014–2019". American Athletic Conference. SideArm Sports.
  17. ^ "American Athletic Conference Announces 2016 Football Honors".
  18. ^ "Record Haul from the American in the 2017 NFL Draft".
  19. ^ "NCAA Football Attendance Report". NCAA. NCAA.
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