Oct. 12 was a busy day for the American Conference.
It was holding its basketball media day as news was breaking about James Madison joining the conference. The Dukes will join "no later than July 1, 2028," but commissioner Tim Pernetti said at media day that the exact timing hasn't been worked out yet.
"That'll all have to unfold in the coming weeks or the coming months," Pernetti said in Tampa, Florida.
James Madison, which is leaving the Sun Belt, will be the first team to join the American — which Memphis has been a part of since its inception more than a decade ago — in all sports since the massive round of realignment ahead of the 2023 academic year.
"We are the best of the Group of Six," Pernetti said. "And this is just another example of us bringing
the best together."
While Pernetti touted James Madison's success across the board, conference realignment typically happens almost exclusively because of football. The Dukes have had incredible success on the football field since joining the FBS ranks in 2022 and are coming off a College Football Playoff appearance. Coach Billy Napier's team is currently 6-0 overall, 3-0 in the Sun Belt.
Pernetti repeated a consistent talking point in conversations about conference realignment, saying there are plenty of schools interested in joining the American, which has 14 teams in football, 13 in basketball. He didn't rule out future realignment moves and said the conference would evaluate each opportunity independently.
"We are fortunate in that we have many institutions that are interested in being part of the American because we are a destination," Pernetti said. "We're going to evaluate every opportunity on the merits."
James Madison will almost certainly strengthen the American's football level of competition when the move officially goes into effect. Two years in college sports can be a long time, though.
As for future football scheduling, Pernetti said the American has looked at ways to alter its scheduling process as more conferences move to nine conference games.
"We have a league that wants to play those games," he said. "And what you're seeing is more conferences are moving to nine games, some are mandating that you play additional autonomy opponents outside your conference, and just in general the inventory is going to be less. We have looked at: What does our future football conference schedule look like? And we're continuing to have that conversation."
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com, follow him @munzly on X. Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti said about adding James Madison
