Conference USA
Conference USA is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
History
C-USA 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. 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, C-USA 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 C-USA members departed for the Big East, including three football-playing schools and two non-football schools. Another two schools left for the Atlantic 10; TCU joined the Mountain West ; 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.
With C-USA's membership now consisting of 12 schools, all of which sponsor football, the conference adopted a two-division alignment.
2013–14 realignment
In 2013, C-USA entered its next phase with the departure of four schools 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., the likeliest scenario was an all-sports alliance in which both conferences retain separate identities. 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, 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, join C-USA's three full members that offer the sport, the two SEC members already in C-USA for the sport, and the Sun Belt's FIU. 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,, 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 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. 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.
Citing financial difficulties, the UAB football program was shut down on December 2, 2014. 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 results of the new study before any further discussions on the subject. 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. The return of football was later pushed back to 2017. The Blazers won the 2018 conference championship their second year back.
2015–present
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.Hall of Fame
In 2019, Conference USA inducted its first Hall of Fame class, comprising 20 student-athletes, three coaches, and two administrators. The inductees included former University of Cincinnati basketball player Kenyon Martin, baseball player Kevin Youkilis, and men’s basketball head coach Bob Huggins.Members
Current members
;NotesAffiliate 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.| Institution | Location | Founded | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | Joined | Sport | Primary Conference |
| Lexington, Kentucky | 1865 | 26,054 | Wildcats | 2005 | soccer | Southeastern | ||
| Columbia, South Carolina | 1801 | 28,481 | Gamecocks | 2005 | soccer | Southeastern |
Former members
;NotesFormer affiliate members
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.| Institution | Location | Founded | Nickname | Joined | Left | Sport | Primary conference |
| Tuscaloosa, Alabama | 1831 | Crimson Tide | 2009 | 2014 | rowing | Southeastern | |
| West Point, New York | 1802 | Black Knights | 1998 | 2005 | football | Patriot | |
| California State University, Bakersfield | Bakersfield, California | 1965 | Roadrunners | 2007 | 2010 | swimming & diving | Western Athletic |
| Sacramento, California | 1947 | Hornets | 2013 | 2014 | rowing | Big Sky | |
| Colorado College | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 1874 | Tigers | 2006 | 2014 | soccer | Southern Collegiate |
| Lawrence, Kansas | 1865 | Jayhawks | 2009 | 2014 | rowing | Big 12 | |
| Kansas State University | Manhattan, Kansas | 1863 | Wildcats | 2009 | 2014 | rowing | Big 12 |
| Albuquerque, New Mexico | 1889 | Lobos | 2013 | 2019 | soccer | Mountain West | |
| Grand Forks, North Dakota | 1883 | Fighting Hawks | 2008 | 2011 | swimming & diving | Big Sky | |
| Greeley, Colorado | 1889 | Bears | 2007 | 2010 | swimming & diving | Big Sky | |
| Norman, Oklahoma | 1890 | Sooners | 2009 | 2014 | rowing | Big 12 | |
| San Diego State University | San Diego, California | 1947 | Aztecs | 2013 | 2014 | rowing | Mountain West |
| Knoxville, Tennessee | 1794 | Lady Volunteers | 2009 | 2014 | rowing | Southeastern | |
| Austin, Texas | 1883 | Longhorns | 2009 | 2014 | rowing | Big 12 | |
| West Virginia University | Morgantown, West Virginia | 1867 | Mountaineers | 2012 | 2014 | rowing | Big 12 |
;Notes
Membership timeline
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bar:3 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text: ACC
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bar:9 color:FullxF from:2015 till:2017 text:
