2015 American Athletic Conference football season is the 25th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference ( The American ) . The season is the third since the breakup of the former Big East Conference , and the second season with the new College Football Playoff in place . Under the playoff system , The American is no longer an Automatic Qualifying conference ( AQ ) , and is considered a member of the " Group of Five " ( G5 ) with Conference USA , the Mid-American Conference , Mountain West Conference , and the Sun Belt Conference . Whereas under the previous system the champion of the conference was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game , now the highest-ranked member of the G5 will receive a bid to one of the six major bowls
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
2015 American Athletic Conference football season