The 2010–13 Conference USA realignment refers to Conference USA (C-USA) dealing with several proposed and actual conference expansion and reduction plans among various NCAA conferences and institutions from 2010 to 2013.
On October 14, 2011 Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference announced they would enter into a football-only alliance, forming a 22-team league. [1] The league would span 15 states and 5 time zones.
However, following further defections from both conferences, the two leagues decided to enter into talks on a full merger. In early February 2012, ESPN.com reported that the C-USA board of directors was to meet to discuss the merger. This topic had been on the agenda even before the recent announcement that C-USA charter member Memphis had accepted an invitation from the Big East. [2] The two conferences then met on February 12, with media reporting the following day that an official announcement of a full merger was imminent. It was reported at the time that the new conference could begin as early as 2013–14. [3]
C-USA and the MW initially wished to dissolve and form a new association in order to negotiate new television deals. However, the NCAA told the conferences that if they merged, the new league would receive only one automatic bid to NCAA championships; at least one of the merging conferences would not receive its share of so-called "tournament units" (explained below); and at least one of the merging conferences would forfeit its conference exit fees to the departing schools. [4] Conferences receive roughly $250,000 for each round that a member advances in the NCAA men's basketball tournament; the money is paid out after a rolling six-year period. [5] In the event of a dissolution or merger, tournament units revert to the schools that earned them. [5] The revenue loss to the two conferences potentially outweighed any possible gains from a new broadcast deal. [5]
With the option of a complete merger now likely off the table, the commissioners of both C-USA and the MW indicated that all 16 schools that had been committed to those conferences beyond 2013 (15 for all sports, and Hawaiʻi for football only) had entered into binding agreements to form a new alliance. In addition, five subgroups of school presidents had been working on various aspects of the alliance since mid-February. Finally, both commissioners stated that they expected the future membership of their conferences to be set by early June 2012. [6]
On March 12, CBSSports.com reported, citing "college football industry sources", that the MW and C-USA had been in contact with as many as 11 schools regarding the new alliance, including all seven schools that would be football members of the WAC in 2012. Other schools reportedly interested in the alliance included Sun Belt Conference members Florida Atlantic, FIU and North Texas, plus C-USA charter member Charlotte, then a non-football school in the Atlantic 10 but with plans to add a football program in 2013. [7] The following month, CBSSports.com reported that Utah State and San Jose State were the likeliest candidates for MW membership, with the possibility of UTEP switching from C-USA to the MW. [5] It also indicated that FIU, North Texas, and Louisiana Tech—the last of which was also being courted by the Sun Belt—were the top candidates for C-USA. [5]
Due to defections from the MW earlier in the realignment cycle, it had to expand to maintain its FBS status. The NCAA requires that FBS conferences sponsor at least six men's sports and eight women's sports, with at least six schools in each sport. As of April 2012, the MW did not have enough schools committed to the conference beyond 2013 to sponsor championships in baseball and men's cross country. C-USA also needed to expand if it wished to continue sponsoring women's swimming and diving. [5]
On May 4, no fewer than seven schools announced moves to one of the two conferences. Charlotte, FIU, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, and UTSA will join C-USA, [8] with Utah State and San Jose State joining the MW. [9] All moves will take effect in 2013. In addition, Old Dominion, an all-sports member of the CAA, including football, was reportedly considering an invitation from C-USA, which would also require an FBS upgrade. [10] A later report indicated that Old Dominion would announce its decision no later than June 30. [11] The Mountain West reportedly chose not to expand beyond 10 schools because it wanted to keep places open for Boise State and San Diego State to return if their football moves to the Big East did not work out. [12]
Old Dominion announced its move to C-USA on May 17. The Monarchs will not start their FBS transition until the 2013 season, matching the plans of fellow C-USA newcomer Charlotte. Both will become C-USA football members in 2015, when their FBS transitions are complete. [13] At the time, this gave the conference 14 members in 2013 for all sports except football; as a result, C-USA was expected to split into divisions for all sports (it already uses divisions in football). The dividing line will reportedly be the Mississippi River, with Tulane, located on the east bank of the river in New Orleans, joining the West Division. Since C-USA will continue to have at least 12 football members, its football championship game will continue for the foreseeable future. As for the CAA, reports indicated that it may pursue Davidson and Charleston from the Southern Conference. [14] The conference ultimately invited both schools in October 2012; it was turned down by Davidson (who eventually agreed to join the Atlantic 10 Conference), but Charleston was expected to accept, [15] and went on to officially join the CAA. [16]
In the wake of the Big East losing Rutgers and another school (Louisville a few days later), the Big East raided Conference USA and invited Tulane and East Carolina (football only) to join the conference and they accepted. [17] Later in 2013 after the Big East non-football members decided to split and form a new conference East Carolina was invited as a full member to start with the 2014 season. [18] [19] Later on in November 28, 2012, rumors popped up that Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic of the Sun Belt would be invited to replace those schools. [20] These rumors proved to be accurate; the following day, C-USA announced that both schools would join the conference no later than 2014. [21] On January 18, 2013, CBS Sports reported that C-USA had reached an agreement for Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic to join in July 2013, a year earlier than originally planned. [22] C-USA officially announced the change in plans on January 22. [23]
Less than a week after ECU accepted the full-membership invite to the renamed conference (which would eventually choose the name American Athletic Conference), C-USA added Western Kentucky to start membership in 2014, bringing the conference into that state for the first time since Louisville left in 2005. C-USA was preparing to lose Tulsa to The American, which was confirmed the next day.
