'Room for more': American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti on G6 playoffs, unified media rights and why conferences should stop tearing each other apart

American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti didn't come from the traditional conference office pipeline. He played football at Rutgers, worked the buy side of media at ABC, ESPN, CSTV and CBS, and as athletic director engineered Rutgers' move to the Big Ten.

He also once Googled "AAC football" and watched it default to ACC.

"I remember making a note — if I end up in this job, that's got to change," Pernetti said in a recent interview on The Big Mountain with JY.

It changed. And so has a lot else.

In a conversation that covered everything from jersey patches to the White House commission on college sports, Pernetti outlined a vision for the American and the broader Group of Six that was equal parts business plan and manifesto: stop cannibalizing each other, start building something new and treat the G6 like what it is — home to some of the most undervalued inventory in American sports.

The rebrand: More than a name change

When Pernetti commissioned an outside brand study shortly after taking over, the firm asked a simple question across campuses and stakeholders: What does the American brand stand for?

"We got a hundred different responses," he said. "To me, that's the telltale sign. Having come out of the commercial industry, a brand is more than a name."

The conference dropped "Athletic" from its name, retired the AAC acronym and launched Soar — a bald eagle that became the first brand ambassador in conference history. The rollout generated more than $10 million in earned media.

"I wasn't convinced on the Eagle in the beginning," Pernetti admitted. "But it's innovative because nobody does it at the conference level."

A physical rollout of Soar is planned for Football Media Day this summer.

$10 million minimum — and it's just the start

The American was the first conference to establish minimum investment standards for its member institutions — a $10 million floor for spending on student-athlete experience, revenue sharing, facilities and scholarships.

"We all agreed we can't control the House settlement," Pernetti said. "But what we knew we could control was how we were going to respond to the opportunity to invest in student athletes."

He pointed directly to last season's results as evidence.

"Our competitive depth in football last year was a direct result of not only the great talent and coaches that we have in this league, but the investment that we made in the sport."

The next phase: setting minimum standards on recruiting budgets and team travel. Other conferences are beginning to follow — the Big West recently announced a similar initiative.

Jersey patches and conference naming rights

With NCAA legislation clearing the way for jersey patches in 2026, Pernetti said the American is pursuing the opportunity on two levels. Member schools are being encouraged to secure primary patch deals locally — USF and Memphis already have agreements in place.

The conference itself is reserving a secondary patch position for a conference-wide naming rights deal.

"We're talking about a conference naming rights opportunity in our league," Pernetti said. "We have several suitors at the table, which could be high-profile, high-exposure and lucrative for the league."

He's being selective. "We're very particular about our brand now and what it stands for. You want to find brands that are consistent with the DNA of who you are as a conference."

Unified media rights: 'History has proven this over and over'

Pernetti made his strongest case on the topic of unified media rights — the idea that all FBS conferences would collectively negotiate television contracts rather than cutting individual deals.

The numbers, he argued, make the case on their own.

"The system on an annual basis is $4 billion in media rights. The NBA's is more than two times that. College football's ratings are three times the NBA," he said. "College football is the second most viewed product in America. And I think it's undervalued because all the conferences are out there cutting their own deals."

He pointed to NASCAR as precedent — when individual tracks consolidated their media rights, revenue tripled.

"This is not smaller conferences trying to eat off the plate of the other conferences," Pernetti said. "This is everybody trying to set the table with more food for everyone."

The earliest any unified approach could take effect is 2034, when current contracts expire. But Pernetti is pushing for the conversation now.

"History has proven over and over again that consolidating media rights exponentially generates more value. So why wouldn't we at least just take a look at it?"

The expense problem is real

Asked whether college athletics has a revenue problem or a spending problem, Pernetti didn't hesitate.

"A thousand percent" there's an expense issue, he said. And the transfer portal is the tip of the iceberg.

His reform wish list: eliminate collectives so the revenue-sharing cap is actually a cap. Restrict the transfer portal — one free transfer, then bring back a waiting period. Establish a federal NIL standard so 37 states aren't creating different advantages. Cap eligibility at five years so high school players aren't squeezed out by athletes cycling through the system for six or seven years.

"There are high school kids working their ass off because they want to play sports at the college level, but because kids can move around the system for five and six and seven years, those opportunities are not as available anymore."

Pernetti is part of the White House commission on college sports and several subcommittees working on potential legislation. He said the groups include professional commissioners, team owners, television executives and marketing leaders — not just college athletics administrators.

"I'm really encouraged by the work," he said. "With the support of more people of influence, I think we actually have a chance to foster some meaningful change."

Stop raiding. Start building.

On conference realignment, Pernetti drew a sharp line between expansion as it once worked and what it's become.

"Expansion used to be about bringing incremental value and exposure to a league," he said, citing Rutgers' move to the Big Ten as an example that delivered half a billion dollars in new subscriber revenue in year one. "Now it's changed."

His message to the G6: stop tearing each other apart.

"I don't think at the Group of Six level we can afford to tear each other apart. Why are we trying to raid each other when we could probably sit down and talk about building something different — or creating something more national?"

That kind of collaboration, he argued, would attract television partners, outside capital and major brands in ways that the current cycle of poaching never will.

"The fans have fatigue from all this stuff. I really do think that."

A G6 playoff: 'Room for more'

Perhaps the most electric idea Pernetti has floated since taking office: a Group of Six playoff.

The concept: five G6 conference champions who aren't selected for the College Football Playoff would compete in their own postseason bracket — scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday nights to complement, not compete with, the CFP.

"From Monday Night Football to a G6 playoff to Thursday night CFP to NFL on the weekend — you could create the greatest gauntlet for a football fan ever seen in life," he said.

Pernetti first raised the idea at his introductory press conference in 2024 with three words: "Room for more."

"There is demand for more postseason football," he said. "ESPN's own talent will say there are too many bowl games, and then they'll come back at the end of bowl season and say they're up 14% on viewership."

He said discussions are underway and that brand and media partners have expressed significant interest. The idea, he stressed, wouldn't replace or undermine CFP access — it would create an entirely new enterprise.

"We have a responsibility to run that idea out and see what it looks like."

This article is based on an interview conducted by JY on The Big Mountain. Watch the full conversation on YouTube.