2025 Conference USA football season

2025 Conference USA football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	August 23 – December 5, 2025
Number of teams	12
2026 NFL draft
Regular season
CUSA Championship Game
Seasons
← 2024 2026 →

2025 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Delaware*		0	–	0					0	–	0
FIU		0	–	0					0	–	0
Jacksonville State		0	–	0					0	–	0
Kennesaw State		0	–	0					0	–	0
Liberty		0	–	0					0	–	0
Louisiana Tech		0	–	0					0	–	0
Middle Tennessee		0	–	0					0	–	0
Missouri State*		0	–	0					0	–	0
New Mexico State		0	–	0					0	–	0
Sam Houston		0	–	0					0	–	0
UTEP		0	–	0					0	–	0
Western Kentucky		0	–	0					0	–	0
Championship: December 5, 2025
* – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules As of March 7, 2025

The 2025 Conference USA football season will be the 30th season of college football play for Conference USA (CUSA). The season will begin on August 23, 2025, and conclude with the Conference Championship Game on December 5, 2025. ^[1] 12 member schools will take part in the season, which is part of the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

Previous Season

Main article: 2024 Conference USA football season

In 2024, Jacksonville State posted the best regular season record, while Western Kentucky posted the second-best record. In the conference championship game, Jacksonville State defeated Western Kentucky by a score of 52–12. Jacksonville State advanced to the Cure Bowl where they lost to MAC conference champions Ohio.

Conference realignment

For 2025, two teams – Delaware and Missouri State – will join the conference after moving up from Division I FCS. ^{[2] [3]} By NCAA rules, both teams are ineligible for post-season play while they finish their transition to the FBS level.

The 2025 season is set to be the final season for UTEP in Conference USA. UTEP accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026. ^[4]

Head coaches

• On November 10, Kennesaw State head coach Brian Bohannon announced that he was stepping down from the position, effective immediately. ^[5] On December 1, Kennesaw State announced Jerry Mack as the new head coach. Mack had previously been the running backs coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL. ^[6]
• On December 1, K. C. Keeler was announced as the new head coach of Temple in the American Athletic Conference. On December 18, 2024, Sam Houston announced Phil Longo as the new head coach for 2025. Longo had previously been the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin. ^[7]
• On December 12, Rich Rodriguez was named as the new head coach of West Virginia in the Big 12 Conference. ^[8] On December 21, 2025, Jacksonville State announced Charles Kelly as the new head coach for 2025. Kelly had previously been the co-defesnive coordinator at Auburn. ^[9]
• On December 1, FIU announced they had fired head coach Mike MacIntyre. ^[10] On December 7, FIU named Willie Simmons as their new head coach for the 2025 season. Simmons had previously been the running backs coach at Duke. ^[11]

Note: All stats shown are before the start of the 2025 season.

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	CUSA record
Delaware	Ryan Carty	4	26–11	26–11	0–0
FIU	Willie Simmons	1	66–24	0–0	0–0
Jacksonville State	Charles Kelly	1	0–0	0–0	0–0
Kennesaw State	Jerry Mack	1	31–15	0–0	0–0
Liberty	Jamey Chadwell	3	119–62	21–5	13–3
Louisiana Tech	Sonny Cumbie	4	13–29	11–26	8–16
Middle Tennessee	Derek Mason	2	30–64	3–9	2–6
Missouri State	Ryan Beard	3	12–11	12–11	0–0
New Mexico State	Tony Sanchez	2	23–49	3–9	2–6
Sam Houston	Phil Longo	1	7–14	0–0	0–0
UTEP	Scotty Walden	2	37–29	3–9	3–4
Western Kentucky	Tyson Helton	7	48–32	48–32	34–13

Rankings

		Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Final
Delaware	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
FIU	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Jacksonville State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Kennesaw State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Liberty	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Louisiana Tech	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Middle Tennessee	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Missouri State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
New Mexico State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Sam Houston	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
UTEP	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Western Kentucky	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released

Legend

		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

Schedule

The 2025 schedule was released on February 6, 2025. ^[1]

Index to colors and formatting
CUSA member won
CUSA member lost
CUSA teams in bold

Week 0

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
August 23		Sam Houston	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 1

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
August 28		Jacksonville State	UCF	FBC Mortgage Stadium • Orlando, FL
August 28		Delaware State	Delaware	Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE (Route 1 Rivalry)
August 29		Kennesaw State	Wake Forest	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium • Winston-Salem, NC
August 30		TBA	FIU	Pitbull Stadium • Miami, FL
August 30		Maine	Liberty	Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA
August 30		Southeastern Louisiana	Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA
August 30		Austin Peay	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN
August 30		Missouri State	USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA
August 30		Bryant	New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM
August 30		UNLV	Sam Houston	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX
August 30		UTEP	Utah State	Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT
August 30		North Alabama	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 2

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 6		Delaware	Colorado	Folsom Field • Boulder, CO
September 6		FIU	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA
September 6		Liberty	Jacksonville State	AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, AL
September 6		Kennesaw State	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN
September 6		Louisiana Tech	LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA
September 6		Middle Tennessee	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI
September 6		Missouri State	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV
September 6		Tulsa	New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM
September 6		Sam Houston	Hawaii	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI
September 6		UT Martin	UTEP	Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX
September 6		Western Kentucky	Toledo	Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 3

