2014 American Athletic Conference Men 's Basketball Tournament was the first conference tournament of the American Athletic Conference ( The American ) . It was the first conference tournament held since the split of the original Big East Conference . While The American is the legal successor to the old Big East , the rights to conference tournament in Madison Square Garden were retained by the new Big East , so the 2014 tournament was numbered as the new conference 's first edition . The tournament was held March 12 – 15 in the FedExForum in Memphis , Tennessee and decided a champion of the 2013 – 14 American Athletic Conference men 's basketball season ( like most NCAA conferences , The American recognizes both regular-season and tournament champions ; Cincinnati and Louisville shared the regular-season title ) . The teams in the conference competed in a ten-team single-elimination tournament for an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament
original Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
2014 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament