It was announced today that the conference UConn will be playing in next season will be called the American Athletic Conference.


“We worked with our institutions, sports marketing experts, media partners, and also solicited opinions and reactions from collegiate sports fans to create a compelling list of names,” said Big East commissioner Mike Aresco in a statement.  “Versions that included the word ‘American’ led every list.  American Athletic Conference represents a strong, durable and aspirational name for our reinvented conference.

Cincinnati, Connecticut and South Florida are the holdovers from the current Big East while Louisville and Rutgers will be in the league next season before leaving for the ACC and Big 10 respectively.

Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, Southern Methodist and Temple (which was already in the Big East for football) will also be a part of the conference next season with East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa while Navy will be a football only part of the conference beginning in 2015.