Conference USA

Conference USA (C-USA)
Established	1995
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I FBS
Members	14
Sports fielded	19[1] (men's: 9; women's: 10)
Region	Southern United States
Headquarters	Irving, Texas
Commissioner	Judy MacLeod (since 2015)
Website	www.conferenceusa.com
Locations

Conference USA (C-USA) is a collegiate athletic conference whose 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 the Las Colinas business district of the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

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. To even out at 12 members (because Dayton, VCU, and Virginia Tech were left out of the merger^[2]) the conference invited the University of Houston, but UH could not start C-USA play for a year due to committing to being in the Southwest Conference in its final year. The conference immediately started competition in all sports except for football, which did not launch until 1996.

Member universities

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joined
University of Alabama at Birmingham	Birmingham, Alabama	1969	18,698[3]	Blazers	[4]	1995[a 1]
Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, Florida	1961	30,803[6]	Owls	[7]	2013
Florida International University	Miami, Florida	1965	52,980[8]	Panthers	[9]	2013[a 2]
Louisiana Tech University	Ruston, Louisiana	1894	12,414[10]	Bulldogs & Lady Techsters	[11][a 3]	2013
Marshall University	Huntington, West Virginia	1837	14,196	Thundering Herd	[12]	2005
Middle Tennessee State University	Murfreesboro, Tennessee	1911	22,729[13]	Blue Raiders	[14]	2013
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte, North Carolina	1946	28,062[15]	49ers	[16]	2013[a 4]
University of North Texas	Denton, Texas	1890	36,216[17]	Mean Green	[18]	2013
Old Dominion University	Norfolk, Virginia	1930	24,670[19]	Monarchs & Lady Monarchs[a 5]	[20]	2013[a 6]
Rice University	Houston, Texas	1912	6,498[21]	Owls	[22]	2005
University of Southern Mississippi	Hattiesburg, Mississippi	1910	14,845[23]	Golden Eagles & Lady Eagles	[24]	1995
University of Texas at El Paso	El Paso, Texas	1914	23,079[25]	Miners	[26]	2005
University of Texas at San Antonio	San Antonio, Texas	1969	28,628[27]	Roadrunners	[28]	2013
Western Kentucky University	Bowling Green, Kentucky	1906	20,303[29]	Hilltoppers & Lady Toppers	[30]	2014[a 7]

Notes

1. UAB was a full but non-football member from 1995 to 1999. UAB announced the discontinuation of their football program effective immediately following the 2014 football season, but has since announced that the football program will return in 2017.^[5]
2. FIU was a men's soccer affiliate from 2005 to 2013.
3. Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball uses their traditional Columbia blue instead of the official Tech blue.
4. Charlotte was a full but non-football member from 1995 to 2005 and again from 2013 to 2015.
5. Some Old Dominion women's sports use "Monarchs" and others "Lady Monarchs", as follows:
   • Monarchs – Field hockey, lacrosse
   • Lady Monarchs – Basketball, golf, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis
6. Old Dominion was an affiliate in men's golf, women's golf, rowing, men's tennis, and women's tennis in 2012–13; full but non-football member in 2013–14.
7. Western Kentucky was an affiliate in women's swimming & diving in 2013–14.

Affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joined	Sport	Primary Conference
University of Kentucky	Lexington, Kentucky	1865	26,054	Wildcats		2005	soccer (M)	Southeastern
University of New Mexico	Albuquerque, New Mexico	1889	35,211	Lobos		2013	soccer (M)	Mountain West
University of South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	1801	28,481	Gamecocks		2005	soccer (M)	Southeastern

Former members

Institution	Location	Founded	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current Conference
University of Central Florida	Orlando, Florida	1963	Knights	2005	2013	The American
University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio	1819	Bearcats	1995	2005	The American
DePaul University	Chicago, Illinois	1898	Blue Demons	1995	2005	Big East
East Carolina University	Greenville, North Carolina	1907	Pirates	2001[b 1]	2014	The American
University of Houston	Houston, Texas	1927	Cougars	1996[b 2]	2013	The American
University of Louisville	Louisville, Kentucky	1798	Cardinals	1995	2005	Atlantic Coast
Marquette University	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1881	Golden Eagles	1995	2005	Big East
University of Memphis	Memphis, Tennessee	1912	Tigers	1995	2013	The American
Saint Louis University	St. Louis, Missouri	1818	Billikens	1995	2005	Atlantic 10
University of South Florida	Tampa, Florida	1956	Bulls	1995	2005	The American
Southern Methodist University	University Park, Texas	1911	Mustangs	2005	2013	The American
Texas Christian University	Fort Worth, Texas	1873	Horned Frogs	2001	2005	Big 12
Tulane University	New Orleans, Louisiana	1834	Green Wave	1995	2014	The American
University of Tulsa	Tulsa, Oklahoma	1894	Golden Hurricane	2005	2014	The American

