The American Athletic Conference is adding UAB, Texas-San Antonio, Rice, North Texas, Charlotte and Florida Atlantic to the league, replacing Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida. | David J. Phillip/AP

The AAC hopes the move will stabilize the conference in the short term and allow it to withstand future poaching of its members by wealthier leagues.

The American Athletic Conference is adding UAB, Texas-San Antonio, Rice, North Texas, Charlotte and Florida Atlantic to the league, replacing three schools that are scheduled to depart for the Big 12 Conference and growing to 14 teams.

The AAC announced the additions Thursday, a move that it hopes will stabilize the conference in the short term and allow it to withstand future poaching of its members by wealthier leagues.

The conference said when exactly the new members join is still to be determined.

The American, formerly the Big East, has been a feeder conference for Power Five leagues for nearly two decades. Most recently, the Big 12 announced the additions of AAC powers Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida to replace Southeastern Conference-bound Oklahoma and Texas.

The Sooners and Longhorns have said they will join the SEC in 2025, but a quicker move is possible.

The AAC’s move strips Conference USA of six schools, leaving that league both searching for new members and trying to fend off other poachers. The Sun Belt has said it is interested in expanding beyond its current 10 football members and some of C-USA’s remaining eight schools would be geographic fits.

The American was born in 2013 from the downfall of Big East football, rebuilding around mostly C-USA schools. The AAC emerged as the strongest of the so-called Group of Five conferences when it comes to football during the College Football Playoff era. Five times in seven seasons, the American has earned the New Year’s Six bowl spot that goes to the highest ranked G5 conference champion.

But four of those championships were won by the schools now heading to the Big 12.

The AAC targeted schools located in big media markets and fertile recruiting territory, hoping that with better exposure and more revenue, they develop into the next UCF.

The AAC is at the front end of a 10-year deal with ESPN that will pay the conference’s schools between $7 million and $8 million per year over the length of the contract. It is unclear whether the value of the deal will be impacted by the change in membership, but the contract makes the conference the wealthiest in major college football outside the Power Five.

Conference USA has floundered in recent seasons by comparison, with TV deals that have generated well under $1 million per year per school and made the league’s games tricky for its fans to find.

The most recent deal provides more consistency with CBS Sports Network as the primary cable TV home of C-USA’s games and some streaming on ESPN+.

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Ballet Folklorico is participating in this year’s Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade on Oct. 30. | Richard IV Photography

From theater and music to museums and family events, we’ve got just the ticket with our entertainment guide to some of the fun kicking off in the week ahead.

Family Fun

— There’s lot of eye-popping fun during Chicago Halloweek, the city’s celebration of all things Halloween. Events include the Upside-Down Parade in Washington Park (noon-3 p.m. Oct. 23) which features dancers, musicians, circus acrobats and more; Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade (6-8 p.m. Oct. 30) features floats, spectacle puppets and performances downtown on State Street; and the Dia de los Muertos Celebration (9 a.m.-3 p.m.) at Maxwell Street Market includes music, a sugar skull workshop, pumpkin decorating and more. All events are outdoors and free. Visit chicagohalloweek.org.

— What scary things lurk in the dark? Find out at Little Park of Horrors, a haunted drive-through only Halloween experience (Rated PG-13) featuring horror displays with music and lighting effects. From Oct. 21-24, 28-31 in Wing Park, 1010 Wing St., Elgin. Admission: $10 tickets must be bought in advance for timed entry. Visit ticketweb.com.

— CSO for Kids returns as members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra introduce children to classical music at a daytime performance (11 a.m. Oct. 23), the orchestra performs John Williams’ score at a screening of “Home Alone” (7:30 p.m. Nov. 26-27, 3 p.m. Nov. 28) and the orchestra shares holiday music for the annual family concert “Merry, Merry Chicago!” (Dec. 17-23). Ticket prices vary. Visit cso.org.

Theater

Joan Marcus
Cassie Beck stars in “What the Constitution Means to Me.”

— Heidi Schreck’s engaging play, “What the Constitution Means to Me,” breathes new life into the U.S. Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of American women. The playwright recalls her teenage self as she earns college money by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the country and uses that memory for a deep dive into the document. From Oct. 26-Nov. 21 at Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut. Tickets: $30+. Visit broadwayinchicago.com.

— Raven Theatre welcomes back audiences with the world premiere of Joshua Allen’s “The Last Pair of Earlies.” The drama is the story of Wayland and Della Rose Early, a couple who 20 years earlier fled Mississippi for Chicago’s South Side but are now facing unrealized dreams and the life-altering question: Are we still enough for each other? Marcus D. Moore and Shadana Patterson star; Wardell Julius Clark directs. From Oct. 27-Dec. 12 at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark. Tickets: $40. Visit raventheatre.com.

Michael Doucett
Frank Ferrante stars in “An Evening with Groucho.”

— Frank Ferrante stars in “An Evening with Groucho,” his laugh-filled portrait of Groucho Marx which celebrates the style and spirit of the comedian. At 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at Spiegeltent ZaZou, Cambria Hotel, 32 W. Randolph. Tickets: $39.50-$59.50. Visit eveningwithgroucho.com.

— Charles Askenaizer directs and performs the title role in Shakespeare’s classic tragedy “Hamlet.” From Oct. 21-Nov. 21 at Invictus Theatre, 1106 W. Thorndale. Tickets: $30. Visit invictustheatreco.com.

— The Artistic Home presents Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice,” the playwright’s take on the ancient myth as told from the perspective of Eurydice rather than Orpheus. Kathy Scambiatterra directs. From Oct. 23-Nov. 21 at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee. Tickets: $34. Visit theartistichome.org.

— Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, in association with The Breath Project, presents “8:46 (Breathing Room),” a new play festival of four commissioned plays each 8 minutes and 46 seconds long. The festival is curated by associate artistic director Denise Yvette Serna and the playwrights are Mari DeOleo, Tina Fakhrid Serna, Gloria Imseih Petrell and Risha Tenae. At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 and 4 p.m. Oct. 23 at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge. Tickets: $15-$30 for live performance or stream. Visit rivendelltheatre.org.

Music

Rich Gilligan Photo
Aoife O’Donovan

— Aoife O’Donovan tours behind her new album, “Age of Apathy,” which was produced by Joe Henry and features guests Allison Russell and Madison Cunningham. The new songs find the singer-songwriter confronting the sense-dulling barrage of the digital age. While her previous albums were composed in a rush between tours, this effort was more deliberate and methodical. (On another note, O’Donovan also recently shared her remarkable live performance of the entirety Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” for Bandcamp Friday.) At 8 p.m. Oct. 21 at Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln. Tickets: $35. Visit oldtownschool.org.

Kim Atkins Photo
Yasmin Williams

— Yasmin Williams first began playing electric guitar in 8th grade via “Guitar Hero 2” making it to expert level and by 10th grade had recorded her first EP of original songs. She quickly moved on to acoustic guitar and perfected her unorthodox, modern style of acoustic fingerstyle playing. Her influences range from Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana to go-go and hip-hop as well as other Black women guitarists — Elizabeth Cotton, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Algia Mae Hinton. On her recent album, “Urban Driftwood,” Williams references the music of West African griots through inclusion of the kora, which she learned to play, and the hand drumming of Amadou Kouyate. Eli Winter opens the show a 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at Space, 1245 Chicago, Evanston. Tickets: $18-$28. Visit evanstonspace.com.

Jay Gilbert Photo
Peter Asher (center).

— One half of the British Invasion duo Peter & Gordon takes a trip back in time with “Peter Asher: A Musical Memoir of the ’60s and Beyond.” Through film footage, photos, stories and song, Asher looks back at his early career and on to his days as a producer, music executive and manager handling the careers of James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt and many others. At 8 p.m. Oct. 23 at Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln. Tickets: $38. Visit oldtownschool.org.

— Jake Blount is an award-winning banjo player (winner of the 2020 Steve Martin Banjo Prize), fiddler, singer and ethnomusicologist. His recent album, “Spider Tales,” is drawn from the lost Black and Indigenous histories of Appalachian roots music. The New Yorker says Blount “mines a deep, under-explored vein of roots music, presenting new, often haunted versions of field hollers, murder ballads, and more.” 6’10 and Jake Book open the show at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at Reggies, 2105 S. State. Tickets: $15. Visit reggieslive.com.

Museums

“Rise Up” was developed by the Newseum, an affiliate of the Freedom Forum.
“Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement” is a new exhibit featured at the Illinois Holocaust Museum.

— “Rise Up: Stonewell and the LGBTQ Rights Movement” explores the June 1969 police raid of New York City’s Stonewall Inn as the flashpoint that ignited the modern gay rights movement in the United States. The exhibit features historic images and artifacts of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, including posters from Harvey Milk’s campaign for public office in San Francisco, a rainbow flag in its original colors signed by its creator Gilbert Baker and early LGBTQ magazines and publications. To May 8 at Illinois Holocaust Museum, 9603 Woods Dr., Skokie. Admission: $6-$15, children under 5 free. Visit ilholocaustmuseum.org.

Collection of Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, gift of Susann Craig
Sister Gertrude Morgan (American, 1900-1980). “Chart of Revelations 10, 11, 12, 13,” c. 1970. Pen and paint on poster board.

— Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art celebrates its late founder Susann Craig with an exhibit, “Building a Legacy,” which features works from its collection donated by Craig. Among the pieces are works by Minnie Evans, Justin McCarthy, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Albert Zahn and more. Craig was a devotee and avid collector of outsider art who befriended many of the genre’s artists and whose stewardship was key to the museum’s long-term success to becoming a premiere museum of outsider and self-taught art. From Oct. 14-Jan. 9 at Intuit, 756 N. Milwaukee. Admission: $5. Visit art.org.

Dance

Ken Carl Photo
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater

— Deeply Rooted Dance Theater returns with a program titled “Roots & Wings,” featuring artistic director Gary Abbott’s “Bach’d,” Kevin Iega Jeff’s “Aisatnaf” and “Gula Matari,” the company premiere of Ulysses Dove’s “Episodes” and excerpts from “Goshen,” the story of Exodus as told in a collaboration of gospel music, dramatic narrative and dance theater rooted in African American traditions. At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Dr. Tickets: $25+. Visit auditoriumtheatre.org.

Giordano Dance Chicago
Onjelee Phomthirath (clockwise from upper left), Rosario Guillen and Erina Ueda in Giordano Dance Chicago’s “Take a Gambol” (2018).

— Another dance troupe returning to live performances this week is Giordano Dance Chicago with its 13-member resident ensemble performing classic and contemporary jazz pieces, including the company premiere of Adam Houston’s “All for You” as well as works from the company’s repertory including “Flickers,” “A Little Moonlight,” “Shirt Off My Back,” “Take A Gambol” and “Pyrokinesis.” At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22-23 at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph. Tickets: $20-$90. Visit harristheaterchicago.org.

Movies

Provided
A scene from Andre Konchalovsky’s film “Shy People.”

— The Chicago Film Society returns with a handful of rarely screened films. The lineup features Andre Konchalovsky’s “Shy People” (Oct. 25), starring Jill Clayburgh, Barbara Hershey and Martha Plimpton; George Loane Tucker’s “Traffic in Souls” (Nov. 6), a silent film about New York sex traffickers; Farah Khan’s “Om Shanti Om” (Nov. 29), a Bollywood film; and Vincente Minnelli’s “Meet Me in St. Louis” (Dec. 13), one of the great Hollywood musicals. All are screened at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport. Tickets: $10-$12. Visit musicboxtheatre.com.

NOTE: For COVID-19 safety protocols, visit theaters’ individual websites.

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A 36-year-old man was shot October 20, 2021 in South Deering. | Adobe Stock Photo

The gunman got out of a black Dodge Charger at the station in the 10300 block of South Torrence Avenue and announced a robbery.

A man was wounded during a shootout with an armed robber at a gas station in South Deering on the South Side.

The man, 26, was in the 10300 block of South Torrence Avenue when a gunman got out of a black Dodge Charger and announced a robbery, Chicago police said.

The man pulled out his own gun and exchanged fire with the robber and was struck in the leg, police said. He drove to Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Calumet City, where he was listed in fair condition.

No one was in custody.

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Ten people were shot, two fatally, October 20, 2021 in Chicago. | Sun-Times file photo

A male victim was shot and killed around 1:45 p.m. on a sidewalk near Funston Elementary School in the 2100 block of North Central Park Avenue.

Two people were killed and eight others wounded Wednesday in shootings across Chicago.

In the day’s first fatal attack, a male victim was shot and killed around 1:45 p.m. on a sidewalk near Funston Elementary School in the 2100 block of North Central Park Avenue, Chicago police said.

A dark-colored vehicle pulled up and someone got out and fired shots, police said. The person was struck in the head and chest and pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released.

Wednesday night, a man was fatally shot in Heart of Chicago on the Lower West Side.

The 58-year-old was standing on a sidewalk about 8 p.m. in the 2100 block of South Leavitt Street when someone in a white van opened fire, police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, police said.

In nonfatal shootings, a 16-year-old boy was wounded Wednesday afternoon in Hyde Park on the South Side.

The teen was standing on the sidewalk just after 4 p.m. in the 5100 block of South Ingleside Avenue when three people approached him and began firing in his direction, police said. The teen knew the shooters, according to University of Chicago police.

He was struck in the upper right leg and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition, police said.

Two people were shot, including a 63-year-old man, while driving Wednesday night in Austin on the West Side.

About 6:40 p.m., the two were traveling in a van in the 600 block of North Laramie Avenue when a dark-colored vehicle pulled up and someone inside opened fire, police said.

The pair’s van then came to stop after crashing into another vehicle in the 500 block of North Central Avenue, police said.

The 63-year-old man was struck in the arm and transported to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said. The other person suffered a gunshot wound to the mouth and was taken to the same hospital in critical condition, police said.

Less than an hour later, a man was wounded during a shootout with an armed robber at a gas station in South Deering on the South Side.

The man, 26, was in the 10300 block of South Torrence Avenue when a gunman got out of a black Dodge Charger and announced a robbery, police said.

The man pulled out his own gun and exchanged fire with the robber and was struck in the leg, police said. He drove to Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Calumet City, where he was listed in fair condition.

At least three others were wounded in citywide gun violence Wednesday.

Fifteen people were shot, two fatally, Tuesday in Chicago.

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