2025 American Conference Football Championship Game
College football game
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The 2025 American Conference Football Championship Game (officially known as the 2025 American Conference Football Championship Game presented by LLH Healthcare for sponsorship reasons) was a college football played on December 5, 2025 to determine the champion of the American Conference for the 2025 season. It was the 11th American Conference Football Championship Game. The game started at 8:00 p.m. EST and was aired on ABC. The game featured the Tulane Green Wave against the North Texas Mean Green.
| 2025 American Conference Football Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conference Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 5, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Yulman Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Jack Tchienchou, S, Tulane | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | North Texas by 1.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), and Quint Kessenich (sideline reporter) (ABC) Chris Carlin (play-by-play), Tom Ramsey (analyst), and Marilyn Payne (sideline reporter) (ESPN Radio) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 Tulane y$^ | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 24 North Texas y | 7 | – | 1 | 12 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 23 Navy | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Florida | 6 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Carolina | 6 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memphis | 4 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Army | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTSA | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temple | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida Atlantic | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rice | 2 | – | 6 | 5 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UAB | 2 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulsa | 1 | – | 7 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charlotte | 0 | – | 8 | 1 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Tulane 34, North Texas 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This was the first championship game played under the "American Conference" name, as on July 21, 2025, the conference dropped the word "Athletic" from its previous name.[1]
Before the game, both teams' head coaches were announced to have accepted jobs at other programs, with North Texas head coach Eric Morris joining Oklahoma State[2][3] and Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall joining Florida.[4][5] Both coaches were allowed to coach this game, along with any potential College Football Playoff games.
Teams
The 2025 American Conference Championship Game featured the Tulane Green Wave and the North Texas Mean Green. This was the fourth consecutive American title game appearance for Tulane and its fourth overall. This was the first American title game appearance for North Texas in its third season in The American.
On November 29, 2025, the Conference announced that Tulane was selected as the host of the game due to being ranked at the time in the College Football Playoff Rankings, whereas North Texas was unranked.[6]
This was the 4th meeting between Tulane and North Texas, with the Green Wave winning all three previous meetings.[7] With both teams ranked above James Madison in the penulatmate College Football Playoff ranking, a win by either side would have almost certainly clinched a berth in the 2025 CFP.
North Texas
North Texas clinched a spot in the game following its victory over Temple on November 28.[8]
Tulane
Tulane clinched a spot in the game following its victory over Charlotte on November 29.[9]
Scoring summary
No. 24 North Texas Mean Green (11–1, 7–1) vs. No. 20 Tulane Green Wave (10–2, 7–1)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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| No. 24 North Texas | 7 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
| No. 20 Tulane | 7 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
at Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA
- Date: Friday, December 5, 2025
- Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Overcast • Temperature: 52 °F (11 °C) • Wind: NNW at 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
- Game attendance: 23,986
- TV announcers (ABC): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), and Quint Kessenich (sideline reporter)
- References:
| Game information |
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| Statistics | UNT | TUL |
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| First downs | 25 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | 68–415 | 74–344 |
| Rushes–yards | 34–121 | 52–199 |
| Passing yards | 294 | 145 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 21–34–3 | 13–22–0 |
| Time of possession | 24:52 | 35:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Texas | Passing | Drew Mestemaker | 21/34, 294 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT |
| Rushing | Ashton Gray | 8 carries, 47 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Miles Coleman | 7 receptions, 125 yards, TD | |
| Tulane | Passing | Jake Retzlaff | 13/22, 145 yards |
| Rushing | Jamauri McClure | 22 carries, 121 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Garrett Mmahat | 3 receptions, 39 yards |