It shouldn't even be a thing here. In the same realm as Bobby Red Pants' Civil Conflict trophy - manufactured hype that nobody takes seriously. (If you think I'm wrong, look at our TV contract & bowl tie-ins compared to the P5.)
Not often I agree with freescooter, but he's right about the scheduling (and maybe the P5 destruction too). This USF game was up against preseason NFL football and people gathering for the Mayweather fight. Horrible time slot.
13,377 is BS. Looked like SJSt had less people than our SMU game.
A good case can be made that if UCONN was going to have a
Conflict Trophy it should have been with USF and not UCF, since we have played so many close games over a number of years. If that had been the case, it would not have seemed so obviously manufactured. But, that is another subject.
As for the P6 label that the AAC has begun to market widely, I think it is starting to have some impact in the media and in the mind of the public.
I now see many more articles discussing the P5 plus the AAC, with no mention of the other conferences. So, to that extent, at least, the AAC has distinguished itself from the rest.
The AAC wants the media and public to recognize that the conference is far superior in football to the rest of them and should rightly be next in line to join the P5.
For example, the AAC was in the top 5 conferences in the NFL draft this year.
Hopefully, the new AAC TV contract and bowl-tie ins will begin to reflect the quality of football being played and thus be rewarded sufficiently.
I don't expect miracles from the P6 campaign.
However, I think it is an important step in the right direction to
change the conference perception, in order for it to have a chance to become a reality down the road.