AAC Basketball: Examining 8 potential candidates for expansion

Liberty

First and foremost, it’s important to remember that the AAC doesn’t need to expand their membership solely to have more teams but also to recoup some of that talent that they’ve lost in recent years. There comes a point where securing the talent level of the league is more important than balancing things like private vs. public schools or dealing with the implications of certain teams.

Liberty is a religious school with some controversial views, but we’re only going to focus on the sports aspect of this potential move. From football, the Flames have only been at the FBS level for a few seasons and have yet to join a conference. Former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze has done tremendous work to this point, including a 10-1 record last season. In basketball, the Flames have clearly outgrown the Atlantic Sun, winning it the last three seasons and picking up an NCAA Tournament upset win back in 2019.

Would that success continue in the AAC, with the talent raised to the next level? It’s fair to wonder how the Flames would fare in basketball, playing teams like Memphis and Wichita State instead of Jacksonville and Stetson on a regular basis. Geographically, they’re a sensible addition, being right there in Virginia, but again it’s unclear the role geography will play in expansion.