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 (SBC). 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 American). In a later wave of conference changes in the early 2020s, C-USA lost three members to the SBC in 2022 and six to The American in 2023. C-USA responded to these later moves by adding five new members, with four set to join in July 2023 and one in July 2024.

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 11 "full members" which play most of their sports in the league; all except Rice (which leaves in July 2023 for The American) are public schools. Of the five future members, Liberty (joining in July 2023) is the only private school.

Before 2022, the schools were split into East and West Divisions for some sports, most notably football; this allowed the football division winners to play a conference championship game. The divisional split ended with the loss of three members to the SBC. The football championship game now features the top two teams in the conference standings.

Departing members are highlighted in pink,

School	Location	Founded	Type (affiliation)	Nickname	Joined
University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte)	Charlotte, North Carolina	1946	Public	49ers	1995, 2013[a 1]
Florida International University (FIU)	Miami, Florida	1965	Public	Panthers	2013[a 2]
Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, Florida	1961	Public	Owls	2013
Louisiana Tech University	Ruston, Louisiana	1894	Public	Bulldogs & Lady Techsters
Middle Tennessee State University	Murfreesboro, Tennessee	1911	Public	Blue Raiders	2005
University of North Texas	Denton, Texas	1890	Public	Mean Green	2013
Rice University	Houston, Texas	1912	Private	Owls	2005
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)	Birmingham, Alabama	1969	Public	Blazers	1995
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)	El Paso, Texas	1914	Public	Miners	2005
University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)	San Antonio, Texas	1969	Public	Roadrunners	2013
Western Kentucky University (WKU)	Bowling Green, Kentucky	1906	Public	Hilltoppers & Lady Toppers	2014[a 3]

Charlotte left in 2005 for the Atlantic 10 Conference and came back in 2013.
FIU was a member in men's soccer only from 2005 to 2013.
WKU was a member in women's swimming and diving only in the 2013–14 school year.

Future members

C-USA will add four members in 2023 and one in 2024.

School	Location	Founded	Type (affiliation)	Nickname	Joining	Former conference
Jacksonville State University	Jacksonville, Alabama	1883	Public	Gamecocks	2023	ASUN
Liberty University	Lynchburg, Virginia	1971	Private	Flames & Lady Flames	2023	ASUN FBS independent (football)
New Mexico State University	Lynchburg, Virginia	1888	Public	Aggies	2023	WAC FBS independent (football)
Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston)	Huntsville, Texas	1879	Public	Bearkats	2023	WAC
Kennesaw State University	Kennesaw, Georgia	1963	Public	Owls	2024	ASUN FCS independent (football)

Associate members

C-USA now has three "associate members"—schools that are full members of another conference who play select sports in C-USA. One plays baseball, and two play women's beach volleyball. One of the beach volleyball members will become a full member in July 2023.

School	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	C-USA Sport(s)	Joined	Main Conference
Dallas Baptist University	Dallas, Texas	1898	Private	Patriots	Baseball	2022	Lone Star (Division II)
Jacksonville State University	Jacksonville, Alabama	1883	Public	Gamecocks	Beach volleyball	2022	ASUN (C-USA in July 2023)
Tulane University	New Orleans, Louisiana	1834	Private	Green Wave	Beach volleyball	2022	The American

Future associate members

C-USA will add many new associate members in July 2023.

In beach volleyball, a women-only NCAA sport, four schools will join, one of them being a current C-USA associate in a second sport. Also, two of the schools that will leave for The American will stay in C-USA beach volleyball.[2]

In bowling, also a women-only NCAA sport, C-USA will start a bowling league in the 2023–24 school year. The Southland Bowling League, a single-sport conference founded by, but separate from, the all-sports Southland Conference, will merge into C-USA.[3]

School	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	C-USA Sport	Joining	Main Conference
Arkansas State University	Jonesboro, Arkansas	1909	Public	Red Wolves	Bowling	2023	Sun Belt
Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, Florida	1961	Public	Owls	Beach volleyball	2023[lower-alpha 1]	American
Missouri State University	Springfield, Missouri	1905	Public	Beach Bears	Beach volleyball	2023	MVC
Stephen F. Austin State University (Stephen F. Austin)	Nacogdoches, Texas	1923	Public	Ladyjacks	Bowling	2023	WAC
Tarleton State University (Tarleton)	Stephenville, Texas	1899	Public	Texans	Beach volleyball	2023	WAC
Texas Christian University (TCU)	Fort Worth, Texas	1873	Private	Horned Frogs	Beach volleyball	2023	Big 12
Tulane University	New Orleans, Louisiana	1834	Private	Green Wave	Bowling	2023	American
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)	Birmingham, Alabama	1969	Public	Blazers	Beach volleyball	2023[lower-alpha 1]	American
Valparaiso University	Valparaiso, Indiana	1859	Private	Beacons	Bowling	2023	MVC
Vanderbilt University	Nashville, Tennessee	1873	Private	Commodores	Bowling	2023	SEC
Youngstown State University	Youngstown, Ohio	1908	Public	Penguins	Bowling	2023	Horizon

Notes

Measured from FAU's and UAB's move to the American Athletic Conference.

