Metro Conference

Last updated
Metro Conference
Metro Conference logo.gif
Association NCAA
Founded1975
Ceased1995
Division Division I
No. of teams7 (final), 13 (total)
Locations
Metro Conference-USA-states.png

The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members did not follow that pattern. The conference was centered in the Upper South with some strength in the Deep South. The conference never sponsored football, although most of its members throughout its history had Division I-A football programs (from 1983 to 1991, all Metro schools had independent football programs). In 1995, it merged with the Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA. The merger was driven mainly by football, as several Metro Conference members had been successfully lured to larger conferences that sponsored the sport.

Contents

The conference was popularly known as the "Metro 6" during its first season, then as the "Metro 7" during the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s. For most of its existence, it was considered a "major" conference.

History

The Metro Conference was founded in 1975 with institutions that were located in urban metropolitan areas. The charter members were the University of Cincinnati, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Louisville, Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis), Saint Louis University and Tulane University. Florida State University joined in 1976, while the University of South Carolina turned down an invitation in hopes of rejoining the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In 1978, Georgia Tech left the Metro for the Atlantic Coast Conference, effective on July 1, 1979; and Virginia Tech took its spot. In 1982, Saint Louis left to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now known as the Horizon League; while the University of Southern Mississippi took its spot in that same year. The University of South Carolina later joined in 1983. In 1985, West Virginia University was in talks to replace Tulane, which had suspended its men’s basketball program due to a points shaving scandal. Ultimately, West Virginia officials decided to remain in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

In 1991, Florida State joined the ACC, and then South Carolina joined the Southeastern Conference. However, South Carolina re-joined the Metro for 1993 and 1994 men's soccer seasons in that sport only, because the SEC did not (and still does not) offer the sport for men (four schools were required to sponsor a sport; the SEC had just three, now two). Charter members Cincinnati and Memphis State also left the Metro in 1991 to become charter members of the Great Midwest. To replace them, three of the stronger non-football schools from the Sun Belt Conference (the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of South Florida and Virginia Commonwealth University) shifted to the Metro.

In 1993, the Metro and Great Midwest conferences began reunification talks that led to the creation of C-USA. However, the Virginia schools filed a lawsuit in order to prevent the merger from happening, which ultimately failed. VCU joined the Colonial Athletic Association. Virginia Tech (which was banking on an invitation to join the Big East Conference) was left out of Conference USA, and joined the Atlantic 10 Conference (it later joined the Big East in 2000 and is now in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 2004). It was joined by Great Midwest member Dayton, which was intrigued by the prospect of playing against regional rival Xavier.

Initially, South Carolina was not permitted to participate in Conference USA for men's soccer, although it was admitted ten years later, also bringing along Kentucky, the only other men's soccer school in the SEC (coincidentally, Tulane was a longtime SEC member from 1932 until 1966). Until 2021–22 season, South Carolina men's soccer was the last link of the Metro Conference with the reunified Conference USA, although West Virginia, which rejected Metro membership in 1985, was supposed to join Conference USA for men's soccer in 2022 but with the 2021–22 NCAA conference realignment, the Conference USA lost almost all of their men's soccer members, consequently they were forced to drop the sport and South Carolina, Kentucky and West Virginia joined the Sun Belt Conference in men's soccer.

Proposed super conference

The Metro Conference also had studies into a new "Super conference" in 1990. The study was conducted by Raycom Sports. The conference would have included members of the Metro, Atlantic 10, and Big East conferences, but it was not clear if the conference would become a football-sponsoring conference as many of its members did in fact sponsor football but were either independents or belonged to other conferences. The original study plan also included Penn State. [1]

North DivisionSouth Division
Boston CollegeEast Carolina
CincinnatiFlorida State
PittsburghLouisville
RutgersMemphis State
SyracuseMiami
TempleSouth Carolina
Virginia TechSouthern Mississippi
West VirginiaTulane

