The American Athletic Conference is likely losing UConn as a football member.

The AAC should not be terribly broken up about this - the Huskies have been an on-field tire fire recently - but it does present a new challenge: Who replaces UConn as the conference’s 12th football-playing member, assuming the Huskies do not stay on as a football-only member?

The conference expansion wheel is about to start spinning again, albeit with smaller stakes than when the Power 5 leagues are involved. Here’s a look at some of the schools that could be in the mix to join the AAC:

1. Army: AAC commissioner Mike Aresco has to make the call and see if the Black Knights want to join Navy as football-only members. But it will take a lot to get West Point to say yes. While joining the AAC as a football-only member would give Army access to the New Year’s Six bowl games - something it lacks as an independent but may covet given the program’s recent revival - the challenges and downsides are likely too much to overcome.

The Army-Navy Game is the sport’s most sacred institution. The game will never move, and it never should move. The AAC could craft a schedule format that puts Army and Navy in separate divisions and allows them to play a non-conference game after the title game each season. But what happens when the programs win those divisions? Is the AAC ready to cancel its title game and hand out an afterthought trophy at Army-Navy. Because that would be the only solution. The AAC has a hell of a lot more to gain here than Army does. That’s why it won’t happen.

2. BYU: The AAC is not going to do much better in terms of adding a quality program and BYU would likely be a football-only member. If the money is right, it makes sense for both sides. But BYU may prefer life as an independent unless it can get into a Power 5 league.

3-4. Air Force and Boise State: This one is more complicated because Air Force and Boise State would likely need to leave the Mountain West entirely rather than join the AAC for football only. It makes football sense at both schools and the AAC makes more money than the other Group of 5 leagues. But the Falcons or Broncos would be spending much more on travel for their other athletics programs as well as a full-fledged member.

5. UMass: The Minutemen should be doing everything they can to swap spots with UConn as New England’s hopeless independent program and get into the AAC. It would not be the sexiest pick the AAC can make, but it may be a smart one. UMass has a quality all-around athletics department and allows the AAC to maintain a presence in the region while moving to a bigger media market in Boston.

6. Buffalo: The Bulls have strong football and men’s basketball programs and are a geographic outlier in the MAC. They may be willing to move and they would also allow the AAC to stay in the region.

7. UAB: The Blazers are hot in football, have a quality men’s basketball program and are successful in other sports. UAB would expand the league’s footprint while meshing quite easily with its existing members.

8. Take your pick: The options are pretty slim. The AAC is obviously not about to snag a Power 5 program and the programs listed above are the best options. Liberty desperately wants in a conference, but there’s a lot of baggage to take on there. Marshall would be a solid-enough fallback plan. Maybe Southern Miss? Or Florida Atlantic or Florida International?

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.