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2025 AAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Preview

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The 2025 AAC Women’s Basketball Tournament is slated to tip off in DFW this week. Here’s a preview of the action.

The Favorite: UTSA

Sitting at 26-3 overall and a staggering 17-1 in conference play, UTSA hasn’t lost a game since January and their only loss in the state of Texas, where the 2025 AAC Tournament will be played, came in their opening game at Texas A&M. With no guarantees the Roadrunners will receive an at-large bid, this team should be plenty motivated to finish what they started and a tournament championship to their regular season title.

The Contenders: North Texas, South Florida

South Florida has been to the NCAA Tournament three times in the last four years and was the only AAC squad to beat UTSA in the regular season. As for North Texas, the Mean Green tied their own program record this season with 23 victories. Either might be a front runner in a typical season and each is perfectly capable of taking home the title this year.

The Dark Horse: Tulsa

Winners of the regular season championship a year ago, Tulsa finished fifth in the standings this time around but is playing their best basketball right now. The Golden Hurricane have won their last five games, including a victory over South Florida at home. If there’s a good bet outside of the upper tier of the standings, Tulsa is the pick.

The Wild Card: Rice

It was only a season ago that 10-Seed Rice ripped off four straight victories in this tournament to punch a their ticket to the Big Dance. This year’s squad has faced similar regular season struggles, but retains the core pieces like Malia Fisher, Dominque Ennis and Sussy Ngulefac who made last season’s run possible. Can lightning strike twice?

The Bracket

The opening play-in game will take place on Saturday, March 8, with first full day of action set for Sunday, March 9. Here is the slate for the first two days. The full schedule is available on the conference website. All early-round games can be streamed on ESPN+, with the championship on ESPNU.

First Round | Saturday, March 8 (Super Pit in Denton, TX)

Game 1: No. 13 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 12 Charlotte – 12 p.m. CT

Second Round | Sunday, March 9 (Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX)

Game 2: No. 9 Rice vs. No. 8 UAB – 12 p.m. CT
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. No. 5 Tulsa – 2 p.m. CT
Game 4: No. 10 Memphis vs. No. 7 East Carolina – 6 p.m. CT
Game 5: No. 11 Wichita State vs. No. 6 Tulane – 8 p.m. CT

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Rice Football 2024 Special Teams Player of the Year: Quinton Jackson

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One record-setting return was only part of a tremendous season for Quinton Jackson, our 2024 Rice Football Special Teams Player of the Year.

Quinton Jackson set a program record when he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown against UConn on October 26. The return was one of the most exciting moments in a wayward season for the Owls and contributed to Jackson being the runaway winner for our 2024 Rice Football Special Teams Player of the Year.

To accurately describe Jackson’s heroics, we must first start with Pete Alamar. Alamar was the Owls’ special teams coordinator that day who would soon after be promoted to interim head coach following the dismissal of head coach Mike Bloomgren. That news came the day following Jackson’s scamper that brought the team within a score of tying the game but would not be enough to salvage the win.

A 40-year veteran in the industry, Alamar had coached a lot of football before taking charge at South Main. His brief stint as the headman of the Owls’ program was a momentary departure from the world of special teams that have been his central focus for most of his career.

During that time, Alamar had the honor of coaching some of the best of the best ever to play teams.

He coached Desean Jackson at Cal and Dennis Northcutt at Arizona. Then he went on to coach Ty Montgomery and Christian McCaffrey at Stanford. This man was well acquainted with what excellence special teams play looks like. That’s what made his endorsement of Rice return man Quinton Jackson so impactful.

More: 2024 Rice Football Season Superlatives

“What he did was phenomenally cool,” Alamar said of Jackson’s big return.

“I’ve told the team, that cat, right there,” he said during that week’s media availability, pointing toward Jackson, “is as good as any kick returner I’ve had at hitting and getting. His first 25 is what makes him special because when he hits it, he hits it.”

Jackson “hit it” that day, but that play was one of 22 kick returns Jackson had during the season. Jackson averaged 26.8 yards per return, eighth nationally among all players. His 589 total return yards ranked fourth and his 49.1 kick return yards per game ranked fifth.