Notes

1. Affiliate in football from 1997 to 2001.
2. Houston was a founding member of C-USA in 1995 but did not begin competition until 1996 because of its commitments to the final year of competition in the Southwest Conference.

Former affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Nickname	Joined	Left	Sport	Primary Conference
University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	1831	Crimson Tide	2009	2014	rowing	Southeastern[c 1]
United States Military Academy (Army)	West Point, New York	1802	Black Knights	1998	2005	football	Patriot[c 2]
California State University, Bakersfield	Bakersfield, California	1965	Roadrunners	2007	2010	swimming & diving (W)	Western Athletic
California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State)	Sacramento, California	1947	Hornets	2013	2014	rowing	Big Sky[c 3]
Colorado College	Colorado Springs, Colorado	1874	Tigers	2006	2014	soccer (W)	Southern Collegiate (NCAA Division III)[c 4]
University of Kansas	Lawrence, Kansas	1865	Jayhawks	2009	2014	rowing	Big 12
Kansas State University	Manhattan, Kansas	1863	Wildcats	2009	2014	rowing	Big 12
University of North Dakota	Grand Forks, North Dakota	1883	Fighting Sioux	2008	2011	swimming & diving (W)	Big Sky[c 5]
University of Northern Colorado	Greeley, Colorado	1889	Bears	2007	2010	swimming & diving (W)	Big Sky[c 5]
University of Oklahoma	Norman, Oklahoma	1890	Sooners	2009	2014	rowing	Big 12
San Diego State University	San Diego, California	1947	Aztecs	2013	2014	rowing	Mountain West[c 3]
University of Tennessee	Knoxville, Tennessee	1794	Lady Volunteers	2009	2014	rowing	Southeastern[c 1]
University of Texas at Austin	Austin, Texas	1883	Longhorns	2009	2014	rowing	Big 12
West Virginia University	Morgantown, West Virginia	1867	Mountaineers	2012	2014	rowing	Big 12

Notes

1. Rowing affiliate of the Big 12.
2. Football currently competes as an FBS independent.
3. Rowing affiliate of The American.
4. Women's soccer affiliate of the Mountain West.
5. Women's swimming & diving affiliate of the WAC.

Membership timeline

Full members (all-sports) Full members (non-football) Affiliate members (football-only) Affiliate member (other sport)Other Conference Other Conference

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. To even out at 12 members (because Dayton, VCU, and Virginia Tech were left out of the merger^[2]) the conference invited the University of Houston, but UH could not start C-USA play for a year due to committing to being in the Southwest Conference in its final year. The conference immediately started competition in all sports, except football which started in 1996.

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 South Florida; Louisville moved to the ACC in 2014) and two non-football schools (DePaul and Marquette; both joined the New Big East in 2013). Another two schools (Charlotte and Saint Louis) left for the Atlantic 10; TCU joined the Mountain West (and is now in the Big 12 with several other former Southwest Conference members); 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 teams, C-USA lured six teams 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 has adopted a two-division alignment.

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 (Houston, Memphis, SMU, and UCF). 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. As of April 2012, the likeliest scenario was an all-sports alliance in which both conferences retain separate identities.^[31] 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 (FIU), 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 (UNLV, Air Force, New Mexico—San Diego State is a Pac-12 associate member in that sport), join C-USA's three full members that offer the sport (UAB, Marshall, Tulsa), the two SEC members already in C-USA for the sport (Kentucky, South Carolina), and the Sun Belt's FIU.^[31] 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, (an affiliate member of C-USA joining for men's soccer in 2005), 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 (except for field hockey, women's lacrosse and wrestling, with the first two sports joining the new Big East and the other the MAC because C-USA does not sponsor those sports) 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.

