The University of Cincinnati Bearcats and other American Athletic Conference schools are considering a long-term commitment that would involve signing a grant-of-rights agreement that theoretically would lock them into the conference for the duration of the next media rights deal, according to a report Monday by sportsbusinessdaily.com's Michael Smith and John Ourand.

From the report:

The AAC’s current seven-year, $126 million package with ESPN expires in 2020. A new deal could be three to four times higher, but only if the top AAC schools commit to stay in the conference, sources said.

It is not known which schools will commit to a grant-of-rights deal.

Memphis, Cincinnati, Houston and South Florida are the other candidates most likely to be targeted by the power five, according to several well-placed sources.

Aresco said that the conference was close to entering a negotiating window with ESPN, a partner that he clearly wants to keep.