By Al Myatt
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NEWPORT, RI — American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco led off the league's football media day and felt obliged during the course of his remarks to address possible Big 12 expansion that could impact his league.

Aresco made the point that if the AAC wasn't competitive, the handful of programs that have been mentioned as possibilities to join the Power Five conference wouldn't be getting such attention. The AAC had 10 wins over Power Five Conference members in football in 2015.

East Carolina contributed a 35-28 win over Virginia Tech to that number.

Aresco has been preparing for the likelihood that the AAC membership might be entering a transition phase, but reports that Fox and ESPN might not pony up financially for additional Big 12 teams would appear to be a deal breaker.

"I'm not sure about those reports," Aresco said in a subsequent one-on-one. "It's in a negotiation stage right now. I can't really see the validity in that assertion."

Marshall, Massachusetts and Texas-San Antonio have been mentioned as replacement possibilities if the AAC is faced with that scenario.

"You always are looking at that, even when you don't have an active situation," Aresco said.

Many leagues are in television contracts that are longer term than the AAC.

That gives Aresco, a former television executive, some flexibility as discussions develop in coming years. There are Internet platforms emerging that could impact the AAC's future exposure.

Houston favored

Houston is expected to pick up where it left off in 2015 when the Cougars defeated Florida State in the Peach Bowl after winning the AAC's first championship game, 24-13, over Temple.

Houston was announced as the favorite to repeat as conference champion in the 2016 media poll. The Cougars were picked unanimously to win the West Division again.

The voting was significantly dispersed in the East Division with South Florida receiving 15 first-place ballots in getting the favorite's nod. Temple got nine first-place votes in the division and was picked second. Cincinnati, the 2015 favorite, got six first-place votes and is projected to finish third.

Connecticut, ECU and Central Florida, coming off a winless season, were picked to finish fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

Navy is slotted behind Houston in the West as the Midshipmen go forward without record-setting quarterback Keenan Reynolds.

Memphis is a close third in the West balloting as Mike Norvell follows Justin Fuente. Norvell was offensive coordinator at Arizona State. Fuente left to become Frank Beamer's successor at Virginia Tech. Darrell Dickey coached the Tigers in a 31-10 Birmingham Bowl loss to Auburn.

Tulsa, Southern Methodist and Tulane round out the West.

Pirates have something to prove

Being picked fifth in the East may give the Pirates something to prove.

It's easy to see why ECU is lightly regarded. The program missed a bowl trip for only the second time in the last 10 years, has been through a coaching transition and had a potential starting quarterback transfer.

The nonconference gauntlet will give the Pirates an opportunity to gain recognition and possibly influence the Big 12's expansion decision.

ECU opens at home on Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. against Western Carolina and hosts N.C. State a week later at noon.

The next two weeks the Pirates travel to face South Carolina and Virginia Tech.

"We're concentrating on game one and this conference," said ECU coach Scottie Montgomery on Tuesday. "We do have a tough schedule and that's what we want. We have a great culture."

New handle, same elite genes

Isaiah Avery Jones has been known as Isaiah during his first three years which produced 2,533 yards in receptions and 15 touchdowns.

Jones went to Tom McClellan, ECU's assistant athletic director for communication, and said he would like to be known as "Zay."

McClellan was fine with that and the change is noted in the 2016 fact book.

"People call me Zay," Jones said. "I'll still answer to Isaiah."

Jones is the son of Robert Jones, the Pirates' only consensus All-American and a member of the 1991 team that went 11-1.

His uncle, Jeff Blake, was quarterback on the 1991 team. His cousin, Emory Blake, caught a touchdown pass in the 2010 national championship game for Auburn.

Jones' older brother, Cayleb, is on the Philadelphia Eagles roster after playing at Texas and Arizona.

"It's unique to have one of your best players who is also one of your best in terms of leadership," Montgomery said of Jones.

Shoulder surgery kept Jones out of spring practice but he said he is 100 percent and has a complete grasp of ECU's new offense.

Coaches would like playoffs expanded

When asked about changes they would make in the college game, most of the AAC coaches said they would like for the College Football Playoff to add more teams.

"There's a lot of time between the conference championships and bowl games," noted Houston coach Tom Herman. "There are a lot of good football teams out there. They're able to make it work in other divisions."

The Cougars finished 13-1 in 2015, their national championship hopes derailed with a 20-17 loss at Connecticut on Nov. 21. The Huskies finished 6-7 with a 16-10 bowl loss to Marshall.

The Houston-UConn outcome substantiated a contention from Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville.

"Two years ago I thought we were top heavy," said the Bearcats coach. "Now anybody can beat anybody."

Cincinnati looking for better defense

Cincinnati was the preseason favorite in 2015.

"Last year we were picked to win it and we didn't hold up our end of the bargain," Tuberville said. "We had problems with injuries at quarterback."

The Bearcats' defense was ninth in the AAC in points allowed at 31.2 per game. The Bearcats also had 33 turnovers a year ago, tied for last in the league with Central Florida.

"We were a little too kind on offense," Tuberville said. "Our defense has not been good the last two years."

Pirates strength is skill positions

Montgomery said the players have met the challenges in offseason programs.

"We'll build on the kids' love for each other and the way they work," said the ECU coach. "We see how they rally around the leadership of Philip Nelson (senior quarterback). We know the strength of our team is at the skill positions. We know we have to grow with our interior groups but the defensive front is going to be stouter.

"We know we have to be able to run the ball. We know we don't have a lot of returning starters but we do feel we have experience."