A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
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| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995[1] |
| Commissioner | Judy MacLeod (since 2015) |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| Subdivision | FBS |
| No. of teams | 9 (10 in 2024, 12 in 2025) |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas |
| Region | Southern United States and Western United States |
| Official website | www |
| Locations | |
 | |
Conference USA (CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
History
 | This section lists events whose chronological order is ambiguous, backward, or otherwise incorrect. (January 2024) |
CUSA (abbreviated "C-USA" before 2023) was founded in 1995 by the merger of the Metro Conference and Great Midwest Conference, two Division I conferences that did not sponsor football. However, the merger did not include either Great Midwest member Dayton or Metro members VCU and Virginia Tech.[3] Since this left an uneven number of schools in the conference, Houston of the dissolving Southwest Conference was extended an invitation and agreed to join following the SWC's disbanding at the end of the 1995–96 academic year. The conference immediately started competition in all sports, except football which started in 1996.
Being the result of a merger, CUSA was originally a sprawling, large league that stretched from Florida to Missouri, Wisconsin to Texas. Many of its original schools were located in major urban centers and had strong basketball traditions, which helped establish the league on a national basis.
2005–06 realignment
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 CUSA 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, CUSA lured six schools from other conferences: UCF and Marshall from the MAC, as well as Rice, SMU, Tulsa, and later UTEP from the WAC. UCF played in the MAC for football only; for all other sports, it was a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).
With CUSA's membership now consisting of 12 schools, all of which sponsor football, the conference adopted a two-division alignment.
2013–14 realignment
In 2013, CUSA 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, as well as Notre Dame for non-football sports. 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 CUSA and the MW backed away from a full merger. As of April 2012[update], the likeliest scenario was an all-sports alliance in which both conferences retained 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 CUSA along with the one Sun Belt member (FIU), that sponsor the sport, would play under the CUSA'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 CUSA's three full members that offer the sport (UAB, Marshall, Tulsa), the two SEC members already in CUSA for the sport (Kentucky, South Carolina), and the Sun Belt's FIU.[4] However, the only MW member school that ultimately moved to CUSA men's soccer was New Mexico.
For the 2013–14 season CUSA 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 CUSA joining for men's soccer in 2005), from the Sun Belt Conference. Old Dominion, which already housed five of its sports in CUSA, 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 CUSA 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.
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 it was 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]
2014–2021
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 CUSA for the immediate future.[8] The return of football was later pushed back to 2017[9] with their first game in September.[10] The Blazers won the 2018 conference championship their second year back and won the CUSA 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.[11]
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.[12]
2020s realignment
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 CUSA members: Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA.[13] ESPN reported the next day that The American had received all six schools' applications,[14] and The American announced all six as future members on October 21, though it did not announce the effective date.[15] The entry date would eventually be confirmed as July 1, 2023.[16]
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.[17] The report added that the Sun Belt was preparing to add two other CUSA 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,[18] followed later in the week by Marshall.[19] On March 29, 2022, CUSA 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.[20]
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 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.[21][22]
On October 7, 2022, 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.[23] One week later, CUSA officially announced Kennesaw State's 2024 entry.[24]
This was followed by the Sun Belt Conference adding 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 CUSA: Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, and Louisiana–Monroe. Southern Miss also left CUSA beach volleyball as part of its full-time move to the SBC.[25] CUSA would add three new beach volleyball members for that season; Jacksonville State joined CUSA for beach volleyball in advance of full membership that July,[26] 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 CUSA as an associate member for the school's first season of varsity beach volleyball in 2024;[27] CUSA 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 CUSA beach volleyball after otherwise departing for The American.[28]