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 (ECU's membership was upgraded to all-sports in March 2013 after the Big East's non-football members, save for ACC-bound Notre Dame, announced they were leaving to form a new conference which took the Big East name, leaving the football-playing members to become the American Athletic Conference). 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.^[32][33]

Citing yet unproven increasing 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.^[34] 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.^[35] The return of football was later pushed back to 2017.^[5]

Commissioner Britton Banowsky stepped down on Septerber 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 MacLoed was named the conference's third official commissioner, also becoming the first woman to head an FBS conference.^[36]

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.^[37] Three schools are affiliate members for men's soccer.

Teams in C-USA Conference

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	12	–
Basketball	14	14
Cross Country	12	13
Football	13	–
Golf	13	12
Soccer	9	14
Softball	–	12
Swimming & Diving	–	7
Tennis	8	14
Track and Field (Indoor)	10	13
Track and Field (Outdoor)	10	13
Volleyball	–	13

Men's sponsored sports by school

Member	Baseball	Basketball	XCountry	Football	Golf	Soccer	Tennis	Indoor Track & Field	Outdoor Track & Field	Total C-USA Sports
UAB			*	N*				N	N	6
Charlotte										9
FIU					N		N			7
Florida Atlantic								N	N	7
Louisiana Tech						N	N			7
Marshall							N	N	N	6
Middle Tennessee						N				8
North Texas	N					N	N			6
Old Dominion			N					N	N	6
Rice						N				8
Southern Miss			N			N				7
UTEP	N					N	N			6
UTSA						N				8
Western Kentucky						N	N			7
Total	12	14	11	13	13	6+3^#	8	10	10	98+3

Notes

• ^# = Affiliate members for men's soccer– Kentucky, New Mexico, and South Carolina.
• * = UAB discontinued their football program after the 2014 season^[34] and will add men's Cross Country in 2015 in order to maintain Division I membership. The school later reversed its decision to drop football, announcing that it would reinstate the sport effective with the 2017 season.

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by Conference USA which are played by current full C-USA members:

School	Sailing[m 1]	Swimming & diving	Wrestling
Florida Atlantic	No	CCSA	No
Old Dominion	MAISA[m 2]	CCSA	MAC

1. Sailing is a coeducational team sport. It is not sanctioned by the NCAA, but instead by the Intercollegiate Sailing Association.
2. Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association

Women's sponsored sports by school

Member	Basketball	XCountry	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Indoor Track & Field	Outdoor Track & Field	Volleyball	Total C-USA Sports
UAB						N					9
Charlotte						N					8
FIU											10
Florida Atlantic											10
Louisiana Tech			N			N					8
Marshall											10
Middle Tennessee						N					9
North Texas											10
Old Dominion		N			N			N	N	N	5
Rice			N		N						8
Southern Miss						N					9
UTEP						N					9
UTSA						N					9
Western Kentucky						N					9
Total	14	13	11	14	12	6	14	13	13	13	123

Notes

• Rice fields a women's team in swimming but not in diving.
• Western Kentucky announced on April 14, 2015 that it would suspend its men's and women's swimming & diving teams for at least 5 years (only the women's team competed in C-USA). This followed a police investigation into claims of assault and hazing by a former men's team member which in turn found multiple violations of university policies on harassment and sexual misconduct.^[38]
• Women's Golf was added to the Charlotte sports lineup for the 2016-2017 NCAA season.^[39]

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[w 1]	Rowing	Sailing[w 2]
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	A-Sun	No	Big 12	MAISA[w 3]
UAB	CCSA	Independent[w 4]	No	No	Independent[w 4]	No	No
UTEP	No	No	No	No	PRC	No	No

1. Rifle is technically classified as a men's sport by the NCAA, but allows competitors of both sexes, and also allows schools to field any combination of coed and single-sex teams. UTEP fields a women-only team, and UAB has reinstated its women-only team on June 1, 2015. Initially, the team was to compete in 2016 after a one-year hiatus, but UAB later announced on July 21, 2015 that the team would immediately return.
2. Sailing is a coeducational team sport. It is not sanctioned by the NCAA, but instead by the Intercollegiate Sailing Association.
3. Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association
4. UAB reinstated its bowling and rifle teams on June 1, 2015. The rifle team will compete in the 2015–16 school year, and the bowling team will return in 2016 after a one-year hiatus. Both teams were dropped after the 2014–15 school year.

