USF President Rhea Law (center-left) and athletic director Michael Kelly (far-right) will oversee a potentially large growth period in the university’s history. USF ORACLE PHOTO/HANNAH HALILI
USF was selected to join the Association of American Universities (AAU) on June 1, and the implications for joining this prestigious association extend far beyond the classroom.
The AAU includes 69 universities in the continental United States and two in Canada. Members include all eight Ivy League institutions as well as top-tier public universities like UCLA, Florida and Virginia.
Universities that join the AAU gain prioritization for the majority of federally-awarded funding. The organization’s website states that 63% of federally funded research is awarded to AAU universities. Joining the AAU could also have a major impact on the school’s athletics.
Since 2013, USF has played in the AAC, a Group of Five conference. UCF and Houston are recent AAC schools that have gotten promoted to a Power 5 conference. The two programs will join the Big 12 starting on July 1.
In an ever-changing landscape of conference realignment and expansion, Power 5 conferences are interested in adding schools that not only display competitive athletics, but intellectual prowess. AAU membership adds a boost to a school’s resume when it comes to the potential of joining a Power 5 conference.
Two athletic conferences in particular, the Big Ten and Pac-12, have placed special emphasis on membership to this prestigious group. The Big Ten features 13 institutions that are AAU members, with the exception of former AAU college Nebraska. Former Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney stated that membership is “an important part of who the Big Ten is” back in a 2010 press conference.
ESPN reporter Adam Rittenberg wrote in a 2021 tweet that “the B1G is only interested in adding schools from the AAU.” The Big Ten has notoriously targeted Notre Dame as a potential new member, which has historically not been aligned with a conference and was selected for AAU membership this year.
The Pac-12 has proven to be the most closely aligned conference to the Big Ten, stemming back to a 2011 agreement to increase games played between both conferences. The Pac-12 also shares a similar academic standard for its programs.
Arizona, California, Oregon, Stanford, Utah, Washington and Arizona State are all AAU members in the Pac-12 conference. UCLA and Southern California are also AAU institutions, but are departing for the Big Ten beginning in the 2024 season.
Conferences nationwide are being shifted and re-aligned as the college football landscape changes dramatically. As commissioners look to fill the gaps in their respective conferences, South Florida gaining admission into the Association of American Universities gives the school a higher chance of being promoted.
USF is now only one of four AAU schools not a part of a Power 5 athletic conference, along with Tulane, Rice and Buffalo. With USC and UCLA departing the Pac-12 beginning next season, this historic milestone now potentially opens the door for the Bulls to join a powerhouse athletic conference.
Success on the field is an important concern when it comes to conference realignment. The Bulls football program has made an AP poll appearance since 2018, when they were ranked No. 21.
Men’s basketball has also not had an NCAA Tournament bid since 2012. New head coaches Alex Golesh and Amir-Abdur Rahim will attempt to rebuild their respective programs as USF hopes to become the next additions to the upper echelon of college athletics.
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