Mike Aresco said if an NCAA Division 4 emerges, he expects The American to be a part of it. (AP File Photo)

By Tyler Barto

Twitter: Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

NEWPORT, R.I. — On a day in which Rutgers was picked to finish third in its only season in the American Athletic Conference, commissioner Mike Aresco's hand was forced.

With talks of an NCAA restructuring to a possible Division 4 gaining traction, an intent Aresco spent more than 20 minutes at Hotel Viking pushing his conference's viability. 


"What we're seeing now has been a consolidation," Aresco said. "Longer term, we have to step back. We have to think about what's good for college athletics. College realignment has not always been edifying."

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Conference restructuring pushed the newly named American to add schools from each of the nation's four mainland time zones. Aresco called the American "a reinvented conference," albeit one grounded in patchwork.

"It's important we do well," Aresco said. "It's not vital we beat this team or that time. ... We will exceed expectations." 

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