Football

Conference USA uses a divisional format only for football.

For the current season, see 2015 Conference USA football season.

Team	First Season	All-Time Record	All-Time Win %	Bowl Appearances	Bowl Record	Conference Titles	Head Coach
East Division
Charlotte	2013	12–22	.353	0	0–0	0	Brad Lambert
Florida Atlantic	2001	70–98	.417	2	2–0	1	Charlie Partridge
FIU	2002	47–107	.305	2	1–1	1	Ron Turner
Marshall	1895	564–529–48	.515	12	9–3	13	Doc Holliday
Middle Tennessee	1911	551–410–28	.571	6	2–4	20	Rick Stockstill
Old Dominion	1930	94–56–4	.623	0	0–0	0	Bobby Wilder
Western Kentucky	1908	540–380–32	.584	4	3–1	11	Jeff Brohm
West Division
Louisiana Tech	1901	586–442–39	.567	7	3–3–1	25	Skip Holtz
North Texas	1913	493–478–35	.507	7	2–5	24	Seth Littrell
Rice	1912	462–580–32	.445	12	7–5	7	David Bailiff
Southern Miss	1912	564–405–27	.580	22	10–12	8	Jay Hopson
UTEP	1914	385–564–28	.408	14	5–9	2	Sean Kugler
UTSA	2011	23–23	.500	0	0–0	0	Frank Wilson
Future Members
UAB	1991, 2017	118–154–2	.434	1	0–1	0	Bill Clark

^[40]

C-USA champions

Bowl games

The highest-ranked champion from the so-called "Group of Five" conferences (The American, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt) 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.^[41]

Name	Location	Stadium	Opposing Conference
Cotton Bowl Classic	Arlington, Texas	AT&T Stadium	at-large
Fiesta Bowl	Glendale, Arizona	University of Phoenix Stadium	at-large
Peach Bowl	Atlanta, Georgia	Georgia Dome	at-large

For the 2015–19 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
Hawaii Bowl	Honolulu, Hawaii	Aloha Stadium	Mountain West
Heart of Dallas Bowl	Dallas, Texas	Cotton Bowl	Big 12 Big Ten
Independence Bowl	Shreveport, Louisiana	Independence Stadium	ACC SEC
Miami Beach Bowl	Miami, Florida	Marlins Park	The American
New Mexico Bowl	Albuquerque, New Mexico	University Stadium	Mountain West
New Orleans Bowl	New Orleans, Louisiana	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Sun Belt
St. Petersburg Bowl	St. Petersburg, Florida	Tropicana Field	The American

Rivalries

Football rivalries involving C-USA teams include:

Teams		Rivalry Name	Trophy	Meetings	Record	Series Leader	Current Streak
FIU	Florida Atlantic	Shula Bowl	Don Shula Award	13	4–9	Florida Atlantic	FIU won 1
Louisiana Tech	Southern Miss	Rivalry in Dixie	—	46	15–31	Southern Miss	Louisiana Tech won 2
Marshall	East Carolina	East Carolina–Marshall football rivalry	—	15	10–5	East Carolina	Marshall won 1
Marshall	Ohio	Battle for the Bell	The Bell	56	20–30–6	Ohio	Marshall won 1
Marshall	West Virginia	Friends of Coal Bowl	Governor's Trophy	12	0–12	West Virginia	West Virginia won 12
Middle Tennessee	Troy	Battle for the Palladium	Palladium	20	12–8	Middle Tennessee	Middle Tennessee won 1
Middle Tennessee	Western Kentucky	100 Miles of Hate	—	62	32–29–1	Middle Tennessee	Middle Tennessee won 1
North Texas	SMU	Safeway Bowl	—	34	28–5–1	SMU	North Texas won 1
Rice	Houston	Bayou Bucket Classic	—	40	11–29	Houston	Houston won 3
Rice	SMU	Battle for the Mayor's Cup	Mayor's Cup	89	40–48–1	SMU	Rice won 1
Southern Miss	Memphis	Black and Blue Bowl	—	63	40–22–1	Southern Miss	Memphis won 1
Southern Miss	Tulane	Battle for the Bell	The Bell	30	23–7	Southern Miss	Southern Miss won 6
UTEP	New Mexico State	The Battle of I-10	Silver Spade Mayor's Cup (Brass Spittoon)	89	52–35–2	UTEP	UTEP won 3
UTSA	Texas State	I-35 Rivalry	—	1	1–0	UTSA	UTSA won 1

Men's basketball

For the current season, see 2015–16 Conference USA men's basketball season.

