Mike Aresco's phone rang Monday afternoon.
On the other end of the line was Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who was reaching out to his friend and colleague of more than three decades to let him know his league's intent to forgo expansion effectively ending nearly 24 months of uncertainty surrounding the American Athletic Conference.
The call was a courtesy, similar to the concession calls made between political opponents, this one between college football commissioners.
"We're just glad to have it over," Aresco said less than 24 hours after the Big 12's decision. A decision that Aresco admits he had no idea which way it was going to go. "You always prepare for the worst-case scenarios."
It wasn't until that phone call that Aresco truly knew his conference and its members would remain intact despite a majority of schools including UCF and USF putting forth presentations to be expansion candidates for the Big 12.
The news was a win for the American but there were no high-fives or celebratory hugs in the league offices in Providence.
"This was a difficult process for everyone," he added.
But despite all of the uncertainty surrounding the past couple of years, Aresco sees a benefit from this whole process.
"I happen to think there is a silver lining in this because of the attention our schools got," Aresco said. "We were the schools that frankly were in the mix for this expansion and when Power 5 schools tend to look at other schools, our schools are the ones primarily in the mix.
"That means we've probably gotten more national recognition as a conference than ever before."
Aresco thinks now is the time that the American should capitalize on this exposure to showcase what the league has been able to do on-and-off the football field.
"Let's focus on ourselves. Not the process. Not the Big 12. Let's focus on what we need to do now to build the conference up," he added.
This includes pushing a Power 6 narrative _ a strategic initiative put together by officials to showcase the strength of the league and its member schools _ showing how the conference deserves to be included in the other autonomous conferences like the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.
The league has been holding off on such a public push until the end of conference realignment.
"This was hanging over us no question. This was a colossal distraction in some ways but we tried to do our best to not be distracted."
Aresco said he spoke to the league members by telephone Tuesday morning and despite what some might think, those conversations went well.
"It hasn't been awkward talking with them. It's never been awkward," he said. "The reason I think it hasn't been awkward is because we've all tried to be sensitive to each other. I've tried to empathize with our membership. I understand what they're going through. I would be going through the same sort of thing if I was in their position. We've always had an open dialogue."
The discussions turned to the future _ resuming the league's emphasis on being one of the best conferences in college athletics as well as preparing for future television negotiations. The current TV contract is up in a few years but Aresco said he may reach out to the league's network partners to discuss a new deal with the hope being to provide more revenue for the AAC's members.
When asked if he thought conference expansion is finally over, Aresco tried to remain optimistic.
"It's hard to say ... I think this chapter might be," he added. "I don't know what the coming days and months will reveal. I think the landscape could stay settled for several years. You never know.
"I'm glad it's over."
