The 2016 American Athletic Conference football season was the 26th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season was the fourth 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.
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 ArmyâÂÂNavy 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.
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 15âÂÂ4 record through four full seasons. He compiled a 7âÂÂ9 conference record in the C-USA (2012âÂÂ2013), and a 3âÂÂ13 conference record in the American Athletic Conference (2014âÂÂ2015). On December 1, 2015, UCF hired Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost. 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 0âÂÂ8 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. On December 13, 2015, East Carolina hired Duke (/) Scottie Montgomery. replacing Ruffin McNeill who was relieved of his duties as ECU head coach after finishing the season with a record of 5âÂÂ7.
The American Athletic Conference Media Day took place August 12 in Newport, Rhode Island.
East Division
West Division
East
West
All Times and Dates are Tentative, The 2016 conference football schedule was released February 9
<sup></sup>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.
<sup></sup>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.
American Athletic Conference bowl games for the 2016 season are:
<small>Rankings are from CFP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.</small>
2016 records against FBS conferences
Through Dec 29, 2016
<small>â¡This game was played at a neutral site</small>
The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the American Athletic Conference football coaches at the end of the season
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.<br /><br /> The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2017 NFL draft.