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 13		UConn	Delaware	Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE
September 13		Florida Atlantic	FIU	Pitbull Stadium • Miami, FL (Shula Bowl)
September 13		Jacksonville State	Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA
September 13		Merrimack	Kennesaw State	Fifth Third Stadium • Kennesaw, GA
September 13		Liberty	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH
September 13		New Mexico State	Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA
September 13		Middle Tennessee	Nevada	Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV
September 13		SMU	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO
September 13		UTEP	Texas	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 4

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 20		Delaware	FIU	Pitbull Stadium • Miami, FL
September 20		Murray State	Jacksonville State	AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, AL
September 20		Arkansas State	Kennesaw State	Fifth Third Stadium • Kennesaw, GA
September 20		James Madison	Liberty	Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA
September 20		Southern Miss	Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA (Rivalry in Dixie)
September 20		Marshall	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN
September 20		UT Martin	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO
September 20		Sam Houston	Texas	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX
September 20		Louisiana–Monroe	UTEP	Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX
September 20		Nevada	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 27		Jacksonville State	Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS
September 27		Middle Tennessee	Kennesaw State	Fifth Third Stadium • Kennesaw, GA
September 27		Liberty	Old Dominion	S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA
September 27		Louisiana Tech	UTEP	Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX
September 27		Western Kentucky	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO
September 27		New Mexico State	New Mexico	University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM (Rio Grande Rivalry)
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 2		Sam Houston	New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM
October 3		Western Kentucky	Delaware	Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE
October 4		FIU	UConn	Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 7

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 8		Liberty	UTEP	Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX
October 8		Missouri State	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN
October 9		Jacksonville State	Sam Houston	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX
October 9		Louisiana Tech	Kennesaw State	Fifth Third Stadium • Kennesaw, GA
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 8

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 14		FIU	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY
October 14		New Mexico State	Liberty	Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA
October 15		Delaware	Jacksonville State	AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, AL
October 15		UTEP	Sam Houston	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 9

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 21		Kennesaw State	FIU	Pitbull Stadium • Miami, FL
October 21		Western Kentucky	Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA
October 22		Middle Tennessee	Delaware	Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE
October 22		Missouri State	New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 10

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 28		UTEP	Kennesaw State	Fifth Third Stadium • Kennesaw, GA
October 28		Sam Houston	Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA
October 29		FIU	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO
October 29		Jacksonville State	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN
November 1		Delaware	Liberty	Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA
November 1		New Mexico State	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 11

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 8		Louisiana Tech	Delaware	Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE
November 8		FIU	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN
November 8		Jacksonville State	UTEP	Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX
November 8		Kennesaw State	New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM
November 8		Missouri State	Liberty	Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA
November 8		Sam Houston	Oregon State	Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 12

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 15		Delaware	Sam Houston	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX
November 15		Liberty	FIU	Pitbull Stadium • Miami, FL
November 15		Kennesaw State	Jacksonville State	AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, AL
November 15		Louisiana Tech	Washington State	Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA
November 15		Middle Tennessee	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY (100 Miles of Hate)
November 15		UTEP	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO
November 15		New Mexico State	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 13

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 22		Delaware	Wake Forest	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium • Winston-Salem, NC
November 22		Jacksonville State	FIU	Pitbull Stadium • Miami, FL
November 22		Missouri State	Kennesaw State	Fifth Third Stadium • Kennesaw, GA
November 22		Liberty	Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA
November 22		Sam Houston	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN
November 22		New Mexico State	UTEP	Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX (Battle of I-10)
November 22		Western Kentucky	LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 14

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 29		UTEP	Delaware	Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE
November 29		FIU	Sam Houston	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX
November 29		Western Kentucky	Jacksonville State	AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, AL
November 29		Kennesaw State	Liberty	Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA
November 29		Louisiana Tech	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO
November 29		Middle Tennessee	New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Conference Championship Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 5				TBD • TBD
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

1. "CUSA Announces 2025 Football Schedule". conferenceusa.com. Conference USA. February 6, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
2. "CUSA Adds Delaware, Blue Hens to Join in 2025". Conference USA. November 28, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
3. "CUSA Adds Missouri State, Bears to Join in 2025" (Press release). Conference USA. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
4. Wheeler, Wyatt D. (October 1, 2024). "Conference USA loses UTEP to Mountain West. What's next for Missouri State's new league?". www.news-leader.com. Springfield News-Leader . Retrieved March 6, 2025.
5. "Kennesaw State Head Football Coach Brian Bohannon Steps Down After 10 Seasons". ksuowls.com. Kennesaw State University Athletics. November 10, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
6. "Mack Named Kennesaw State Football Head Coach". ksuowls.com. Kennesaw State University Athletics. December 1, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
7. "Longo hired as Bearkat head coach" (Press release). Sam Houston Bearkats. December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
8. "Rich Rodriguez Named West Virginia's 36th Football Coach". wvusports.com. December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
9. "Jax State Names Charles Kelly as Head Football Coach". jaxstatesports.com (Press release). Jacksonville State Gamecocks. December 21, 2024. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
10. Peery, Wade (December 1, 2024). "FIU fires head football coach Mike MacIntyre". On3. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
11. Villa, Walter (December 7, 2024). "FIU football hires former FAMU coach Willie Simmons for vacant head coaching job". Miami Herald . Retrieved December 7, 2024.