When you have a 4-8 season, not many players rank in the top 10 nationally in any metric. For Rice football, Jackson was the exception, earning AAC Special Teams Player of the Week following that return, the only weekly individual honor any Owl received from the conference this season.

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Jackson carried himself humbly when given the opportunity to react to the special moment. At the same time, he knew the play didn’t come about by accident. He credited the hours and hours of work put in by his protection unit and everything and everyone surrounding him that helped set up that moment.

At the end of the day, it was Jackson that had to made to make the play.

“I feel like I’ve been confident all year. It’s just waiting for my moment to happen.”

Jackson did his best best to absorb the moment and savor the memory he had helped create. Then it was time to move forward, to think about the next game and consider what more could be done to help the team find a way to win.

“You can’t let that get into your head, though. That’s just one,” Jackson remarked. “You can’t just be a one-hit wonder.”

Jackson’s return was the first Rice football kick return touchdown since 2012. Even if Jackson’s tally stops at one, he’ll have carved his names in the program’s record books forever.

** Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker **
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AAC Football 2024: Bowl Schedule and Coaching Changes

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Army has won the 2024 AAC Football Championship. Now eight teams venture on to bowl season with the first game fast approaching.

TeamBowlOpponentTimeDate
MemphisFriscoWest Virginia8:00 PMDec. 17 (Tues)
TulaneGasparillaFlorida2:30 PMDec. 20 (Fri)
UTSAMyrtle BeachCoastal Carolina10:00 AMDec. 23 (Mon)
USFHawaiiSan Jose State7:00 PMDec. 24 (Tues)
NavyArmed ForcesOklahoma11:00 AMDec. 27 (Fri)
ArmyIndependenceMarshall8:15 PMDec. 28 (Sat)
ECUMilitaryNC State4:45 PMDec. 28 (Sat)
North TexasFirst ResponderTexas State3:00 PMJan 3 (Fri)

All times are in central time

Coaching Changes

Rice opened up the AAC coaching carousel when they dismissed Mike Bloomgren at the end of October. Tulsa wrapped things up by hiring East Tennessee Stat’s Tre Lamb this week. Here’s the final list of changes in the league this offseason:

TeamPrevious CoachNew CoachHired From
CharlotteBiff PogiiTim AlbinOhio (HC)
ECUMike HoustonBlake HarrellECU (Interim)
FAUTom HermanZach KittleyTexas Tech (OC)
RiceMike BloomgrenScott AbellDavidson (HC)
TempleStan DraytonK.C. KeelerSam Houston (HC)
TulsaKevin WilsonTre LambEast Tennessee St (HC)
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AAC Football 2024: Week 14 Roundup

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AAC Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron this week.

TeamRecord This WeekResultUp Next
Army10-1 (8-0)vs UTSAW, 29-24vs Tulane
Charlotte5-7 (4-4)vs UABW, 29-27 —
ECU7-5 (5-3)vs NavyL, 34-20 — Bowl —
FAU3-9 (1-7)at TulsaW, 63-16 —
Memphis10-2 (6-2)at TulaneW, 34-24 — Bowl —
Navy8-3 (6-2)at ECUW, 34-20 — Bowl —
North Texas6-6 (3-5)at TempleW, 24-17— Bowl —
Rice4-8 (3-5)vs USFW, 29-24 —
Temple3-9 (2-6)vs North TexasL, 24-17 —
Tulane9-3 (7-1)vs MemphisL, 34-20at Army
Tulsa3-9 (1-7)vs FAUL, 63-16 —
UAB3-4 (2-6)at CharlotteL, 29-27 —
USF6-6 (4-4)at RiceL, 35-28 — Bowl —
UTSA6-6 (4-4)at ArmyL, 29-24 — Bowl —

Notable Results and Storylines // (Standings)

Tulane’s CFB Playoff hopes dashed

The lone college football game on Thanksgiving Day featured a tough result for the AAC. Memphis’ victory over Tulane effectively ended any dark horse hopes of the Green Wave earning the G5 automatic berth in the College Football Playoff. A 10-win season for the Tigers is significant, but no conference title game appearance will still leave a sizable portion of the fanbase understandably frustrated.

