The 2016 American Athletic Conference football season is the 25th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season is the third since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, and the third season with the College Football Playoff in place. The American is considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5) with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. Whereas under the previous system the champion of the conference was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, the highest-ranked champion member of the G5 will receive a bid to one of the six major bowls.