There were no high-fives or major celebrations Monday out of the Providence, Rhode Island, offices of the American Athletic Conference.But commissioner Mike Aresco can admit to exhaling after the Big 12 announced that it would not expand, calling the months-long decision-making process a colossal distraction.There were so many rumors that I sort of stopped reading a lot of the things, Aresco told ESPN on Tuesday. I would glance at them and I would note it and I would realize that in the end, nobody really knew what was going to happen. None of us did. And so you just basically make sure day to day that you try to stay focused on conference business. The other thing was communication -- I tried to communicate pretty regularly with our schools. Somebody said, Has it been awkward communicating with your schools about this process? And even today we had a conference call, and I said, No, not all. It hasnt been awkward at all, and Im not saying that disingenuously.They understood that I was going to try to be sensitive to their situation. They were going through a lot. This has been really tough and so it was up to me as a leader here at the conference to make sure I was sensitive to what they were doing.The Big 12 announced Monday that it would not expand, after three months of exploring the option. The conference had video interviews with nearly 20 candidates, in addition to September in-person interviews with 11 different schools, including seven from the American: UCF, Cincinnati,?UConn, Houston, South Florida, SMU?and Tulane.Aresco has been the Americans commissioner since 2012, back when it was still the Big East. Since then, the league has renamed itself and seen the non-football schools break off and create a new Big East.Aresco has also overseen a number of defections and expansions, from Notre Dame moving its non-football sports to the ACC, Rutgers moving to the Big Ten and Louisville to the ACC; to adding Houston, Memphis, SMU, UCF, East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa from Conference-USA.Navy began playing in the American last year as a football-only addition, too.You just had to try to control your emotions and realize it wasnt personal; it was the business of college sports as we know it, Aresco said of the Big 12 drama. You try to empathize with everyone because this is a tough deal for everyone: for our schools, through people in the Big 12, for (Big 12 commissioner) Bob (Bowlsby). Its been tough on everyone. Im not going to comment on the Big 12 process, but it was a long process and we had to basically try to tune out the distractions as best we could.As the Big 12 news made its rounds Monday, a number of rejected targets issued statements reiterating what their schools have to offer.Aresco says he views all of the Americans schools as Power 5 programs in that sense, and he sees no reason the league cannot be elevated to Power 6 status eventually, calling the recent attention placed on the leagues elite schools through this process a silver lining.Weve probably gotten more attention in this process than we got in the couple of years prior, Aresco said. I think our brand is national now. I think the AAC, the American, the fact the light was shining on our schools, they were the targets for the most part. We had a certain status. I think thats really important and I think its important to capitalize on that.From here, Aresco hopes to launch a Power 6 campaign for his league that includes benchmarks, goals and guideposts, as the plan had been on hold amid the uncertainty of Big 12 expansion. He is hoping that the recent success of many of its marquee football and basketball programs will play a vital role, especially as the American aims to draw more revenue from a new television deal.The American is currently in Year 4 of a seven-year deal with ESPN that runs through the 2019-20 season. Shin-Soo Choo Jersey . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Cole Hamels Jersey . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. http://www.officialrangersgearshop.com/Rangers-Prince-Fielder-Kids-Jersey/ . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Texas Rangers Jerseys . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. Nomar Mazara Jersey . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Haas has confirmed Kevin Magnussen will drive alongside Romain Grosjean next year, replacing Esteban Gutieerrez at the American F1 team.Magnussen had been offered a one-year deal by his current team Renault, but turned down the offer in order to sign a multi-year contract with Haas. The switch will see him partner Romain Grosjean next year, who remains at the team for a second season after he also joined from Renault last winter.From the time we began looking at drivers, Kevin Magnussen was always on our short list, team boss Gene Haas said. Hes accomplished a lot in a very short period of time, and we feel like he can accomplish a lot with us. Our second season will bring a new set of challenges, and we feel that pairing Kevin with Romain will help us develop our new car and continue our growth.I want to thank Esteban Gutiérrez for all of his efforts. Hes been an instrumental part of our first year in Formula One and were looking forward to finishing the season strong with him and Romain.Magnussen added: This is a fantastic opportunity and Im very happy to be a part of Haas F1 Team. Obviously, Im confident in my abilities as a Formula One driver, but Im also very confident of what Haas F1 Team can do in its second season and every season thereafter. Gene Haas has come into Formula One with a strong vision and a different way of doing things. Hes making it work and work well. Ive had a good vantage point all season long, and Im looking forward to getting behind the wheel of next years Haas VF-17.Grosjean said: A little more than a year ago I made my decision to join Haas F1 Team and it was absolutely the right decision, Grosjean said.dddddddddddd Im very proud to be a part of the teams development and am very happy we can continue to grow and achieve more success in the years ahead.We wanted an experienced driver capable of developing our car and our race team into one that can score points and better itself each race and each season. Romain has done a very good job of that and hes played a large role in bringing respect and legitimacy to Haas F1 Team, Haas said. We have a new set of challenges next year with a new car and a new set of regulations, and his veteran leadership will again prove valuable.As a brand new team with a new car and new personnel, it was incredibly important to have detailed, authoritative feedback of our racecar and our methods so that we could improve. Romain brought a lot of experience to our team and has been instrumental in getting us to where we are today, added Guenther Steiner, team principal, Haas F1 Team. Credit also goes to Esteban Gutiérrez for all of his work. His time with Ferrari was very beneficial as it helped get us acquainted with its methodologies and make the most of our partnership with them. He and Romain pushed each other on the track and together theyre responsible for the success weve had in our first season.The deal leaves Gutierrez without an obvious drive for 2017, with only seats at Sauber and Manor remaining on next years grid. 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