Former full members

No fewer than 17 schools have left C-USA since it was founded. Most of these schools are now members of the American Athletic Conference.

School	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current Conference
University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio	1819	Public	Bearcats	1995	2005	The American (Big 12 in 2023)
DePaul University	Chicago, Illinois	1898	Private	Blue Demons	1995	2005	Big East
East Carolina University	Greenville, North Carolina	1907	Public	Pirates	2001[b 1]	2014	The American
University of Houston	Houston, Texas	1907	Public	Cougars	1996[b 2]	2013	The American (Big 12 in 2023)
University of Louisville	Louisville, Kentucky	1798	Public	Cardinals	1995	2005	ACC
Marshall University	Huntington, West Virginia	1837	Public	Thundering Herd	2005	2022	Sun Belt
Marquette University	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1881	Private	Golden Eagles	1995	2005	Big East
University of Memphis	Memphis, Tennessee	1912	Public	Tigers	1995	2013	The American
Old Dominion University	Norfolk, Virginia	1930	Public	Monarchs	2013[b 3]	2022	Sun Belt
Saint Louis University	St. Louis, Missouri	1818	Private	Billikens	1995	2005	Atlantic 10
Southern Methodist University (SMU)	University Park, Texas	1911	Private	Mustangs	2005	2013	The American
University of South Florida	Tampa, Florida	1956	Public	Bulls	1995	2005	The American
University of Southern Mississippi	Hattiesburg, Mississippi	1910	Public	Golden Eagles	1995	2022	Sun Belt
Texas Christian University (TCU)[b 4]	Fort Worth, Texas	1873	Private	Horned Frogs & Lady Frogs	2001	2005	Big 12
Tulane University[b 5]	New Orleans, Louisiana	1834	Private	Green Wave	1995	2014	The American
University of Tulsa	Tulsa, Oklahoma	1894	Private	Golden Hurricane	2005	2014	The American
University of Central Florida (UCF)	Orlando, Florida	1963	Public	Knights	2005	2013	The American (Big 12 in 2023)

Before joining C-USA, East Carolina had been a football-only member since 1997.
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.
Before becoming a full member in 2013, Old Dominion was an affiliate in men's golf, women's golf, rowing, men's tennis, and women's tennis in 2012–13. Its football team did not join C-USA until 2014..
TCU will return to C-USA as a beach volleyball member in 2023.
Tulane returned to C-USA as a beach volleyball member in 2022, and will add bowling to its C-USA membership in 2023.

Former associate members

In addition to the former full members, 21 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

Garci, Marlen (August 19, 2009). "NCAA vacates Memphis' '07–08 season record, Final Four run". USA Today. Gannett Company, Inc. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
"BVB: C-USA Adds TCU, Tarleton State and Missouri State as Affiliate Members for Beach Volleyball" (Press release). Conference USA. May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
"Conference USA to Add Bowling for 2023-24 Season" (Press release). Conference USA. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.

"Conference USA". conferenceusa.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2008-07-26. Retrieved 2014-07-10.

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[2] Charlotte left in 2005 for the Atlantic 10 Conference and came back in 2013.

[3] FIU was a member in men's soccer only from 2005 to 2013.

[4] WKU was a member in women's swimming and diving only in the 2013–14 school year.

[BV2023-7] Measured from FAU's and UAB's move to the American Athletic Conference.

[8] Before joining C-USA, East Carolina had been a football-only member since 1997.

[9] 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.

[10] Before becoming a full member in 2013, Old Dominion was an affiliate in men's golf, women's golf, rowing, men's tennis, and women's tennis in 2012–13. Its football team did not join C-USA until 2014..

[11] TCU will return to C-USA as a beach volleyball member in 2023.

[12] Tulane returned to C-USA as a beach volleyball member in 2022, and will add bowling to its C-USA membership in 2023.

[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.

[5] "BVB: C-USA Adds TCU, Tarleton State and Missouri State as Affiliate Members for Beach Volleyball" (Press release). Conference USA. May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

[6] "Conference USA to Add Bowling for 2023-24 Season" (Press release). Conference USA. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.

Conference USA
Full members	Charlotte 49ers (leaving in 2023) Florida Atlantic Owls (leaving in 2023) FIU Panthers Louisiana Tech Bulldogs/Lady Techsters Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders North Texas Mean Green (leaving in 2023) Rice Owls (leaving in 2023) UAB Blazers (leaving in 2023) UTEP Miners UTSA Roadrunners (leaving in 2023) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers/Lady Toppers
Future members	Jacksonville State Gamecocks Liberty Flames/Lady Flames New Mexico State Aggies Sam Houston Bearkats (all joining in 2023) Kennesaw State Owls (joining in 2024)
Baseball affiliate member	Dallas Baptist Patriots
Beach volleyball affiliate members	Jacksonville State Gamecocks (becoming full member in July 2023) Tulane Green Wave
History	Metro Conference Great Midwest Conference 2010–2013 Conference USA realignment 2021–2024 NCAA conference realignment