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SMU, American begin plans for implementation of new conference deal with ESPN

SMU has a wish list for how it hopes to spend its multi-million-dollar annual portion of the American Athletic Conference's new TV contract with ESPN.

But athletic director Rick Hart won't reveal the program's hopes just yet - not before the league determines how to execute the broadcasts.

The American agreed to a 12-year, nearly $1 billion with ESPN in March that will take hold for the 2020-21 school year and be split among member institutions, averaging about $7 million a school per year.

As the deal provides a significant boost from the conference's current TV revenue, the plans for all conference sports to appear on the network's linear cable and digital platforms started to take form Wednesday during the league's spring meetings.