The American Athletic Conference has increased interest in adding the Air Force as a member, putting all three military academies in the same league for the first time, a source told The Associated Press on Monday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because conference officials do not make their internal discussions public.

ESPN was first to report that the Americans were targeting Air Force, a charter member of the Mountain West that is now the next conference in danger of being broken up in some form. wave of reorientation.

Last week was the Pac-12 announced Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State would leave the Mountain West to join Oregon State and Washington State in a re-established Conference of Champions set to begin in 2026.

The Pac-12 still has to add at least two schools to become an NCAA and College Football Playoff recognized conference in 2026.

There is speculation that the Pac-12 could target schools in America, such as Memphis and Tulane. However, the AAC is not sitting still under new commissioner Tim Pernetti.

The conference added Army as a football-only affiliate this year to go along with rival Navy, which is also a football-only affiliate. Army-Navy remains a non-conference game, with its own separate television contract with CBS that runs through 2028.

Former U.S. Commissioner Mike Aresco has long encouraged the conference to include both the Army and the Air Force. Aresco believed it would make the competition more valuable if all three military academies competed for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.

American football has traditionally been the most consistent winner among academies, with five seasons of double-digit victories since 2014 and only three losing seasons since 2007.

American currently has 14 football playing members in the Eastern and Central time zones. Air Force, based in Colorado Springs, would be the first member to be in the Mountain time zone.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

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