This list goes through the 2013–14 season.^[42]

Team	First Season	All-Time Record	All-Time Win %	NCAA Tournament Appearances	NCAA Tournament Record	Arena	Head Coach
UAB	1979	713–431	.623	15	10–15	Bartow Arena	Jerod Haase
Charlotte	1963	793–648	.550	11	7–12	Dale F. Halton Arena	Mark Price
Florida Atlantic	1989	283–473	.366	1	0–1	FAU Arena	Michael Curry
FIU	1982	359–557	.392	1	0–1	FIU Arena	Anthony Evans
Louisiana Tech	1910	1262–976	.564	5	4–5	Thomas Assembly Center	Eric Konkol
Marshall	1907	1411–1040–2	.576	5	0–5	Cam Henderson Center	Dan D'Antoni
Middle Tennessee	1914	1133–1006	.530	7	2–7	Murphy Center	Kermit Davis
North Texas	1915	1095–1229	.471	3	0–3	UNT Coliseum	Tony Benford
Old Dominion	1951	1064–689	.607	11	3–11	Ted Constant Convocation Center	Jeff Jones
Rice	1915	1046–1346	.437	4	2–5	Tudor Fieldhouse	Mike Rhoades
Southern Miss	1913	1200–979–1	.551	3	0–3	Reed Green Coliseum	Doc Sadler
UTEP	1915	1310–984	.571	17	14–16	Don Haskins Center	Tim Floyd
UTSA	1982	493–467	.514	4	1–4	Convocation Center	Brooks Thompson
Western Kentucky	1915	1695–856	.664	23	19–24	E. A. Diddle Arena	Ray Harper

Women's basketball

This list goes through the 2012–13 season.^[43]

Team	First Season	All-Time Record	All-Time Win %	NCAA Tournament Appearances	NCAA Tournament Record	Arena	Head Coach
UAB	1979	537–495	.520	2	2–2	Bartow Arena	Randy Norton
Charlotte	1976	537–398	.574	2	0–2	Dale F. Halton Arena	Cara Consuegra
Florida Atlantic	1985	387–419	.480	1	0–1	FAU Arena	Kellie Lewis-Jay
FIU	1976	668–396	.628	6	3–6	FIU Arena	Marlin Chinn
Louisiana Tech	1975	1031–244	.809	27	65–25	Thomas Assembly Center	Tyler Summitt
Marshall	1970	591–597	.497	1	0–1	Cam Henderson Center	Matt Daniel
Middle Tennessee	1976	764–361	.679	16	5–16	Murphy Center	Rick Insell
North Texas	1977	434–602	.419	1	0–1	UNT Coliseum	Jalie Mitchell
Old Dominion	1970	959–358	.728	25	34–24	Ted Constant Convocation Center	Karen Barefoot
Rice	1979	511–503	.504	2	1–2	Tudor Fieldhouse	Tina Langley
Southern Miss	1976	618–476	.565	8	4–8	Reed Green Coliseum	Joye Lee-McNelis
UTEP	1975	461–579	.443	2	1–2	Don Haskins Center	Keitha Adams
UTSA	1982	453–449	.502	2	0–2	Convocation Center	Lubomyr Lichonczak
Western Kentucky	1914	848–440	.658	16	17–16	E. A. Diddle Arena	Michelle Clark-Heard

Baseball

Championships

Current C-USA champions

Fall 2014 Sport School Football Marshall (East, Championship) Louisiana Tech (West) Soccer (M) Charlotte (Regular Season) Old Dominion (Tournament) Soccer (W) North Texas (Regular Season) Rice (Tournament) Volleyball (W) Western Kentucky (West RS, Tournament) UTSA (East RS) Cross Country (M) North Texas Cross Country (W) Middle Tennessee

