American notebook: Tim Pernetti wants G6 access to double if CFP expands

To hear Tim Pernetti tell it, elected officials on Capitol Hill don't like to see him coming.

"I've walked the halls in D.C. more than Frank Underwood did in ‘House of Cards,'" the commissioner of the American Conference said Friday at the league's football media day.

"The American has a seat at the table. That's great news. We have a national respected voice."

Pernetti has made a point of being the most visible commissioner of a Group of Six conference and fighting for representation for the so-called little guys.

In Friday's address to reporters in St. Petersburg, Fla., he expressed his support for the Protect College Sports Act progressing through Congress and said that if the size of the College Football Playoff doubles, G6 bids should double, too.

"The American's position on the CFP is clear," Pernetti said. "We're supportive of an expanded playoff that provides more access for every conference.

"We're asking for two things -- fairness and common sense. Here's a fact - 51% of FBS schools competing in football are outside the autonomy conferences. So, in any expanded format, including the one you're reading about that could double the field to 24 teams, access should double for everyone."

As for the Protect College Sports Act, the latest version of the bill, co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, would focus on NIL regulation and the implementation of a one-time transfer policy.

"It's time for structure in college sports," Pernetti said. "While this bill isn't perfect, it addresses the core challenges facing the industry, led and headlined by transfers and eligibility.

"It demands that NIL deals have a legitimate business purpose. I promise you this, that will put an end to these sham pay-for-play deals that are turning recruiting into this unchecked auction.

"It's progress over perfection."

--Navy was voted the preseason favorite in the American Conference preseason media poll, garnering half the 14 first-place votes and finishing 12 total points above Memphis.

Navy has gone 11-2 and 10-3 over the past two seasons, including a 13-3 mark in conference games. The Midshipmen appeared in the AP poll both years.

The service academies may have done more for the American Conference than put their historic football programs in the mix. Pernetti pointed to the additions of Army and Navy as a gateway to getting more attention in Washington. Navy has been a football member since 2015, while Army only joined in 2024.

"Army and Navy being in our conferences has been great for us, but their engagement enabled me to create engagement in Washington, D.C., which got me in the room as part of these committees for college sports," Pernetti said. "Their national profile and the relationships they brought to the table has really enabled the American to get to the table, and now we're in the group. So we have a national voice in all this change."

--Charles Huff was not shy in the way he introduced himself as the head coach of Memphis at his first American media day.

"Seventy-one new players," Huff said of his roster. "I've kind of become the Lane Kiffin of the Group of Five. Which is the portal king."

Huff's rapid rise through the coaching ranks has taken him from Marshall (2021-24) to Southern Miss (2025) and then to Memphis in just a few years. The 43-year-old guided Marshall to a 10-3 season in 2024, and he took 21 of those players with him when he accepted the job at Southern Miss, which finished 7-5 in his lone season.

This time, 17 players followed Huff to his new post, meaning not all 71 newcomers at Memphis are starting from scratch.

"The first thing you've got to realize is it doesn't matter about talent if you can't get them to come together," Huff said. "For us, we've been blessed to be in a situation where we've been able to retain some of them even though we've moved locations, which helps. And that's the first step."

At Memphis, Huff replaces Ryan Silverfield, who became the coach at Arkansas.

--Field Level Media