| School | Sport(s) | Former conference | New conference | Date move was announced | Expected year move takes effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCF Knights | Full membership | C-USA | The American [24] | December 7, 2011 | 2013 [25] |
| Houston Cougars | Full membership | C-USA | The American [24] | December 7, 2011 | 2013 [25] |
| SMU Mustangs | Full membership | C-USA | The American [24] | December 7, 2011 | 2013 [25] |
| Memphis Tigers | Full membership | C-USA | The American [24] | February 8, 2012 | 2013 [26] |
| Charlotte 49ers | Full membership | Atlantic 10 | C-USA | May 4, 2012 | 2013 [8] |
| FIU Panthers | Full membership | Sun Belt | C-USA | May 4, 2012 | 2013 [8] |
| Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters | Full membership | WAC | C-USA | May 4, 2012 | 2013 [8] |
| North Texas Mean Green | Full membership | Sun Belt | C-USA | May 4, 2012 | 2013 [8] |
| UTSA Roadrunners | Full membership | WAC [27] | C-USA | May 4, 2012 | 2013 [8] |
| Old Dominion Monarchs | Full membership | CAA | C-USA | May 17, 2012 | 2013 [14] |
| New Mexico Lobos | Men's soccer | MPSF | C-USA | September 4, 2012 [28] | 2013 |
| Old Dominion Monarchs and Lady Monarchs | Men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, women's rowing | CAA | C-USA | September 4, 2012 [28] | 2012 |
| East Carolina Pirates | Football | C-USA | The American [24] | November 27, 2012 | 2014 [29] |
| Tulane Green Wave | Full membership | C-USA | The American [24] | November 27, 2012 | 2014 [29] |
| Florida Atlantic Owls | Full membership | Sun Belt | C-USA | November 29, 2012 [30] | 2013 [31] |
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders | Full membership | Sun Belt | C-USA | November 29, 2012 [30] | 2013 [31] |
| Sacramento State Hornets | Women's rowing | WIRA | C-USA | March 6, 2013 | 2013 [32] |
| San Diego State Aztecs | Women's rowing | WIRA | C-USA | March 6, 2013 | 2013 [32] |
| East Carolina Pirates | Full membership | C-USA | The American [24] | March 27, 2013 | 2014 [33] |
| Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers | Full membership | Sun Belt | C-USA | April 1, 2013 | 2014 [34] |
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane | Full membership | C-USA | The American [24] | April 2, 2013 | 2014 [35] |
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.
The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on January 4, 1999. Geographically, the MW covers a broad expanse of the Western United States, with member schools located in California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as an associate member in Hawaii. Gloria Nevarez took over as Commissioner of the MW on January 1, 2023, following the retirement of founding commissioner Craig Thompson.
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The 14 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed across the Southern United States.
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions whose football programs are not part of an NCAA-affiliated conference. This means that FBS independents are not required to schedule each other for competition like conference schools do.
The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located mostly on the East Coast and Midwest of the United States: Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states, from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universities, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond. The CAA was historically a Southern conference until the addition of four schools in the Northeastern United States after the turn of the 21st century, which added geographic balance to the conference.