Member schools

Charter members

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedLeftSubsequent
conference(s)
Current
conference
University of Cincinnati [lower-alpha 1] Cincinnati, Ohio 1819Public41,357 Bearcats 19751991 Great Midwest
(1991–95)
Conf. USA (C-USA)
(1995–2005)
original Big East
(2005–13)
The American
(2013–2023)
Big 12
(2023–present)
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia 1885Public21,557 Yellow Jackets 19751978 Atlantic Coast (ACC)
(1978–present)
University of Louisville [lower-alpha 1] Louisville, Kentucky 1798Public22,249 Cardinals 19752005 Conf. USA (C-USA)
(1995–2005)
original Big East
(2005–13)
The American
(2013–14)
Atlantic Coast (ACC)
(2014–present)
Memphis State University [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] Memphis, Tennessee 1912Public22,365 Tigers 19751991 Great Midwest
(1991–95)
Conf. USA (C-USA)
(1995–2013)
The American
(2013–present)
Saint Louis University [lower-alpha 1] St. Louis, Missouri 1818 Catholic
(Jesuit)
13,785 Billikens 19751982 Horizon
(1982–91)
Great Midwest
(1991–95)
Conf. USA (C-USA)
(1995–2005)
Atlantic 10 (A-10)
(2005–present)
Tulane University [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 3] New Orleans, Louisiana 1834Nonsectarian13,359 Green Wave 1975,
1989
1985,
2013
Conf. USA (C-USA)
(1995–2014)
The American
(2014–present)
Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 School was charter member of Conference USA, but has since left for another conference. South Florida, Memphis, Cincinnati and Tulane are now members of the American Athletic Conference (Cincinnati will leave The American for the Big 12 in 2023).
  2. Formerly known as Memphis State University until 1994.
  3. From 1985 through 1989, Tulane dropped its men's basketball program after a point shaving scandal and was expelled from the conference. It was re-admitted in 1989 when it reinstated men's basketball.

Later members

InstitutionLocationFoundedAffiliationEnrollmentNicknameJoinedLeftSubsequent
conference(s)
Current
conference
Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 1851Public41,710 Seminoles 19761991 Atlantic Coast (ACC)
(1991–present)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia 1872Public31,087 Hokies 19781995 Atlantic 10 (A-10)
(1995–2000)
original Big East
(2000–04)
Atlantic Coast (ACC)
(2004–present)
University of Southern Mississippi [lower-alpha 1] Hattiesburg, Mississippi 1910Public17,968 Golden Eagles 19822023 Conf. USA (C-USA)
(1995–2022)
Sun Belt
(2022–present)
University of South Carolina [lower-alpha 2] Columbia, South Carolina 1801Public30,967 Gamecocks 19831991 Southeastern (SEC)
(1991–present)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 4] Charlotte, North Carolina 1946Public25,277 49ers 19912005 Conf. USA (C-USA)
(1995–2005, 2013–2023)
Atlantic 10 (A-10)
(2005–13)
The American
(2023–present)
University of South Florida [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 4] Tampa, Florida 1956Public47,122 Bulls 19912005 Conf. USA (C-USA)
(1995–2005)
original Big East
(2005–13)
The American
(2013–present)
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia 1818Public31,899 Rams 19911995 Colonial (CAA)
(1995–2012)
Atlantic 10 (A-10)
(2012–present)
Notes
  1. Southern Mississippi remains in the reunified Conference USA for all sports, but will leave for the Sun Belt in mid-2022.
  2. After leaving the Metro Conference in 1991, South Carolina played two seasons as an independent in men's soccer, as the Southeastern Conference does not sponsor men's soccer. They rejoined the Metro for the sport only in 1993, but was not invited as part of reunification. When the program rejoined C-USA in 2005, Kentucky, the other remaining SEC school with men's soccer, left the Mid-American Conference to follow their SEC brethren.
  3. 1 2 School left Conference USA, but has since returned. Charlotte was one of C-USA's charter members but left in 2005 to join Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 Conference. After announcing football to begin play in 2013, Charlotte rejoined C-USA in all sports except football, which underwent a two-year transitional membership. The school began football play in 2015 but was only conditionally eligible for postseason play that year.
  4. 1 2 Non-football school at the time but has since added football, first year of play listed (South Florida began football in 2003 and Charlotte began in 2015).

Membership timeline

Atlantic 10 ConferenceColonial Athletic AssociationVirginia Commonwealth UniversityAmerican Athletic ConferenceBig East Conference (1979–2013)Conference USAUniversity of South FloridaAmerican Athletic ConferenceConference USAAtlantic 10 ConferenceConference USAUniversity of North Carolina at CharlotteSoutheastern ConferenceUniversity of South CarolinaSun Belt ConferenceConference USAUniversity of Southern MississippiAtlantic Coast ConferenceBig East Conference (1979–2013)Atlantic 10 ConferenceVirginia TechAtlantic Coast ConferenceFlorida State UniversityAmerican Athletic ConferenceConference USAPoint shavingTulane UniversityAtlantic 10 ConferenceConference USAGreat Midwest ConferenceHorizon LeagueSaint Louis UniversityAmerican Athletic ConferenceConference USAGreat Midwest ConferenceUniversity of MemphisAtlantic Coast ConferenceAmerican Athletic ConferenceBig East Conference (1979–2013)Conference USAUniversity of LouisvilleBig 12 ConferenceAmerican Athletic ConferenceBig East Conference (1979–2013)Conference USAGreat Midwest ConferenceUniversity of CincinnatiAtlantic Coast ConferenceGeorgia Institute of TechnologyMetro Conference

Notes:

1. Because the Southeastern Conference does not sponsor men's soccer, South Carolina was an independent from the 1991 to 1992 fall season, then rejoined the Metro for the 1993 and 1994 fall seasons.