Winter 2014–15 Sport School Basketball (M) Louisiana Tech (RS) UAB (Tournament) Basketball (W) Western Kentucky (RS, Tournament) Indoor Track & Field (M) WKU Indoor Track & Field (W) UTEP Swimming & Diving (W) FIU

Spring 2015 Sport School Baseball Rice (RS) FIU (Tournament) Softball Western Kentucky (RS, Tournament) Outdoor Track & Field (M) UTSA Outdoor Track & Field (W) WKU Golf (M) North Texas Golf (W) Middle Tennessee Tennis (M) UTSA Tennis (W) 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 (Division II)	1982, 1984
Louisiana Tech	5	Football (Division II)	1972, 1973
		Women's basketball	1981, 1982, 1988
Marshall	2	Football (Division I-AA)	1992, 1996
North Texas	4	Men's golf	1949, 1950, 1951, 1952
Old Dominion	10	Women's basketball	1985
		Women's field hockey	1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2000
Rice	1	Baseball	2003
Southern Miss	2	Football (Division II)	1958, 1962
UTEP	21	Men's basketball	1966
		Men's outdoor track and field	1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982
		Men's indoor track and field	1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982
		Men's cross country	1969, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981
Western Kentucky	1	Football (Division I-AA)	2002

Facilities

School	Football stadium	Capacity	Basketball arena	Capacity	Baseball park	Capacity
UAB	Legion Field	71,594	Bartow Arena	8,508	Regions Field Jerry D. Young Memorial Field	8,500 1,000
Charlotte	Jerry Richardson Stadium	15,300	Dale F. Halton Arena	9,105	Hayes Stadium	3,000
Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium	29,419	FAU Arena	5,000	FAU Baseball Stadium	3,000
FIU	FIU Stadium	20,000	FIU Arena	5,000	FIU Baseball Stadium	2,000
Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium	27,717	Thomas Assembly Center	8,098	J.C. Love Field	3,000
Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium	38,227	Cam Henderson Center	9,048	Appalachian Power Park Kennedy Center Field	4,500 300
Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium	30,788	Murphy Center	11,802	Reese Smith Jr. Field	2,600
North Texas	Apogee Stadium	30,850	UNT Coliseum	10,032	Non-baseball school
Old Dominion	Foreman Field	20,118	Ted Constant Convocation Center	8,639	Bud Metheny Baseball Complex	2,500
Rice	Rice Stadium	47,000	Tudor Fieldhouse	5,208	Reckling Park	5,368
Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium	36,000	Reed Green Coliseum	8,095	Pete Taylor Park	5,036
UTEP	Sun Bowl Stadium	51,500	Don Haskins Center	12,222	Non-baseball school
UTSA	Alamodome	65,000	Convocation Center	4,080	Roadrunner Field	800
Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium	22,113	E. A. Diddle Arena	7,326	Nick Denes Field	1,500

Media

In 2005, C-USA began a long-term television contract with CSTV (later known as CBS College Sports Network and currently known as CBS Sports Network) to carry a variety of sports. The deal largely replaced the one C-USA had with ESPN and ESPN Plus, though some C-USA football and men's basketball games (including the football championship game) are still carried by the ESPN networks, including men's soccer games on the SEC Network and their digital platform, as that conference does not sponsor the sport, but two schools do, and under the SEC's contract, all home C-USA men's soccer games of Kentucky and South Carolina will be available.

In 2011, Fox Sports became a C-USA media partner for football and select men's and women's basketball games, with broadcasts airing on Fox's various sports outlets (including Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, and the Fox Sports regional networks). In 2014, C-USA reached a partnership with American Sports Network; owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, ASN produces and distributes an estimated 100 C-USA broadcasts per-year to various over-the-air stations (with 30 games on ASN, mainly those owned and/or operated stations by Sinclair),^[44] and will also distribute C-USA Showcase, the conference's weekly highlights and features program which also airs on the Fox Sports regional networks.^[45]

Academics

One of the current member schools, Rice University is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada.^[46] Rice and UAB are doctorate-granting universities with "very high research activity," the highest classification given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.^[47] Rice, UAB, Louisiana Tech, and Charlotte are ranked as Tier One National Universities in U.S. News and World Report's 2016 Best Colleges rankings.

