Conference USA

Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a group of college sports teams that play each other on the NCAA Division I level. It was formed in 1995 when the Great Midwest Conference and Metro Conference merged, and has added several members since then. Most of the new members have come from either the Western Athletic Conference or the Sun Belt Conference. From 2005 to 2014, it also lost many members, mostly to the original Big East Conference and its football-playing offshoot, the American Athletic Conference.

The conference sends several teams to bowl games every year, including the Liberty Bowl and New Orleans Bowl.

Memphis (now a member of The American) has been the most successful men's basketball team in the conference, reaching the national championship game in 2008. (However, the NCAA later took Memphis's wins from that season away because a Memphis player, namely Derrick Rose, had not been eligible to play.)[1]

Members
University of Tulsa playing basketball against the University of Alabama at Birmingham

Conference USA now has 14 "full members" which play most of their sports in the league; all except Rice are public schools.

In football only, the schools are split into East and West Divisions. This allows the division winners to play a conference championship game.

SchoolLocationFoundedType
(affiliation)		NicknameJoinedFootball
Division
University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte)Charlotte, North Carolina1946Public49ers1995, 2013[a 1]East
Florida International University (FIU)Miami, Florida1965PublicPanthers2013[a 2]East
Florida Atlantic UniversityBoca Raton, Florida1961PublicOwls2013East
Louisiana Tech UniversityRuston, Louisiana1894PublicBulldogs &
Lady Techsters		2013West
Marshall UniversityHuntington, West Virginia1837PublicThundering Herd2005East
Middle Tennessee State UniversityMurfreesboro, Tennessee1911PublicBlue Raiders2005East
University of North TexasDenton, Texas1890PublicMean Green2013West
Old Dominion UniversityNorfolk, Virginia1930PublicMonarchs &
Lady Monarchs		2013[a 3]East
Rice UniversityHouston, Texas1912PrivateOwls2005West
University of Southern MississippiHattiesburg, Mississippi1910PublicGolden Eagles &
Lady Eagles		1995West
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)Birmingham, Alabama1969PublicBlazers1995West
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)El Paso, Texas1914PublicMiners &
Lady Miners		2005West
University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)San Antonio, Texas1969PublicRoadrunners2013West
Western Kentucky University (WKU)Bowling Green, Kentucky1906PublicHilltoppers &
Lady Toppers		2014[a 4]East
  1. Charlotte left in 2005 for the Atlantic 10 Conference and came back in 2013.
  2. FIU was a member in men's soccer only from 2005 to 2013.
  3. Old Dominion was a member in five sports in the 2012–13 school year: men's and women's golf, women's rowing, and men's and women's tennis.
  4. WKU was a member in women's swimming and diving only in the 2013–14 school year.

Associate members

C-USA now has five "associate members"—schools that are full members of another conference who play select sports in C-USA. Two play men's soccer in the conference, two others play women's beach volleyball, and one houses both sports in C-USA.

SchoolLocationFoundedTypeNicknameC-USA
Sport(s)		JoinedMain Conference
Coastal Carolina UniversityConway, South Carolina1954PublicChanticleersBeach volleyball,
men's soccer		2021Sun Belt
Georgia State UniversityAtlanta, Georgia1913PublicPanthersBeach volleyball2021Sun Belt
University of KentuckyLexington, Kentucky1865PublicWildcatsMen's soccer2005SEC
University of Louisiana at Monroe (Louisiana–Monroe or ULM)Monroe, Louisiana1931PublicWarhawksBeach volleyball2021Sun Belt
University of South CarolinaColumbia, South Carolina1801PublicGamecocksMen's soccer2005SEC

Future associate members

One school will become a C-USA associate in the near future.

SchoolLocationFoundedTypeNicknameC-USA
Sport		JoiningMain Conference
West Virginia UniversityMorgantown, West Virginia1867PublicMountaineersMen's soccer2022Big 12

Former full members

No fewer than 14 schools have left C-USA since it was founded. Most of these schools are now members of the American Athletic Conference.

SchoolLocationFoundedTypeNicknameJoinedLeftCurrent Conference
University of CincinnatiCincinnati, Ohio1819PublicBearcats19952005The American
(Big 12 in 2023)
DePaul UniversityChicago, Illinois1898PrivateBlue Demons19952005Big East
East Carolina UniversityGreenville, North Carolina1907PublicPirates2001[b 1]2014The American
University of HoustonHouston, Texas1907PublicCougars1996[b 2]2013The American
(Big 12 in 2023)
University of LouisvilleLouisville, Kentucky1798PublicCardinals19952005ACC
Marquette UniversityMilwaukee, Wisconsin1881PrivateGolden Eagles19952005Big East
University of MemphisMemphis, Tennessee1912PublicTigers19952013The American
Saint Louis UniversitySt. Louis, Missouri1818PrivateBillikens19952005Atlantic 10
Southern Methodist University (SMU)University Park, Texas1911PrivateMustangs20052013The American
University of South FloridaTampa, Florida1956PublicBulls19952005The American
Texas Christian University (TCU)Fort Worth, Texas1873PrivateHorned Frogs &
Lady Frogs		20012005Big 12
Tulane UniversityNew Orleans, Louisiana1834PrivateGreen Wave19952014The American
University of TulsaTulsa, Oklahoma1894PrivateGolden Hurricane20052014The American
University of Central Florida (UCF)Orlando, Florida1963PublicKnights20052013The American
(Big 12 in 2023)
  1. Before joining C-USA, East Carolina had been a football-only member since 1997.
  2. Houston was a founding member of C-USA in 1995, but did not start play until 1996. It was committed to playing in the final season of its old league, the Southwest Conference.

Former associate members

In addition to the former full members, 14 other schools have been associate members in the past, but have moved their C-USA sports elsewhere. Most notably, the United States Military Academy, more often called "Army" in a sports context, was a football member from 1996 to 2005 (final C-USA season in 2004).

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Conference USA.
  1. Garci, Marlen (August 19, 2009). "NCAA vacates Memphis' '07–08 season record, Final Four run". USA Today. Gannett Company, Inc. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
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