Monday was a monumental day for the American Athletic Conference, with Memphis, South Florida, UTSA and Tulane reaffirming their status in the conference.

It was a chaotic day as college administrators around the country in the Pac-12, Mountain West, AAC and others scrambled to make decisions about their respective futures. One person not making any decisions was Mike Aresco, the former AAC commissioner who retired earlier this year.

"It's a good conference, a great conference," Aresco told The Commercial Appeal on Tuesday. "I think Memphis has obviously done well in it. I just think it's the right move for them to stay. I think the other would not work for them and was way too speculative. But I also think the strengths of the American are such that they'll be fine going forward."

Memphis and the other schools were targets of the Pac-12, which is rebuilding after being reduced to two teams after the last round of conference realignment. The Pac-12 added four schools from the Mountain West in San Diego State, Boise State, Fresno State and Colorado State before turning its attention further east. After the AAC schools decided to stay put, the Pac-12 added Utah State and is still searching for at least one member.

More: Memphis is staying in AAC after rejecting Pac-12. So what happens next?

Aresco was the inaugural commissioner of the AAC and was its only commissioner until he retired earlier this year and was replaced by Tim Pernetti. It's not surprising that he was happy to see Memphis and the other schools decide to stay, especially with the years he spent trying to grow the conference after its inception more than a decade ago.

Monday's news was "obviously huge," Aresco said. He touted the AAC's media rights deal and several other factors as strengths of the conference moving forward.

"The ESPN deal is absolutely critical," he said. "They have a very strong and visionary commissioner in Tim. The camaraderie, the academic quality of the schools, the AAU schools and the academies and Tulsa. And the geographical cohesion which a lot of conferences no longer have. This one does have it. You can build your brand in this conference. There's just so many strengths."

Aresco spent years as AAC commissioner while Memphis was both publicly and privately trying to leave the conference. Other schools left, too — most recently Central Florida, Cincinnati, Houston and SMU.

On Tuesday, he said Memphis was "instrumental" in the growth of the AAC and said he's confident in Pernetti's ability to move forward.

"I have great affection for Memphis. They were very instrumental in the growth and success of the conference. So I'm glad that they recognize the value of staying in the conference. I also think this is great for Tim, a feather in his cap. But also great for the whole group. I think the conference has a bright future, and I think Tim will be a strong leader."

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis stays in AAC over Pac-12: Mike Aresco reaction