bar:9 color:Full from:2017 till:end text:
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1995 till:1996 text:Memphis
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bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text: American
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bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:American
bar:18 color:Full from:2005 till:2014 text:Tulsa
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text: American
bar:19 color:Full from:2005 till:end text:Marshall
bar:20 color:Full from:2005 till:end text:Rice
bar:21 color:Full from:2005 till:end text:UTEP
bar:22 color:AssocOS from:2005 till:end text:FIU
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bar:23 color:AssocOS from:2005 till:end text:Kentucky
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bar:26 color:Full from:2013 till:end text:Louisiana Tech
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bar:28 color:Full from:2013 till:end text:North Texas
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Commissioners
- Michael Slive 1995–2002
- Britton Banowsky 2002–2015
- Judy MacLeod 2015–present
Sports
Sports sponsored
Conference USA sponsors championship competition in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Two schools are affiliate members for men's soccer.| Sport | Men's | Women's |
| Baseball | 12 | – |
| Basketball | 14 | 14 |
| Cross Country | 12 | 13 |
| Football | 14 | – |
| Golf | 13 | 12 |
| Soccer | 8 | 14 |
| Softball | – | 12 |
| Swimming & Diving | – | 7 |
| Tennis | 8 | 14 |
| Track and Field | 10 | 13 |
| Track and Field | 10 | 13 |
| Volleyball | – | 13 |
Men's sponsored sports by school
Men's varsity sports not sponsored by Conference USA which are played by current full C-USA members:| School | Sailing | Swimming & diving | |
| Florida Atlantic | No | CCSA | No |
Women's sponsored sports by school
Women's varsity sports not sponsored by Conference USA which are played by current full C-USA members:| School | Beach volleyball | Bowling | Field hockey | Lacrosse | Rifle | Rowing | Sailing |
| FIU | CCSA | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Florida Atlantic | CCSA | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Louisiana Tech | No | SBL | No | No | No | No | No |
| Old Dominion | No | No | Big East | Big East | No | The American | MAISA |
| Southern Miss | CCSA | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| UAB | CCSA | MEAC | No | No | SoCon | No | No |
| UTEP | No | No | No | No | PRC | No | No |
Football
Conference USA uses a divisional format only for football.C-USA champions
Bowl games
The highest-ranked champion from the so-called "Group of Five" conferences 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.
| Name | Location | Stadium | Opposing Conference |
| Cotton Bowl Classic | Arlington, Texas | AT&T Stadium | at-large |
| Fiesta Bowl | Glendale, Arizona | State Farm Stadium | at-large |
| Peach Bowl | Atlanta, Georgia | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | at-large |
For the 2014–19 seasons, Conference USA is guaranteed at least five of the following bowl games.
| Name | Location | Stadium | Opposing Conference |
| Arizona Bowl | Tucson, Arizona | Arizona Stadium | Mountain West |
| Armed Forces Bowl | Fort Worth, Texas | Amon G. Carter Stadium | The American Army Big 12 Big Ten Mountain West |
| Bahamas Bowl | Nassau, Bahamas | Thomas Robinson Stadium | The American MAC Sun Belt |
| Boca Raton Bowl | Boca Raton, Florida | FAU Stadium | The American MAC |
| First Responder Bowl | Dallas, Texas | Cotton Bowl | Big 12 Big Ten |
| Frisco Bowl | Frisco, Texas | Toyota Stadium | The American |
| Hawaii Bowl | Honolulu, Hawaii | Aloha Stadium | Mountain West |
| Independence Bowl | Shreveport, Louisiana | Independence Stadium | ACC SEC |
| Miami Beach Bowl | Miami, Florida | Marlins Park | The American |
| New Mexico Bowl | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Dreamstyle Stadium | Mountain West |
| New Orleans Bowl | New Orleans, Louisiana | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | Sun Belt |
| Gasparilla Bowl | Tampa, Florida | Raymond James Stadium | The American |
Rivalries
Current or former C-USA in conference rivalries:
Men's basketball
For the current season, see 2019–20 Conference USA men's basketball season.This list goes through the 2017–18 season.