Abell arrives at South Main while Harrell stays put in Greenville

In the past week, the American Conference has welcomed two new head coaches. ECU made the decision to promote interim head coach Blake Harrell after a 4-0 run start in place of Mike Houston. At Rice, the Owls opted for Davidson’s Scott Abell whose proven track record at hard jobs gives reason for hope in Houston.

North Texas is bowling

After missing a bowl game with a 5-7 finish in Year 1 under Eric Morris the Mean Green are bowl eligible this time around, narrowly beating Temple in their regular season finale. The victory snaps a five game losing streak after a 5-1 start to the season.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Army chases AAC Perfection vs Tulane

The Black Knights became the eighth team in AAC history to finish undefeated in conference play, a feat most recently achieved by Tulane and SMU in 2023. As a reward they’ll host the conference championship game set to be played next Friday night, December 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Who’s next?

With Rice and East Carolina filled, four open head coaching jobs remain among American Conference programs following the conclusion of the regular season. Charlotte, FAU, Temple and Tulsa have yet to name new head coaches. Expect those jobs to fill soon, particularly with the Early Signing Period beginning this week.

Army/Navy on deck

But wait, there’s more! Even though this will technically be a non-conference game, the first meeting between Army and Navy as American Conference teams will feature two of the conference’s top teams this season. It doesn’t look like this game will have any College Football Playoff ramifications after all, but the intensity and interest in this contest hasn’t waivered all year.

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AAC Football 2024: Week 13 Roundup

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AAC Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron this week.

TeamRecord This WeekResultUp Next
Army9-1 (7-0)at Notre DameL, 49-14vs UTSA
Charlotte4-7 (3-4)at FAUW, 39-27vs UAB
ECU7-4 (5-2)at North TexasW, 40-28vs Navy
FAU2-9 (0-7)vs CharlotteL, 39-27at Tulsa
Memphis9-2 (5-2)— OFF — —at Tulane
Navy7-3 (5-2)— OFF — —at ECU
North Texas5-6 (2-5)vs ECUL, 40-28at Temple
Rice3-8 (2-5)at UABL, 40-14vs USF
Temple3-8 (2-5)at UTSAL, 51-27vs North Texas
Tulane9-2 (7-0)— OFF — —vs Memphis
Tulsa3-8 (1-6)at USFL, 63-30vs FAU
UAB3-8 (2-5)vs RiceW, 40-14at Charlotte
USF6-5 (4-3)vs TulsaW, 63-30at Rice
UTSA6-5 (4-3)vs TempleW, 51-27at Army

Notable Results and Storylines // (Standings)

Not All Interims

There are quite a few interim head coaches in the AAC right now. Most of them have inherited a tough situation and have continued to lose like their predecessor. Rice interim Pete Alamar lost. FAU interim Chad Lunsford lost. Temple interim Everett Withers lost. But ECU interim Blake Harrell? He’s 4-0 and has the Pirates surging up the AAC standings. Not all interims are created equal.

And then were was Tulsa

All those interim coaches are in place because underwhelming seasons necessitated a change in leadership. And then there’s Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane are 7-16 under Kevin Wilson and haven’t done much to impress during his tenure. Back-to-back seasons as one of the bottom dwellers in the conference haven’t been enough to force a change there, yet.

Army defeated

Army has largely run through everyone its faced in league play to this point, but they hadn’t played a team like Notre Dame, a fact which became evident in short time on Saturday afternoon. The Irish routed the troops emphatically and while this doesn’t directly change the quality of team they probably are, it does likely close the door on a dark horse College Football Playoff bid.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Tulane’s next test

With Army no longer undefeated, Tulane has a chance to make their case as the top team in the American. That overture has to start this weekend with a win over Memphis at home before they can start thinking about AAC Championship dreams and potentially more than that.

How far can the Pirates go?

ECU could very well finish third in the conference in the same season they fired their head coach. Those two things don’t often go together, but it’s on the table for the Pirates if they can beat Navy at home. The Midshipmen are reeling a bit and have lost three of four since their 6-0 start.

Will North Texas go bowling?

The postseason fates of every AAC team are sealed going into the final weekend of the regular season, except for the Mean Green. North Texas has lost five in a row after a 5-1 start. To drop their season finale against Temple on a sixth straight defeat would be crushing for a season which began with such promise.

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