Jul 235 min read

AAC Media Day 2: A Spotlight on the Coaches

AAC Football Media Day 2 — © Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The American Athletic Conference held Day 2 of their Media Days from Arlington, Texas. The second day was featured by the conference preseason media poll, talk from Commissioner Tim Pernetti, and talk from the Coaches of each team.

AAC Football Commissioner

Pernetti had a lot to say about the conference and what kind of season could lie ahead for the teams.

"From day one, it has been a priority to do a deep dive to understand the power of the American brand," Pernetti said. "What makes us different? Where do we excel? And how do we get stronger? Because investing in our brand is not just about games—it's about building sustainability, creating our legacy, delivering an unrivaled student-athlete experience and capturing the hearts of our fans."

"The American has produced four NCAA championship teams, a College Football Playoff semifinalist, four New Year's Six Bowl Champions, 15 NCAA individual Champions and a Rhodes Scholar. Since 2013 we have registered top-10 national rankings in 14 sports," he said.

UAB Blazers

UAB coach Trent Dilfer followed Pernetti to the podium to talk about what went wrong last season and the NIL.

" You know, in my life as an NFL quarterback, 4-8 usually gets you fired," Dilfer said. "Somehow UAB held onto me. [The] 2023 [season] was a tough year, humbling, which is a good thing. I think anytime you go through really low valleys, and you embrace it, and you own it, you can earn a lot from it. I did. Our players did."

Dilfer then spoke about how NIL is changing the game of collegiate football.

"You know, NIL is something that's a reality that we're all facing," he said. "Some of us have the opportunity to generate a lot of money for the collectives. Some of us don't. It's really nothing I can control. Do I fundraise relentlessly? Yes. Does [UAB basketball coach] Andy Kennedy fundraise relentlessly? Yes. Are we as successful as some others? I don't know."

FAU Owls

FAU coach Tom Herman took the podium to talk about his players that were with him.

"They are marry your daughter kind of guys," Herman said. "Offensive lineman Maranges is the FAU student athlete of the year across all sports, not just football, and linebacker Jackson Ambush is challenging him for that award."

Army Black Knights

Army Black Knights coach Jeff Monken started his time at AAC Media Day talking about the difficulty of finding teams who happened to have open weeks on their schedules.

"Scheduling has become a real challenge and a lot of that is driven because of the changes in college football, the realignments of the major conferences, and as those teams are changing conferences, their schedules have to change and that's a huge trickle-down effect," Monken said. "Whether it's those teams that are sending us a letter saying we need to get out of this game because we're changing conferences or other teams that say we had a schedule change because of another opponent, we have to cancel our game or change our game. It just became very challenging to put a schedule together."

Tulane Green Wave

Tulane Green Wave coach Jon Sumrall had praise for who he brought with him to the AAC Media Day.

"I'm fired up to bring linemen to media day," he said. "The landscape is constantly changing, and you have to make guys from all over the country, recruits or transfers, all become one, and defensive lineman Patrick Jenkins and offensive lineman Vincent Murphy are a perfect example of that melding.

Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

Tulsa Golden Hurricanes coach Kevin Wilson talked about why he thinks his team should be better in 2024.

"You are what you are until you change the narrative," Wilson said. "We're stronger. We're more mature and can push our team harder."

Memphis Tigers

Memphis Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield had some choice words for what he wants for him and his team this season.

"Personally, as a head coach, I haven't accomplished anything that I want to in this conference," Silverfield said. "The goal is to win the conference championship, and that's the goal every year."

Rice Owls

Rice Owls coach Mike Bloomgren talked about what he expects for his team and the goal for the upcoming season.

"We want to compete for this conference championship,"Bloomgren said. "To win the American Championship is what we exactly want to do. Our guys clearly understand that if the work doesn't align with those goals, then they're simply just dreams."

South Florida Bulls

South Florida Bulls coach Alex Golesh answered a question about how he has to play two powerhouses this season in the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Miami Hurricanes.

"Alabama and Miami have to play South Florida," Golesh quipped.

East Carolina Pirates

East Carolina Pirates coach Mike Houston raved about his defense and their ability in this upcoming season.

"We expect the defense to be as strong or stronger this year," he said.

Temple Owls

Temple Owls coach Stan Drayton expressed confidence in himself and his team going into the 2024 season.

"I'm excited about this football team," Drayton said. "I know we've embarked on a couple of tough years, but I'm excited about this football team. As we embark on this landscape that we are in, and you hear a lot of the horror stories we have to endure as coaches from time to time, there are some positives to come out of this. We were able to put together a roster that enhanced our football team across the board, in all positions. I don't know if we would have been able to do that without the transfer portal."

UTSA Roadrunners

UTSA Roadrunners coach Jeff Traylor had some praise for his team being picked second in the preseason poll.

"It makes me proud," Traylor said. "We haven't done a thing yet. But the last four years, I'm really proud of what our teams have accomplished."

Charlotte 49ers

Charlotte 49ers coach Biff Poggi actually wasn't at Media Day today due to a family matter so associate coach Tim Brewster stepped in for him. Brewster was asked about how he thinks his offense is going to look heading into this season.

"We are going to run the football," Brewster said simply.

Navy Midshipmen

Navy Midshipmen coach Brian Newberry brought fullback Daba Fofan and linebacker Colin Ramos with him to Media Day. Fofan and Romas together were asked how challenging they think this upcoming season is going to be for them.

"It's going to be a grind," Fofan said.

North Texas Mean Green

North Texas Mean Green coach Eric Morris had an interesting statement about how his roster has changed from last year to this year.

"We have 73 new players on the roster this season," Morris said. "To say there are night-and-day approaches to roster building in college football today still feels like an understatement."