| Team | First Season | All-Time Record | All-Time Win % | NCAA Tournament Appearances | NCAA Tournament Record | Arena | Head Coach |
| UAB | 1979 | 835—511 | 15 | 10–15 | Bartow Arena | Robert Ehsan | |
| Charlotte | 1963 | 856—745 | 11 | 7–12 | Dale F. Halton Arena | Ron Sanchez | |
| Florida Atlantic | 1989 | 356—588 | 1 | 0–1 | FAU Arena | Dusty May | |
| FIU | 1982 | 448—662 | 1 | 0–1 | Ocean Bank Convocation Center | Jeremy Ballard | |
| Louisiana Tech | 1910 | 1394—1042 | 5 | 4–5 | Thomas Assembly Center | Eric Konkol | |
| Marshall | 1907 | 1524—1132 | 6 | 1–6 | Cam Henderson Center | Dan D'Antoni | |
| Middle Tennessee | 1914 | 1252—1090 | 9 | 4–9 | Murphy Center | Nick McDevitt | |
| North Texas | 1915 | 1190—1329 | 3 | 0–3 | UNT Coliseum | Grant McCasland | |
| Old Dominion | 1951 | 1199—757 | 11 | 3–11 | Ted Constant Convocation Center | Jeff Jones | |
| Rice | 1915 | 1128—1458 | 4 | 2–5 | Tudor Fieldhouse | Scott Pera | |
| Southern Miss | 1913 | 1209—1095–1 | 3 | 0–3 | Reed Green Coliseum | Doc Sadler | |
| UTEP | 1915 | 1402—1082 | 17 | 14–16 | Don Haskins Center | Rodney Terry | |
| UTSA | 1982 | 576—578 | 4 | 1–4 | Convocation Center | Steve Henson | |
| Western Kentucky | 1915 | 1815—936 | 23 | 19–24 | E. A. Diddle Arena | Rick Stansbury |
Women's basketball
This list goes through the 2012–13 season.| Team | First Season | All-Time Record | All-Time Win % | NCAA Tournament Appearances | NCAA Tournament Record | Arena | Head Coach |
| UAB | 1979 | 537–495 | 2 | 2–2 | Bartow Arena | Randy Norton | |
| Charlotte | 1976 | 537–398 | 2 | 0–2 | Dale F. Halton Arena | Cara Consuegra | |
| Florida Atlantic | 1985 | 387–419 | 1 | 0–1 | FAU Arena | Jim Jabir | |
| FIU | 1976 | 668–396 | 6 | 3–6 | Ocean Bank Convocation Center | Tiara Malcom | |
| Louisiana Tech | 1975 | 1031–244 | 27 | 65–25 | Thomas Assembly Center | Brooke Stoehr | |
| Marshall | 1970 | 591–597 | 1 | 0–1 | Cam Henderson Center | Tony Kemper | |
| Middle Tennessee | 1976 | 764–361 | 16 | 5–16 | Murphy Center | Rick Insell | |
| North Texas | 1977 | 434–602 | 1 | 0–1 | UNT Coliseum | Jalie Mitchell | |
| Old Dominion | 1970 | 959–358 | 25 | 34–24 | Ted Constant Convocation Center | Nikki McCray | |
| Rice | 1979 | 511–503 | 2 | 1–2 | Tudor Fieldhouse | Tina Langley | |
| Southern Miss | 1976 | 618–476 | 8 | 4–8 | Reed Green Coliseum | Joye Lee-McNelis | |
| UTEP | 1975 | 461–579 | 2 | 1–2 | Don Haskins Center | Kevin Baker | |
| UTSA | 1982 | 453–449 | 2 | 0–2 | Convocation Center | Kristen Holt | |
| Western Kentucky | 1914 | 848–440 | 16 | 17–16 | E. A. Diddle Arena | Greg Collins |
Baseball
Championships
Current C-USA champions
Champions from the previous school year are in italics. "RS" is regular season.Fall 2019
| Sport | School |
| Football | Florida Atlantic UAB |
| Soccer | Marshall |
| Soccer | Florida Atlantic North Texas |
| Volleyball | Western Kentucky |
| Cross Country | Middle Tennessee |
| Cross Country | Middle Tennessee |
Winter 2019–20
| Sport | School |
| Basketball | Old Dominion |
| Basketball | Rice |
| Indoor Track & Field | Middle Tennessee |
| Indoor Track & Field | UTEP |
| Swimming & Diving | FIU |
Spring 2020
| Sport | School |
| Baseball | Florida Atlantic Southern Miss |
| Softball | Louisiana Tech, North Texas Louisiana Tech |
| Outdoor Track & Field | Charlotte |
| Outdoor Track & Field | Charlotte |
| Golf | Middle Tennessee |
| Golf | UTSA |
| Tennis | Middle Tennessee |
| Tennis | Rice |
National champions
No team has won an NCAA team championship as a member of C-USA.However, the following C-USA teams have won national championships when they were not affiliated with C-USA:
| School | National titles | Sport | Years |
| FIU | 2 | Men's Soccer | 1982, 1984 |
| Louisiana Tech | 5 | Football | 1972, 1973 |
| Louisiana Tech | 5 | Women's basketball | 1981, 1982, 1988 |
| Marshall | 2 | Football | 1992, 1996 |
| North Texas | 4 | Men's golf | 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952 |
