Jul 21, 2014 02:15 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Leaders at conferences outside the NCAA's Division I Power Five have no intention of moving up their schedule to avoid head-to-head matchups with the more well-endowed schools.

Commissioners of three non-Power-Five conferences told ESPN they would not move to play in the spring in order to no longer play the likes of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. The NCAA may be trying to give the Power Five more autonomy in making governance decisions since they make the most money, but smaller schools have shown they can still be competitive.

"We have no interest in doing that and have no plans to discuss or look into it," Mike Aresco, commissioner of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), told ESPN. "Our position is clear. We are an integral part of the fabric of FBS college football."

June Jones, Southern Methodist University's head football coach, suggested late last week that the non-Power-Five conferences should move their schedule up to the spring, when teams typically start practicing for the upcoming season.

"I think the have-nots should go ahead and move to the spring just like the USFL did," Jones told WDAE-AM Thursday. "I think that there's an opportunity to do a complete other side of that division and I think that if we don't think that way as a group of have-nots, we're going to get left behind."

Jon Steinbrecher, commissioner of the Mid-American Conference, also said he disagreed with Jones even though he had not delved into the idea.

"I have not reviewed this concept with our membership but I cannot imagine we would support such a concept," he told ESPN. "We look forward to competing in the fall."

Aresco said the AAC feels as though it is closing in on the Power Five. Last year, the conference had two teams in the AP top 15 at season's end, the same amount four of the Power Five did.

"Our conference is and will be extremely competitive and our goal is to play at the highest level, compete for playoff and host bowl spots and challenge the Power Five," he said. "We want to be in the power conference conversation and, sooner than later, be regarded as the sixth power conference."

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