On May 10, 2023, CUSA 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, was merged into CUSA.[29] The bowling league will add Wichita State when it elevates its club team to varsity status in 2024.[30]
The conference unveiled a "brand refresh" on July 1, 2023, the same day that Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State, and Sam Houston joined. The former abbreviation of "C-USA" was retired in favor of "CUSA", and the logo was slightly updated.[31]
On November 27, 2023, Pete Thamel reported on X that Conference USA was expected to add Delaware as a new member for the 2025–26 season.[32] On Tuesday, November 28, 2023, both CUSA and Delaware announced on their websites and social the official move to make Delaware the eleventh all-sports member of the conference.[33][34] Six months later, on May 10, 2024, both CUSA and Missouri State University jointly announced on their respective websites that Missouri State would also join the league for the 2025–26 season, bringing league membership up to 12.[35][36]
Hall of Fame
In 2019, Conference USA inducted its first Hall of Fame class, comprising 20 student-athletes, three coaches, and two administrators.[37] The inductees included former University of Cincinnati basketball player Kenyon Martin, baseball player Kevin Youkilis, and men's basketball head coach Bob Huggins.[37]
Member schools
– Full member
– Future members
– Affiliate member
– Future affiliate memberhttps://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=File:Usa_edcp_location_map.svg
Current full members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Type | Enrollment | Endowment (millions) |
Nickname | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida International University | Miami, Florida[a] | 1965 | 2013[b] | Public | 58,064[38] | $276 | Panthers | |
| Jacksonville State University | Jacksonville, Alabama | 1883 | 2023[c] | 9,238 | $57 | Gamecocks | ||
| Liberty University | Lynchburg, Virginia | 1971 | 2023 | Private (Evangelical Protestant) |
95,148[39][d] | $1,714[40] | Flames & Lady Flames | |
| Louisiana Tech University | Ruston, Louisiana | 1894 | 2013 | Public | 12,467[41] | $117.9 | Bulldogs & Lady Techsters | |
| Middle Tennessee State University | Murfreesboro, Tennessee | 1911 | 21,913[42] | $108.9 | Blue Raiders | |||
| New Mexico State University | Las Cruces, New Mexico | 1888 | 2023 | 21,694[43] | $235.9 | Aggies | ||
| Sam Houston State University | Huntsville, Texas | 1879 | 21,679[44] | $152.3 | Bearkats | |||
| University of Texas at El Paso | El Paso, Texas | 1914 | 2005 | 25,151[45] | $241.7 | Miners | ||
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green, Kentucky | 1906 | 2014[e] | 19,456[46] | $209.5 | Hilltoppers & Lady Toppers |
- Notes
- ^ The FIU main campus is in the suburban Miami-Dade County community of University Park.
- ^ FIU was a men's soccer affiliate from the 2005 to 2012 fall seasons (2005–06 to 2012–13 school years).
- ^ Jacksonville State was a beach volleyball affiliate during the 2023 spring season (2022–23 school year).
- ^ Includes online students. On-campus enrollment is approximately 16,000.
- ^ Western Kentucky was an affiliate in women's swimming & diving during the 2013–14 season.
Future members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Joining | Type | Enrollment | Endowment (millions) |
Nickname | Colors | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kennesaw State University | Kennesaw, Georgia[a] | 1963 | July 1, 2024 | Public | 45,152[47] | $100[48] | Owls | ASUN | |
| University of Delaware | Newark, Delaware | 1743 | July 1, 2025 | Public[b] | 23,774[49] | $1,770[50] | Blue Hens | CAA[c] | |
| Missouri State University | Springfield, Missouri | 1905 | July 1, 2025[d] | Public | 26,000[51] | $193 | Bears Lady Bears[e] |
Missouri Valley[f] |
- Notes
- ^ The KSU campus has a Kennesaw mailing address, but is located in unincorporated Cobb County.
- ^ Delaware is officially chartered as a "privately-governed, state-assisted" institution. This status is broadly similar to that of New York State's statutory colleges, most of which are housed at Cornell University, or institutions in Pennsylvania's Commonwealth System of Higher Education.
- ^ Delaware football competes in CAA Football, which is administered by the all-sports Coastal Athletic Association but is technically a separate entity.
- ^ Missouri State has been a beach volleyball affiliate of CUSA since the 2024 spring season (2023–24 school year).
- ^ Missouri State uses Beach Bears instead of Lady Bears for its beach volleyball team, which is currently a CUSA affiliate.
- ^ Missouri State football competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, an administratively separate entity from the MVC.
Affiliate members
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.