| Old Dominion | 28 | Men's basketball | 1975 |
| Old Dominion | 28 | Women's basketball | 1979, 1980, 1985 |
| Old Dominion | 28 | Women's field hockey | 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2000 |
| Old Dominion | 28 | Sailing | 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
| Rice | 1 | Baseball | 2003 |
| Southern Miss | 2 | Football | 1958, 1962 |
| UTEP | 21 | Men's basketball | 1966 |
| UTEP | 21 | Men's outdoor track and field | 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 |
| UTEP | 21 | Men's indoor track and field | 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982 |
| UTEP | 21 | Men's cross country | 1969, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 |
| Western Kentucky | 1 | Football | 2002 |
Facilities
;NotesMedia
In 2016, C-USA began a long-term television contract with lead partners ESPN and CBS Sports Network, with ESPN carrying 5 football games and the football championship game; and CBSSN carrying 6 football games, 5 basketball games, and both the men's and women's basketball championship games. C-USA also renewed and expanded its partnership with American Sports Network; owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, ASN will carry between 15 and 30 football games; between 13 and 55 men's basketball games; and between 2 and 5 women's basketball games. ASN will also carry 10 events in other C-USA sports.The conference also entered into a contract with beIN Sports for 10 football games, 10 men's and 10 women's basketball games, 12 baseball and 12 softball games, 10 men's and 10 women's soccer games, and 10 women's volleyball games.
The total values of the 2016 contracts are notably lower than those of the previous contracts.
Men's soccer associate members Kentucky and South Carolina have an agreement with their primary conference for other sports to carry all home matches online through the SEC Network service, including all Conference USA conference matches. ESPN and the SEC Network will have first rights to all C-USA home men's soccer matches featuring both schools.
In 2017 American Sports Network and Campus Insiders merged creating Stadium. Stadium's C-USA content will be available to stream on Twitter and Pluto TV. In 2017 Stadium completed a deal with Facebook to exclusively stream some C-USA football games. In 2017 C-USA entered an agreement with the streaming subscription service FloSports to stream three football games.
CUSA.tv
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." Various sports including football, basketball, and baseball will exclusively air on CUSA.tv when they are not picked up by other networks.Academics
One of the current member schools, Rice University is a member of the Association of American Universities, an organization of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. Six of the Conference's fourteen members are doctorate-granting universities with "very high research activity," the highest classification given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. A majority of the Conference's members are ranked as Tier One National Universities in U.S. News and World Report's 2020 Best Colleges rankings.| University | Affiliation | Carnegie | Endowment | US News | Forbes |
| Public | Research | N/A | 166 | 518 | |
| Public | Research | $270,933,875 | 281 | 536 | |
| Public | Research | $230,954,000 | 218 | 487 | |
| Public | Research | N/A | 272 | 389 | |
| Public | Research | $114,742,403 | RNP | N/A | |
| Public | Doctoral/Professional | $75,710,000 | RNP | 635 | |
| Public | Research | $166,591,692 | 228 | 495 | |
| Public | Research | $131,749,714 | 281 | 570 | |
| Public | Research | $240,900,000 | 263 | 551 | |
| Private | Research | $4,836,728,000 | 17 | 32 | |
| Public | Research | $68,863,000 | RNP | 575 | |
| Public | Research | N/A | RNP | 491 | |
| Public | Research | N/A | RNP | 642 | |
| Public | Doctoral/Professional | $118,396,000 | RNP | 584 |
;Notes