Tulane Football Learns Dates for 2025 American Conference Media Days
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The Tulane Green Wave football team kicked off a new era under head coach Jon Sumrall last season at the AAC Media Days in Arlington, where he represented the team with center Vincent Murphy and defensive tackle Patrick Jenkins.
It was an opportunity to promote the blue-collar mentality Sumrall hoped to have.
The Green Wave did well in Sumrall’s first season and were at one point in the conversation for the College Football Playoff before a three-game losing streak ended in a 9-5 finish.
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While Tulane lost in the 2024 American Conference title game to the Army West Point Black Knights, they weren’t expected to get there. They were picked No. 3 in the preseason AAC media poll.
The No. 1 Memphis Tigers and No. 2 UTSA Roadrunners didn’t get there, though the Tigers were the one conference opponent that beat the Green Wave.
Preseason media polls aren’t exactly predictive, but it did allow Tulane to operate under the radar to start the season.
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They won’t be viewed as underdogs at the 2025 American Conference Media Days.
The AAC announced Thursday that the Media Days will take place on July 24-25 in Charlotte, N.C., which will be a new location after the last few were hosted in Arlington.
ESPN+ will have live coverage of the event on July 25, and fans are invited to join the festivities once the schedule and full list of student-athlete representatives for each team are announced.
It was a good opportunity for Sumrall to assess his new conference opponents after leading the Troy Trojans for two seasons in the Sun Belt Conference.
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The Green Wave will head back with higher expectations in Sumrall’s second season, but those expectations may be conference wide.
Eight AAC teams played in bowl games, and their 6-2 record secured the Bowl Challenge Cup, which is awarded to the conference with the highest winning percentage in at least three bowl game appearances.
Not only that, but they had three Power Four wins against opponents from the SEC, Big 12, and ACC.
Memphis beat the West Virginia Mountaineers 42-37, the East Carolina Pirates beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 26-21, and the Navy Midshipmen beat the Oklahoma Sooners 21-20.
Unfortunately, Tulane wasn’t one of those six wins with their 33-8 loss to the Florida Gators in the Gasparilla Bowl, but they were without starting quarterback Darian Mensah and it showed.
The lack of a replacement for Mensah might lead to the Green Wave flying slightly under the radar again, but that seemed to work quite well for them last season.
For more Tulane news, visit Tulane Green Wave On SI.
Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com