Louisville, Cincinnati and UCF enter the final week of the 2013 season with a shot at a BCS bowl, the final refuge of power held by the American Athletic Conference. That’ll go away in 2014 as the AAC is absorbed into a grouping with FBS’ other non-power conferences: the MAC, Sun Belt, Mountain West and Conference USA.
The highest-ranked conference champion from that group, if not playing in the four-team college football playoff, will earn a bid to a prestigious bowl beginning next year. But gone is the AAC’s automatic-qualifier status.
On Thursday, the conference announced the rest of its bowl tie-ins through the end of the decade, including three new bowls for next year: The Miami Beach Bowl, Boca Raton Bowl and Bahamas Bowl. The AAC also has secondary partnerships with the Liberty Bowl, Independence Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl.
The complete list of tie-ins, via the AAC’s website:
2014 Season
BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, Ala. – vs. SEC
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Fla. – vs. ACC
Miami Beach Bowl, Miami, Fla. – vs. Conference USA
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. – vs. ACC
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas – vs. Army/Big 12
Bahamas Bowl, Nassau, Bahamas – vs. MAC
2015 Season
BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, Ala. – vs. SEC
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Fla. – vs. Conference USA
Miami Beach Bowl, Miami, Fla. – vs. Conference USA
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. – vs. ACC
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu, Hawaii – vs. Mountain West
Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, Fla. – vs. MAC
2016 Season
BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, Ala. – vs. SEC
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Fla. – vs. ACC
Miami Beach Bowl, Miami, Fla. – vs. MAC
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. – vs. ACC
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas – vs. Big 12
Bahamas Bowl, Nassau Bahamas – vs. MAC
Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, Fla. – vs. Conference USA
2017 Season
BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, Ala. – vs. SEC
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Fla. – vs. Conference USA
Miami Beach Bowl, Miami, Fla. – vs. Sun Belt
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. – vs. ACC
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu, Hawaii – vs. Mountain West
Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, Fla. – vs. Conference USA
2018 Season
BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, Ala. – vs. SEC
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Fla. – ACC
Miami Beach Bowl, Miami, Fla. – vs. MAC
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. – vs. ACC
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas – vs. Big 12
Bahamas Bowl, Nassau, Bahamas – vs. Conference USA
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans, La. – vs. Sun Belt
2019 Season
BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, Ala. – vs. SEC
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Fla. – vs. Conference USA
Miami Beach Bowl, Miami, Fla. – vs. Sun Belt
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. – vs. ACC
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu, Hawaii – vs. Mountain West
Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, Fla. – vs. MAC
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans, La. – vs. Conference USA