Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder and the Pandas have provided a lot of celebration for the AAC and college football teams this season.
Regarding the national influence of the upstart American Athletic Conference, it was not until 2013 that it began to disrupt the season and legacy projects.
The Group of Five countries emerged from the multi-million-dollar NCAA, once dominated by the all-powerful Group of Five.
Cincinnati, Houston, Central Florida and other places have the ability to compete with some of the most powerful football (and basketball) teams in the country from September to January.
AAC Commissioner Aresco was so right that AAC is now paying the price for its success.
Saturday's UH-Cincy is not just a national televised conference championship game, it can promote the undefeated Bearcats into the college football playoffs and immediately create CFP history.
Cougars-Bearcats is also a potential preview of the Big 12 matchup, which may dominate the TV shows in Texas, Ohio, Southern, Midwest and American football in the next few years.
Houston, Cincinnati, UCF and BYU, an independent group, accepted the invitation to join Big 12 in September. UH can officially make a leap in 2023 at the earliest.
"I said from the beginning: you can't think of it as an individual. You understand why the team does certain things and why they might look for pastures that they think are greener," Aresco said in a video conference on Monday . "We just accepted the fact that they did all this at our meeting. We are very proud of Cincinnati. We are proud of Houston. One thing I want to say is: we hate losing them on the road-we are not sure When will that be - but it is a celebration of the achievements of this conference in the past nine years."
Luke Fickell's Bearcats entered the new week's CFP ranking No. 4, and after playing 12-0 and staying near the center of the national championship conversation, they may rise to a higher position.
Dana Holgorsen’s Cougars won their 11th consecutive game last weekend. On Saturday, when UH (11-1) visits the Nippert Stadium to play against Cincy in the AAC Championship, they will face one of the country’s top teams. .
"They deserve their current ranking in the CFP," Holgerson said. "In my opinion, based on what they have done here in the past few years and the quality of football they play, they should probably rank higher."
The big ol' Texas Longhorns have a record of 5-7 in 2021 and can't even play in the bowl.
Pac-12, technically a top five conference, can only dream of CFP at present, if all the four-team playoff system that defines college football has been extended to a comfortable eight-team, the situation will still be the same.
UH achieved a huge victory with a score of 13-1 in 2015. The then coaches Tom Herman and UCF achieved a huge victory with a score of 13-0 in 2017. Now more than ever It is easier to understand why Aresco has been so optimistic about his AAC in recent years.
On Monday, he initially answered a question about UH, Cincy and the upcoming Big 12. He briefly reviewed it and wondered what would happen.
"The truth is that (AAC) meetings have always been strong," Aresco said. "We wrote an eight-page letter saying that we should be at P5 and P6. I think if we were, the re-adjustment might have different changes. You will never know."
Even with a total record of 21-1 in the past two seasons - Cinsey's only loss was a 24-21 loss to Georgia in the 2020 Peach Blossom Bowl - and a 24-13 strong away victory. It was the first in the world at that time. 9 Notre Dame de Paris this season, the Panda team can still be underestimated.
The same is true for AAC, represented by Kelvin Sampson's Men's Basketball Cougars in the 2021 semi-finals.
In recent days, Georgia, Michigan, Alabama and Oklahoma have dominated the national college football game. Although they lost to Cincinnati, there are still some talks surrounding the sixth-ranked Irish Warriors (11-1). They did not participate in the Divisional Championship this weekend.
Aresco attributed the creative arrangement and the interweaving power of TV and ESPN to helping AAC soar for nine years.
But the real truth has always been in the defined realm.
UH-Cincinnati is more than just two popular teams competing for the AAC championship on Saturday.
This is a potential trampoline, into a CFP that was once impenetrable. Big 12 needs a national preview of two emerging projects that the NCAA cannot ignore.
"I am very happy that two great coaches in Cincinnati and Houston have achieved what they have achieved. I think this is great," Aresco said. "This is a legacy. No matter what happens in the future, they will achieve this goal in our meeting."
Brian T. Smith has been a sports columnist for the Houston Chronicle since 2015 and joined the newspaper in 2012. He was the Texan beat writer of the Chronicle in 2013-15 and the Astros beat writer in 2012-13. The New Orleans native has previously reported on the NBA's Utah Jazz (Salt Lake City Tribune) and Portland Trail Blazers (Columbia). He is the author of the book "Lift into the Sky".