Despite the looming threat UCF and other American Athletic Conference teams could be poached if the Big 12 expands, AAC commissioner Mike Aresco wants to celebrate.
The public sees a vulnerable league falling behind the Power 5 conferences and possibly cherry-picked for its strongest members. Aresco sees an increasingly powerful league that's attracting national interest because of its strength.
"All this conversation about the Big 12 and our schools, I think, that just shows how our schools are the ones everybody talks about when there's any talk of realignment," Aresco said.