The American 's legal predecessor , the original Big East Conference , was considered one of the six collegiate power conferences of the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) era in college football , and The American inherited that status in the BCS 's final season . With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014 , The American became a " Group of Five " conference , which shares one automatic spot in the New Year 's Six bowl games
original Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
American Athletic Conference