Conference USA
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Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I, and in Division I-A for football. C-USA was generally considered to be among the best mid-major (non-BCS) conferences in the country before it was affected by conference realignment in 2005.
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. The conference immediately started competition in all sports, including football.
C-USA's offices are located in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas, specifically in the Las Colinas business district.
Sports sponsored
Member schools participate in football, men's and women's basketball, volleyball, baseball, cross country, golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming, tennis and track and field.Member schools
The conference saw radical changes for the 2005–06 academic year. The stage for these changes was set in 2003, when the Atlantic Coast Conference successfully lured Miami and Virginia Tech to make a move from the Big East Conference in 2004. Boston College would later make the same move, joining the ACC in 2005. In response to that series of moves, which depleted the Big East football conference, the Big East looked to Conference USA to attract replacements. Five C-USA members departed for the Big East, including three football-playing schools (Cincinnati, Louisville, and USF) - the other two were non-football programs, (DePaul and Marquette). Another two schools, (Charlotte and Saint Louis) left for the Atlantic 10; Texas Christian University joined the Mountain West; and a ninth member, Army, which was C-USA football-only, opted to become an independent in that sport.
With the loss of these teams, C-USA was forced to lure six teams from other conferences: Central Florida 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 has adopted a two-division alignment:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) | Birmingham, Alabama | 1969 | Public | 16,693 |
| University of Central Florida (UCF) | Orlando, Florida | 1963 | Public | 45,090 |
| East Carolina University | Greenville, North Carolina | 1907 | Public | 24,075 |
| University of Houston | Houston, Texas | 1927 | Public | 35,180 |
| Marshall University | Huntington, West Virginia | 1837 | Public | 16,400 |
| University of Memphis | Memphis, Tennessee | 1912 | Public | 20,668 |
| Rice University | Houston, Texas | 1891 | Private/Non-sectarian | 4,835 |
| Southern Methodist University | University Park, Texas | 1911 | Private/Methodist | 10,901 |
| The University of Southern Mississippi | Hattiesburg, Mississippi | 1910 | Public | 15,050 |
| University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) | El Paso, Texas | 1914 | Public | 18,918 |
| Tulane University | New Orleans, Louisiana | 1834 | Private/Non-sectarian | 13,214 |
| University of Tulsa | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 1894 | Private/Presbyterian | 4,174 |
C-USA
Former members
The schools that departed in 2005 were:
- Big East:
- *University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati Bearcats)
- *DePaul University non-football member (DePaul Blue Demons)
- *University of Louisville (Louisville Cardinals)
- *Marquette University non-football member (Marquette Golden Eagles)
- *University of South Florida (USF Bulls)
- Atlantic Ten:
- *University of North Carolina at Charlotte non-football member (Charlotte 49ers)
- *Saint Louis University non-football member (Saint Louis Billikens)
- Mountain West:
- *Texas Christian University (TCU Horned Frogs)
- Independent:
- *United States Military Academy football only (Army Black Knights)
Conference USA Men's Soccer Only Members
Because men's soccer is not sponsored by all major conferences, three schools in other conferences are C-USA members for men's soccer.
Sun Belt Conference Member
Southeastern Conference Members (Both members are the only SEC schools which play the sport.)
Television
In 2005, C-USA began a long-term exclusive television contract with College Sports Television to carry a variety of sports. The deal replaced one it had with ESPN and ESPN Plus. The college basketball men's championship game can be seen on CBS Sports.Conference facilities
| School | Football stadium | Stadium capacity | Basketball arena | Arena capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAB | Legion Field | 71,594 | Bartow Arena | 8,508 |
| UCF | Citrus Bowl | 65,438 | UCF Arena | 5,300 |
| East Carolina | Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium | 48,000 | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum | 8,000 |
| Houston | Robertson Stadium | 33,000 | Hofheinz Pavilion | 8,500 |
| Marshall | Joan C. Edwards Stadium | 38,019 | Cam Henderson Center | 9,600 |
| Memphis | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 62,380 | FedExForum | 19,000 |
| Rice | Rice Stadium | 72,000 | Autry Court | 5,000 |
| SMU | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | 32,000 | Moody Coliseum | 8,998 |
| Southern Miss. | M. M. Roberts Stadium | 33,000 | Reed Green Coliseum | 8,095 |
| UTEP | Sun Bowl Stadium | 52,000 | Don Haskins Center | 12,000 |
| Tulane | Louisiana Superdome | 76,791 | Avron B. Fogelman Arena | 3,600 |
| Tulsa | Skelly Stadium | 40,385 | Reynolds Center | 8,355 |
Championships
- Football: Following the division of the conference into East and West Divisions, the conference began holding a championship game pitting the leading teams from each division against each other. The first such game was played on Dec. 3, 2005, between Tulsa and UCF, both surprising come-from-behind teams who had struggled in previous years and were new to the conference. Tulsa won the first C-USA championship game 44-27. It was held at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
- 1996 Houston & Southern Miss
- 1997 Southern Miss
- 1998 Tulane
- 1999 Southern Miss
- 2000 Louisville
- 2001 Louisville
- 2002 Cincinnati & TCU
- 2003 Southern Miss
- 2004 Louisville
- 2005 Tulsa
External links
- [Conference USA official website]
- [Largest CUSA Fan Forum at NCAAbbs]
- [Conference USA football, basketball & baseball fan site]
- [CUSA-fans.com's Conference USA sports blog]
- [Conference USA Message Boards]
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