The Associated Press. The brand has never been better known.Of the 11 schools interviewed as candidates by the Big 12, seven of them: UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, Houston, South Florida, S

AUSTIN, Texas -- The losses keep coming for Charlie Strong, no matter what promises were made in the past.For the third year in a row, Strongs Texas Longhorns have lost at least five games, rekindling questions of whether the program has improved enough for him to earn a fourth year and another $5 million, or if the losing is just too much for one of the nations blue-blood schools to stomach.I look at how were playing. I dont ever make excuses. There are no excuses, Strong said Monday. The losses are mounting. Theres games we should win and we had our opportunity.Rewind to November 2014, when the Longhorns were 6-5 in Strongs first season and he boldly predicted that five losses will never happen in this program again. Texas finished that year 6-7, then went 5-7 and missed the postseason in 2015.The dreaded five-loss threshold was crossed again over the weekend with a 24-20 home loss to No. 10 West Virginia, when the Longhorns never led and couldnt win despite forcing four turnovers. Texas (5-5, 3-4 Big 12) still isnt bowl eligible with two games left at Kansas on Saturday and at home against TCU the Friday after Thanksgiving.Strong was asked how he would sell that his team is making progress if he were in a job evaluation.You still have a football team thats still competing, still playing hard. Thats what you like to see happening, Strong said.There are tangible improvements he could have noted.Texas has two wins over top 10 opponents Notre Dame and Baylor, even though neither program is anywhere near that lofty status any more. The offense under first-year coordinator Sterlin Gilbert and led by powerhouse running back DOnta Foreman, who averages 178 yards per game, is a complete turnaround from the previous two seasons. Other than Foreman, Texas best players have been sophomores and freshmen, including quarterback Shane Buechele, giving whoever coaches Texas in 2017 a bright future.Were a good team, Buechele said. Coach always says our record doesnt define us ... We can beat anybody.Even a defense that was bad early has improved once Strong took over the play-calling. The Longhorns rank among the best in the nation with 36 sacks.And gone are the blowouts of Strongs first two years, when his teams lost nine games by 18 points or more. Texas is 12 points from 8-2. They are also 12 points from 2-8.In other words, Strong is dancing on a razor-thin difference between dominant and disaster, only to find himself balancing on mediocre.Texas President Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin have publicly supported Strong all season. Fenves will look carefully at Strongs entire resume to decide if he gets a fourth season on a guaranteed five-year contract.The president will take a long look at it, Strong said. We still have two games left.Getting to a bowl game would be a good step forward, even if its still far short of the leap Texas fans -- and college football -- expected after a thrilling double-overtime win over Notre Dame in the season opener.We have to get to a bowl game, Strong said. Our seniors deserve to get to a bowl game.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Cheap Nike Air Max 1 Trainers . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. The promotion boasts 14-straight years of business and is operated by MFC president Mark Pavelich, who is often overlooked in this country for the foundation hes established for MMA in Canada. Air Max 1 Online Store . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. http://www.airmax1outlet.com/ . 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STORRS, Conn. -- American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco noted the difference on Tuesday.His conference, which a day before had been facing the potential loss of two or even four of its highest-profile programs to the Big 12, finds itself in a stronger position after the Power Five league decided not to add anyone, he said.The silver lining in this, and it wasnt always great over the last six months ... is that we got a lot of attention, Aresco told The Associated Press. The brand has never been better known.Of the 11 schools interviewed as candidates by the Big 12, seven of them: UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, Houston, South Florida, SMU, and Tulane are members of the AAC. Three other league schools, Temple, Memphis and East Carolina, were dropped as candidates earlier in the process.Aresco said that kind of exposure helps him make the argument that his league plays at a Power Five level and should eventually be considered part of a Power Six.I think we can build on that and build on our `Power Six narrative, he said. Now, we can resume, reinforce and refocus. I think if the perception is there that we are on that level, we have a chance.Aresco said part of that will be approaching ESPN soon about the possibility of re-opening the Americans TV contract. The league is in the midst of a six-year, $126 million deal with ESPN that expires in 2020.The Big 12, by comparison, has a 13-year, $2.6 billion television contract it signed in 2012.Aresco said he hopes ESPN will be willing to talk about a new deal before the AAC contract hits the open market in 2019.We need a contract that is closer to what the P-55 has than what we have now, he said.ddddddddddddIn the meantime, schools such as UConn, which wont see the hoped-for financial windfall from joining an actual Power Five conference, said they will have to do a better job raising money at the institutional level.UConn athletic director David Benedict said Tuesday that means better ticket sales, fundraising, local media contracts and sponsorship deals.The nice thing about today is that were in control of our own destiny, he said. We dont have anything that is holding us back from moving forward, because were not waiting for someone that we dont have any control over to make a decision that really is going to have an impact on our future.He didnt comment on whether the Huskies are interested in considering other conference options, such as rejoining the Big East for basketball, but said the school is committed to making the American the best conference it can be.Cincinnati football coach Tommy Tuberville, meanwhile, said he still believes his school will get another shot at the Power Five over the next five or six years.This is not the end of the line, he said. Theres going to be huge turnover, theres going to be a realignment, theres going to be things happen.But Aresco said that while he doesnt have a crystal ball, he believes there will be substantial period of quiet before there is any more talk of conference realignment, and for the American, thats a good thing.That will give us a chance to continue building the brand, he said. 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