The Power Five conferences are the five most prominent athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, the highest level of collegiate football in the nation, and are considered the most elite conferences within that tier. The Power Five conferences have provided nearly all of the participants in the College Football Playoff since its inception, and generally have larger revenue, budgets, and television viewership than other college athletic programs.
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of the 2024 season, there are 10 conferences and 134 schools in FBS.
The 2005 NCAA conference realignment was initiated by the movement of three Big East Conference teams to the Atlantic Coast Conference, which set events into motion that created a realignment in college football, as 23 teams changed conferences and Army became an independent.
The 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment was a set of extensive changes in conference membership at all three levels of NCAA competition—Division I, Division II, and Division III—beginning in the 2010–11 academic year.
The 2010–13 Big East Conference realignment refers to the Big East Conference dealing with several proposed and actual conference expansion and reduction plans among various NCAA conferences and institutions. Following on the 2005 NCAA conference realignment, resulting in the move of 23 teams across various conferences after an initial raid of three Big East teams, the Big East was severely impacted in the follow-up 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment. Beginning in the 2010–11 academic year and continuing into 2013, 13 Big East schools announced their departure for other conferences and 13 other schools announced plans to join the conference, but three of the latter group later backed out of their plans to join. Most notably, the seven schools that did not sponsor football in Division I FBS announced in December 2012 that they would leave as a group, which led to a formal split of the conference effective in July 2013.
The 2010–13 Mountain West Conference realignment refers to the Mountain West Conference dealing with several proposed and actual conference expansion and reduction plans among various NCAA conferences and institutions from 2010 to 2013. Moves that involved the MW were part of a much larger NCAA conference realignment in which the MW was one of the more impacted conferences. During this period, four schools that had been members at the beginning of the realignment cycle announced plans to join other conferences, and six schools announced plans to join the conference. Two schools—one a pre-2010 member, and the other joining during the cycle—had announced their upcoming departure, but later decided to stay in the MW.
The 2010–13 Western Athletic Conference realignment refers to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) dealing with several proposed and actual conference expansion and reduction plans among various NCAA conferences and institutions from 2010 to 2013. Moves involving the WAC were a significant part of a much larger NCAA conference realignment in which it was one of the most impacted conferences. Of the nine members of the WAC in 2010, only two—the University of Idaho and New Mexico State University—remained in the conference beyond the 2012–13 school year, and Idaho departed for the Big Sky Conference after the 2013–14 school year. Five pre-2010 members are now all-sports members of the Mountain West Conference (MW), and another joined the MW for football only while placing most of its other sports in the Big West Conference. Another pre-2010 member joined Conference USA (C-USA) in July 2013.
The 2010–13 Sun Belt Conference realignment refers to the Sun Belt Conference dealing with several proposed and actual conference expansion and reduction plans among various NCAA conferences and institutions from 2010 to 2013.
The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as the American, is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States featuring 13 full member universities and six affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Member universities represent a range of private and public research universities of various enrollment sizes located primarily in urban metropolitan areas in the Northeastern, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States.
The 2010–13 Atlantic 10 Conference realignment refers to the Atlantic 10 Conference dealing with several proposed and actual conference expansion and reduction plans among various NCAA conferences and institutions from 2010 to 2013. Moves that involved the Atlantic 10 Conference were part of a much larger NCAA conference realignment.
The 2010–2013 Colonial Athletic Association realignment refers to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), renamed in 2023 to the Coastal Athletic Association, and Colonial Athletic Association Football Conference dealing with several proposed and actual conference expansion and reduction plans among various NCAA conferences and institutions from 2010 to 2013. Some moves affected only the all-sports CAA; others affected only CAA Football; and still others affected both sides of the CAA. Moves that involved the overall CAA were part of a much larger NCAA conference realignment.
The 2013 Conference USA football season is an NCAA football season that was played from August 2013 through January 2014. The 2013 football season marked the 19th season of the conference's existence and 18th of football competition; although C-USA was established in 1995, it did not begin football competition until 1996.
Beginning in the 2021–22 academic year, extensive changes occurred in NCAA conference membership, primarily at the Division I level.
| Full members |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Future members |
| |
| Baseball affiliate members | ||
| Beach volleyball affiliate members |
| |
| Bowling affiliate members | ||
| History | ||
| General |  | |
|---|---|---|
| BCS Automatic Qualifier | ||
| Non-Automatic Qualifier | ||
| FCS Conferences | ||
| Non-Football Conferences | ||