Report: James Madison, Miami (OH), UConn attempt to join American
· Yahoo Sports
The American Conference has several suitors for expansion, if the league chooses to go down that road.
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James Madison, Miami (OH), and UConn each contacted the American about potential membership, per On3 Sports’ Brett McMurphy. However, the league is not interested in expanding at this time, per McMurphy.
McMurphy reported James Madison, which has been in the Sun Belt since 2002, and Miami (OH), which has been in the Mid-American Conference since 1947, showed interest in joining as full-time members, while UConn preferred football-only membership.
James Madison is only in its fifth FBS season. The Dukes upgraded from the FCS to the Sun Belt in 2022 and immediately became the standard of the conference. Including this season, JMU’s record since the move is 43-11. The Dukes became the first-ever Sun Belt team to qualify for the College Football Playoff in 2025, and the program also made the NCAA Tournament in men’s basketball in 2024.
Miami made a reported offer ranging from $30 million to $40 million in hopes of joining the league. The RedHawks are coming off three-straight MAC Championship Game appearances and an NCAA Tournament appearance in men’s basketball, hoping to leverage that success into the American.
UConn is a former full-time member of the American Conference. The Huskies remained in the league when it rebranded from the old Big East in 2013 and retained membership through the 2019 football season. After 2019, UConn went independent in football and joined a reformed Big East in other sports. The Huskies are currently one of two FBS independents, along with Notre Dame. Other former independents such as Army, Liberty, and New Mexico State all joined conferences since 2023. Per McMurphy, UConn’s plan is to remain in the Big East in non-football sports, such as men’s and women’s basketball and Olympic sports.
The American is currently on the same 14-team iteration for the third-straight football season. The league consists of 15 full-time members, including Wichita State, which does not sponsor football. The conference has not changed affiliation since 2024 when SMU departed for ACC and Army joined from the independent ranks.
No changes to membership are imminent at this time.