Championships

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conference USA</span> US college sports conference

Conference USA is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Conference</span> American collegiate athletic conference

The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Atlantic Conference</span>

The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a football-only conference and became an all-sports conference beginning with the 1989–90 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal Athletic Association</span> US collegiate athletic conference

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Midwest Conference</span>

The Great Midwest Conference was an NCAA Division I athletics conference that existed from 1991 to 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Five conferences</span> Group of top-level American college football conferences

The Power Five conferences are the five most prominent and highest-earning 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, are guaranteed at least one bid to a New Year's Six bowl game, and have been granted autonomy from certain NCAA rules. The Power Five conferences are the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and Southeastern Conference (SEC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Carolina Gamecocks</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of South Carolina

The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conference Carolinas</span> American college athletic conference

Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) primarily at the Division II level. It is also considered as one of the seven Division I conferences for men's volleyball. Originally formed in 1930, the league reached its modern incarnation in 1994. Member institutions are located in the southeastern United States in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The Conference Carolinas membership currently consists of 14 small colleges or universities, 12 private and two public.

The Charlotte 49ers are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer</span> Team of the University of South Carolina

The South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer team represents the University of South Carolina and, as of the 2022 college soccer season, competes in the Sun Belt Conference. The team is coached by Tony Annan, who succeeded Mark Berson as head coach after the 2020 season. Berson had been the Gamecocks' only head coach since the program's inception in 1978 and had participated in 20 NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Quarterfinals on four occasions. Since 1981, South Carolina has played its home games at Stone Stadium, which is affectionately called "The Graveyard" by South Carolina fans due to an adjoining cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 NCAA conference realignment</span>

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 Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to Conference USA's (C-USA) most outstanding player. The award was first given following C-USA's inaugural 1995–96 season. Two players have received the award multiple times: Danny Fortson and Steve Logan. Coincidentally, both players attended the University of Cincinnati. Another Bearcat, Kenyon Martin, won the C-USA Player of the Year award the same season he was selected as the consensus national player of the year (2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment</span>

The 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment refers to 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer</span> American college soccer team

The Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of the University of Kentucky (UK).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain East Conference</span> U.S. college athletic conference

The Mountain East Conference (MEC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and officially began competition on September 1, 2013. It consists of 11 schools, mostly in West Virginia with other members in Maryland and Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Athletic Conference</span> US college sports conference

The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as the American, is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 14 member universities and five 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 universities of various enrollment sizes located primarily in urban metropolitan areas in the Northeastern, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SEC Derby</span>

The SEC Derby is the set of matches between the University of Kentucky Wildcats and University of South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer teams. Since the 2022 season, it has been a conference matchup in the Sun Belt Conference. Both programs had been single-sport members of Conference USA (C-USA) from 2005 through the 2021 season. Both teams are the only colleges in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) which sponsor men's soccer, which the conference does not sponsor as an indirect consequence of Title IX restrictions. South Carolina had started its program in 1978 while an independent, and UK started its program in 1991. From 1991 to 2004, UK had been a Mid-American Conference member for men's soccer only. Despite having joined the Metro Conference in 1983, South Carolina continued to play men's soccer as an independent, not joining for that sport until 1993, two years after the rest of its athletic program had joined the SEC. The Gamecocks also played in the Metro in that league's final men's soccer season of 1994. The following year, C-USA was created with the merger of the Metro with the Great Midwest Conference, a league that had been formed in 1991 by a group of schools that included three charter Metro members. South Carolina was not invited to remain as a men's soccer member after the merger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–2024 NCAA conference realignment</span> Changes in US college athletic conferences

Beginning in the 2021–22 academic year, extensive changes occurred in NCAA conference membership, primarily at the Division I level.

References

  1. Smith, Michael (26 September 2011). "History lesson: Super-conference concept rooted in 1990 proposal". Sports Business Daily . Street and Smith's Sports Group . Retrieved 27 May 2013.