After several years spent atop the Group of Five at the end of the 2010s and into the 2020s, the American finds itself now in a transitional period. The league has seen five programs depart since 2019 (Cincinnati, Houston, SMU, UCF and UConn) while welcoming seven new teams into the mix, starting last offseason with the additions of Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA, and continuing into 2024 as Army joins the fold to replace SMU.

Though the public perception of the…