Commissioner Tim Pernetti made his pitch for relevance at American Conference Media Days, an increasingly more difficult challenge in the ever-evolving world of college athletics.
AMERICAN CONFERENCE MEDIA DAYS | It was a short walk from the designated media hotel to the Charlotte Convention Center, just a few blocks in what turned out to be a sunny, beautiful summer day in the Queen City. Along the path was the Hilton Charlotte Uptown Hotel, the host of the ACC — not to be confused with the conference formerly known as the AAC — Media Days.
Outside of the Hilton were three giant letters, A.C.C., a clear identifier of who was on campus and what was happening inside those revolving doors. A little further down the street was the convention center, which had a graphic for the American Conference Media Days rotating on the large digital sign on the outside of the building.
One step inside those doors, however, and all the eye could see was pink. Mary Kay Pink, to be specific.
Hosted in the same building and dominating the air, the Mary Kay Seminar included hundreds of attendees, all pink-clad with signs and logos everywhere. There were no visible signs for the American, the American Conference, the AAC or any other iteration of the namesake of the league ostensibly holding court in the very same building.
Two separate venue attendants, when I stopped to ask for directions to the American event, did not know what I was referring to or where the event was being held.
During a week meant to set the conference apart as distinctive, modern, and unique, simply my arrival at the conference’s flagship event was marked by external noise.
That’s the real challenge this conference faces right now. It’s not just a name — the conference issued new brand guidelines this past week — it’s relevance in an ever-changing landscape marked more by turnover and inconsistency than anything else. For better or worse, the conferences the American would call its peers have identities formed over years of like membership, longstanding rivalries and tradition. How do you manufacture that in 2025? It’s hard.
When commissioner Tim Pernetti took the podium, he was bold, direct and assertive. “A brand is more than a logo,” he said, describing his league as leaders, not followers, multiple times throughout his address.
Pernetti pointed towards the conference’s brand ambassador, Soar the Eagle, the first such character at the college football level. He mentioned the league’s willingness to explore new ventures, to challenge perceived norms and call out parts of the college sports world right now that simply aren’t working.
“We’re not waiting for this industry, in case you haven’t noticed,” Pernetti quipped. “We’re building it. We’re leading it, strategically, and with purpose and thought along the way.”
At the same time, Pernetti’s conference eliminated its standard preseason media poll, following in the steps of the Big 12, which did the same thing, despite previously acknowledging plans to conduct the poll. The league will also introduce player availability reporting, adopting a policy similar to that of the autonomy league’s which began doing those a year ago.
More: Independent American Conference Media Poll
Whether through originality or adaptation, the American believes it is doing all it can to differentiate itself from the hundreds of college programs and dozens of conferences across the country, a seemingly increasingly more challenging prospect with each passing year.
On the field, they’ve fared well, producing three 10+ win teams a year ago and having multiple teams in the College Football Playoff conversation late in the season. Army was ranked inside the Top 25 for a large portion of the regular season. Memphis finished as a Top 25 team. When it comes to making a name for itself on the gridiron, this is a conference that has done its part.
“Line up. Play the games. Let’s see where the chips fall at the end of the year,” Pernetti advocated, pushing for access to the College Football Playoff and multiple at-large spots.
To be fair to the league, so many of the factors that drive culture and brand identity exist beyond its control. But fairness has never been something with which college sports have ever really concerned themselves. No, the American must do the best it can with the cards it has been dealt and find a way to stand out, from all-pink convention centers to the college football world, at large.
