It’s the end of an era. Houston and Memphis have been two of the AAC’s most successful programs over the years, and one of the programs appeared in five of the conference’s seven championship games since the event’s inception in 2015.
Houston and Memphis not only strung together successful seasons in the AAC and qualified for New Year’s Six bowls — their rivalry produced some iconic moments. In 2015, two ranked teams met with eyes fixated upon a New Year’s Six appearance and the Cougars overcame a 34-14 deficit in the fourth quarter to shock the Tigers en route to their first-ever AAC title run.