![]() ![]() You’re still swimming up and down that same pool. Spitz, who holds the school record for the 100 and 200 backstroke, said while the water remains the same, being in a new conference brings a new level of energy while competing. There are going to be nine teams competing, and in the Conference USA, there were only six.” It’s a much deeper conference for us in swimming. “What I think is great is that in the AAC the competitiveness is higher. The AAC trial run has been a good way for the swimming team to evaluate the depth of talent in the AAC, head coach Seth Huston said. “I’m grateful to the AAC for accepting us early, or otherwise we wouldn’t have had a championship to compete in,” Rice Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard said. While the University of Houston took the team title, Rice captured four individual gold medals, with Arielle Hayon winning the 100- and 200-yard butterflies, Ella Dyson the 1,650 freestyle and Zoe Spitz the 100 backstroke. This made the team the first in Rice history to compete in an AAC Championship, which concluded this past Saturday. ![]() Arielle Hayon (Photo credit: Andrew Hancock) All of the current C-USA members who sponsor women’s swimming and are moving to the AAC were able to enter early. Though Rice’s transition from Conference USA to the AAC doesn’t officially take place until July, the swimming team was given the opportunity to compete in the AAC as an affiliate member during the 2022-2023 season due to C-USA being unable to host a championship. It is believed that there will remain 10 FBS conferences following this round of realignment.The Rice Owls swimming team got an early taste of championship play in the American Athletic Conference last week, as the rest of the university’s programs prepare to make the leap later this year. This round of realignment would leave Conference USA with just eight remaining members, which is one reason why it recently sought but failed to convince the AAC and Sun Belt to regroup along geographical lines. The move would also gouge Conference USA, which may now seek teams from the Sun Belt or a partnership with that conference after itself being reduced to eight members. At 14 teams with many important geographic footprints under its belt, the American would stand with the Mountain West as the two strongest non-Power Five conferences. It's proceeding and I'm reasonably confident we're going to end up as a strong conference and our goal is to be even stronger than before." "We have some good candidates and we're only dealing with candidates who have approached us - who have expressed an interest in us. "We do want to get back to either 10 or 12 ," AAC commissioner Mike Aresco told the Orlando Sentinel in September. However, all four schools declined the possibility of moving conferences. The AAC previously looked to the West by courting Mountain West institutions Boise State, San Diego State, Air Force and Colorado State. The potential moves comes months after AAC members Cincinnati, Houston and UCF opted to depart for the Big 12, leaving the league with just eight football-playing members. Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel first reported the movement.Īdding North Texas, UTSA and Rice would allow the AAC to retain a strong geographical foothold in Texas, while FAU would join South Florida in the conference, Charlotte and UAB would have regional partners in East Carolina and Memphis, respectively. It's expected that all six programs will be approved as new AAC members. The six potential institutions looking to join the American from Conference USA include FAU, Charlotte, North Texas, UTSA, Rice and UAB, sources told CBS Sports on Monday. If all six teams are added to the AAC, it would expand to become a 14-team league once realignment shakes out. The American Athletic Conference is set to consider expansion this week after six Conference USA programs applied for membership on Wednesday. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |