Conference USA

The conference saw radical changes for the 2005–06 academic year. The Big East Conference had lost several members, and looked to Conference USA to attract replacements. Five C-USA members departed for the Big East, including three football-playing schools (Cincinnati, Louisville, and South Florida) and two non-football schools (DePaul and Marquette; both joined the New Big East in 2013). Another two schools (Charlotte and Saint Louis) left for the Atlantic 10; TCU joined the Mountain West (and is now in the Big 12 with several other former Southwest Conference members); and a ninth member, Army, which was C-USA football-only, opted to become an independent in that sport again.

With the loss of these members, C-USA lured six schools from other conferences: UCF and Marshall from the MAC, as well as Rice, SMU, Tulsa, and later UTEP from the WAC. Note that UCF played in the MAC for football only; for all other sports, it was a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (now known as the ASUN Conference).

With C-USA's membership now consisting of 12 schools, all of which sponsor football, the conference adopted a two-division alignment.

In 2013, C-USA entered its next phase with the departure of four schools (Houston, Memphis, SMU, and UCF) for the American Athletic Conference, the football-sponsoring portion of the former Big East Conference. This was again the result of Big East schools leaving for the ACC, this time being Syracuse and Pittsburgh. It was announced in early 2012 that Conference USA was in talks with the Mountain West Conference about forming either a football alliance or conference merger in the future.

However, when the conferences discussed their plans with the NCAA, they were told that if they merged, the new league would receive only one automatic bid to NCAA championships; at least one of the former conferences would lose expected future revenues from the NCAA men's basketball tournament; and at least one former conference would lose exit fees from any schools that departed for the new league. As a result, both C-USA and the MW backed away from a full merger. As of April 2012, the likeliest scenario was an all-sports alliance in which both conferences retain separate identities.[4] However, after the MW added more members, the alliance was apparently abandoned.

For men's soccer, there was a chance that the MW, SEC, and C-USA along with the one Sun Belt member (FIU), that sponsor the sport, would play under the C-USA's men's soccer program. The MW, which does not sponsor men's soccer, would take three of the four members that offer the sport (UNLV, Air Force, New Mexico—San Diego State is a Pac-12 associate member in that sport), join C-USA's three full members that offer the sport (UAB, Marshall, Tulsa), the two SEC members already in C-USA for the sport (Kentucky, South Carolina), and the Sun Belt's FIU.[4] However, the only MW member school that ultimately moved to C-USA men's soccer was New Mexico.

For the 2013–14 season C-USA invited five new members to join their conference, with all accepting. UTSA and Louisiana Tech joined from the WAC and North Texas and FIU, (an affiliate member of C-USA joining for men's soccer in 2005), from the Sun Belt Conference. Old Dominion, which already housed five of its sports in C-USA, moved the rest of its athletic program from the CAA (except for field hockey, women's lacrosse and wrestling, with the three sports joining the new Big East, the Atlantic Sun, and the MAC respectively because C-USA does not sponsor those sports) and upgraded its football program from the Football Championship Subdivision. Charter member Charlotte returned from the A-10 and accelerated its recently established football program, which was set to begin play in 2013 as an FCS school, to FBS in 2015 with full conference rights in 2016.

Conference USA members after the 2014–15 realignment

On November 27, 2012, it was announced that Tulane would leave the conference to join the Big East in all sports, and East Carolina would join the Big East for football only (ECU's membership was upgraded to all-sports in March 2013 after the Big East's non-football members, except ACC-bound Notre Dame, announced they were leaving to form a new conference which took the Big East name, leaving the football-playing members to become the American Athletic Conference). Conference USA responded by adding Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic, both from the Sun Belt.

On April 1, 2013, Conference USA announced they were adding Western Kentucky, also from the Sun Belt, to offset Tulsa's departure to The American in all sports which was confirmed the next day.[5][6]

The board of trustees in the University of Alabama system (of which UAB is a member) voted to shut down that football program on December 2, 2014, in a highly controversial move that many have attributed to a pro-Tuscaloosa bias (including trustees such as Paul Bryant, Jr., son and namesake of Alabama football coaching legend Bear Bryant). According to Conference USA bylaws, member schools must sponsor football. In January 2015, UAB announced an independent re-evaluation of the program and the finances involved, leaving open a possible resumption of the program as early as the 2016 season. On January 29, 2015, the conference announced that there was no time pressure in making a decision regarding UAB's future membership. The conference also stated that it would wait for the new study results before any further discussions on the subject.[7] On June 1, UAB announced that it would reinstate football effective with the 2016 season, presumably keeping the school in C-USA for the immediate future.[8] The return of football was later pushed back to 2017.[9] The Blazers won the 2018 conference championship their second year back and won the C-USA title again in 2020.

Commissioner Britton Banowsky stepped down on September 15, 2015, to become the head of the College Football Playoff Foundation. Executive associate commissioner and chief operating officer Judy MacLeod was subsequently named interim commissioner. On October 26 MacLeod was named the conference's third official commissioner, also becoming the first woman to head an FBS conference.[10]

Marshall University's men's soccer program captured the league's first team national championship with its 1–0 overtime win over Indiana in the 2020 College Cup, held in May 2021 due to COVID-19 issues, in Cary, North Carolina.[11]

On October 18, 2021, Yahoo Sports reported that the American Athletic Conference, which had been rocked by the impending departure of three of its most prominent schools (Cincinnati, Houston, UCF) for the Big 12 Conference, was preparing to receive applications from six C-USA members: Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA.[12] ESPN reported the next day that The American had received all six schools' applications,[13] and The American announced all six as future members on October 21, though it did not announce the effective date.[14] The entry date would eventually be confirmed as July 1, 2023.[15]

The day after The American announced its expansion, The Action Network reported that Southern Miss had accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference in 2023, a move which was formally announced by the university on October 26.[16] The report added that the Sun Belt was preparing to add two other C-USA members in Marshall and Old Dominion, as well as FCS program James Madison. Old Dominion officially announced its move to the Sun Belt Conference on October 27,[17] followed later in the week by Marshall.[18] On March 29, 2022 C-USA agreed to allow Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss to move to the Sun Belt beginning July 1, 2022, a year earlier than initially announced.[19]

In response to these losses, on November 5, Conference USA announced the addition of four new members to start the 2023 athletic season. These included two ASUN Conference schools, Liberty and Jacksonville State, along with two from the WAC, New Mexico State and Sam Houston. Liberty and New Mexico State previously played football as FBS independents, while Jacksonville State and Sam Houston played at the FCS level in their respective conferences.[20]

On October 7, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that current football-sponsoring ASUN member Kennesaw State was in talks to become the tenth member of Conference USA for the 2024 season.[21] One week later, C-USA officially announced Kennesaw State's 2024 entry.[22]

The Sun Belt Conference added beach volleyball for the 2023 season (2022–23 school year), taking with it the three full SBC members that had previously housed that sport in C-USA: Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, and Louisiana–Monroe. Southern Miss also left C-USA beach volleyball as part of its full-time move to the SBC.[23] C-USA would add three new beach volleyball members for that season; Jacksonville State joined C-USA for beach volleyball in advance of full membership that July,[24] Tulane became an associate member, and full member UTEP added a new beach volleyball program. Tarleton announced on April 24, 2023 that it would join C-USA as an associate member for the school's first season of varsity beach volleyball in 2024;[25] C-USA confirmed this on May 11, adding that Missouri State and TCU would also join in beach volleyball for the 2024 season, and that Florida Atlantic and UAB would remain in C-USA beach volleyball after otherwise departing for The American.[26]

On May 10, 2023, C-USA announced that it would add bowling, a women-only sport in the NCAA, effective in 2023–24. The Southland Bowling League, a single-sport conference established by the Southland Conference, will be merged into C-USA.[27]

Departing members are highlighted in pink.

Notes

In this table, all dates reflect the calendar year of entry into Conference USA, which for spring sports is the year before the start of competition.

Notes

Notes

In this table, all dates reflect each school's actual entry into and departure from Conference USA. For spring sports, the joining date is the calendar year before the start of competition. For fall sports, the departure date is the calendar year after the last season of competition.

Notes

Full members (all-sports) Full members (non-football) Affiliate members (football-only) Affiliate member (other sport)Other Conference Other Conference

Conference USA sponsors championship competition in nine men's and 11 women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[49] Three schools are affiliate members—one in baseball and two in beach volleyball, with one of the beach volleyball associates becoming a full member in July 2023. Men's soccer and women's swimming and diving were dropped as conference sports after the 2021-22 season.

Bowling will become the newest conference sport in 2023–24 with three full members and six associates.

Departing members in pink.

Member	Baseball	Basketball	XCountry	Football	Golf	Tennis	Indoor Track & Field	Outdoor Track & Field	Total C-USA Sports
Charlotte	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
FIU	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	6
Florida Atlantic	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	7
Louisiana Tech	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	7
Middle Tennessee	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
North Texas	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	6
Rice	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
UAB	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	N	7
UTEP	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	6
UTSA	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Western Kentucky	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	7
Affiliate members
Dallas Baptist	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Total	9+1	11	10	11	10	6	8	9	74+1
Future members
Jacksonville State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	8
Kennesaw State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Liberty	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
New Mexico State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Sam Houston	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	7
Total in 2023	8+1	9	9	9	8	4	7	8	64+1
Total in 2024	9+1	10	10	10	9	5	8	9	72+1

Departing members in pink.

Member	Basketball	Beach Volleyball	Bowling[lower-alpha 1]	XCountry	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Indoor Track & Field	Outdoor Track & Field	Volleyball	Total C-USA Sports
Charlotte	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
FIU	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Florida Atlantic	Y	Y[lower-alpha 2]	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Louisiana Tech	Y	N	[lower-alpha 3]	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Middle Tennessee	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
North Texas	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Rice	Y	N	N	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
UAB	Y[lower-alpha 2]	Y	N[lower-alpha 4]	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
UTEP	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
UTSA	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Western Kentucky	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Affiliate members
Jacksonville State	N	Y	[lower-alpha 5]	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Tulane	N	Y	[lower-alpha 3]	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Total	11	6	–	11	9	11	10	11	11	11	11	100+2
Future members
Jacksonville State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Kennesaw State	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Liberty	Y	N	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
New Mexico State	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Sam Houston	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Future affiliate members
Arkansas State	N	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Florida Atlantic	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Missouri State	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Stephen F. Austin	N	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Tarleton	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
TCU	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
UAB	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Valparaiso	N	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Vanderbilt	N	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Youngstown State	N	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	1
Total in 2023	9	9	9	9	7	9	9	9	9	9	9	98
Total in 2024	10	9	9	10	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	106

Conference USA used a divisional format for football from 2005 to 2021.

For the most recent season, see 2022 Conference USA football season.

[50]

C-USA champions

Bowl games

The highest-ranked champion from the so-called "Group of Five" conferences (The American, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt) is guaranteed a berth in one of the non-semifinal bowls of the College Football Playoff if the group's top team is not in the playoff.[51]

For the 2014–19 seasons, Conference USA is guaranteed at least five of the following bowl games.

Rivalries

Current or former C-USA in conference rivalries:

For the most recent season, see 2022–23 Conference USA men's basketball season.

This list goes through the 2017–18 season.[52]

This list goes through the 2012–13 season.[53]

Champions from the previous school year are indicated with the calendar year of their title. "RS" is regular season, "T" is tournament. Women's swimming & diving was dropped after the 2021–22 season.

No current C-USA member has won a national team championship while a member of the conference. The only school to have won such a championship while a C-USA member is Marshall, which moved to the Sun Belt Conference in 2022. Marshall won the 2020–21 men's soccer championship in May 2021 (with the tournament having moved from its normal schedule in fall 2020 to spring 2021 due to COVID-19).

The following current and future C-USA teams have won national championships when they were not affiliated with C-USA. Current and future associate members, indicated in italics, are listed with championships they won in their C-USA sports.

In 2016 C-USA partnered with SIDEARM Sports to create a subscription based streaming service named CUSA.tv. In a statement C-USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod said, "Thanks to our partnership with SIDEARM Sports, this new site showcases a clean modern look with easy access to information and we are proud to offer live content and original feature stories through our CUSA.tv."[61] Various sports including football, basketball, and baseball will exclusively air on CUSA.tv when they are not picked up by other networks.