University	Affiliation	Carnegie[47]	Endowment[48]	US News[49]	Forbes[50]
University of Alabama at Birmingham	Public (UA System)	Research (Very High)	N/A[d 1]	149 (National)	518
Florida Atlantic University	Public (SUSF)	Research (High)	$189,287,000	RNP (National)[d 2]	536
Florida International University	Public (SUSF)	Research (High)	$149,384,000	RNP (National)[d 2]	487
Louisiana Tech University	Public (UL System)	Research (High)	N/A[d 1]	199 (National)	389
Marshall University	Public	Master's (Larger)	$90,637,000	45 (Regional: South)	N/A[d 3]
Middle Tennessee State University	Public (TBR)	Doctoral/Research	$75,710,000	RNP (National)[d 2]	635
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Public (UNC System)	Doctoral/Research	$148,048,000	194 (National)	495
University of North Texas	Public (UNT System)	Research (High)	$122,369,000	RNP (National)[d 2]	570
Old Dominion University	Public	Research (High)	$213,700,000	RNP (National)[d 2]	551
Rice University	Private	Research (Very High)	$4,836,728,000	18 (National)	32
University of Southern Mississippi	Public	Research (High)	$68,863,000	RNP (National)[d 2]	575
University of Texas at El Paso	Public (UT System)	Research (High)	N/A[d 1]	RNP (National)[d 2]	491
University of Texas at San Antonio	Public (UT System)	Research (High)	N/A[d 1]	RNP (National)[d 2]	642
Western Kentucky University	Public	Master's (Larger)	$118,396,000	31 (Regional: South)	584

Notes

1. UAB, Louisiana Tech, UTEP, and UTSA did not participate in the 2013 NACUBO Endowment Study.
2. In the 2016 US News national university rankings, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, UTEP, and UTSA are listed as Rank Not Published (RNP), otherwise known as Tier Two.
3. Marshall is not ranked in the 2015 Forbes America's Best 650 Colleges rankings.

References

1. http://conferenceusa.cstv.com/championships/0910-c-usa-championships.html
2. WITH EYE ON BIG EAST, TECH JOINS ATLANTIC 10 HOKIES REJECT THE COLONIAL, WHICH GRABS VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH
3. http://www.uab.edu/institutionaleffectiveness/student-data/enrollment
4. UAB Brand Toolkit-Colors. uab.edu. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
5. "UAB To Resume Rifle This Year, Bowling Next And Football In 2017" (Press release). UAB Athletics. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
6. http://www.fau.edu/iea/facts13.php
7. Official FAU Colors. fau.edu. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
8. http://opir.fiu.edu/quickfacts.htm
9. FIU Color Specifications. fiu.edu. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
10. "Preliminary Headcount Enrollment Summary". Louisiana Board of Regents. September 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
11. Louisiana Tech Identity Standards. latech.eduRetrieved 2014-12-19.
12. "Marshall Electronic Branding Standards Manual" (PDF). Marshall.edu. Marshall University. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
13. "MTSU tops in Tennessee Board of Regents enrollment". September 16, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
14. "Visual Style Guide and Branding Policy Manual" (PDF). mtsu.edu. Middle Tennessee State University. October 2010. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
15. http://publicrelations.uncc.edu/information-media-kit
16. "UNC Charlotte Identity Standards Guide" (PDF). UNC Charlotte. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
17. https://news.unt.edu/news-releases/unt-fall-enrollment-remains-strong-36216
18. "Identity Guide-Create Our Look-Color". University of North Texas. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
19. https://www.odu.edu/about/facts-and-figures
20. "ODU Color Palette and Fonts". Old Dominion University. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
21. http://www.oir.rice.edu/At_a_Glance/Rice_University/
22. "Rice University Identity Standards" (PDF). Rice University. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
23. http://www.usm.edu/news/article/southern-miss-enrolls-most-academically-talented-student-body
24. "Style Guide". The University of Southern Mississippi. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
25. http://www.ktsm.com/news/school-yard/uteps-fall-enrollment-breaks-record-16th-consecutive-year
26. "UTEP Graphic Identity Guide" (PDF). The University of Texas at El Paso. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
27. "Fall 2013 vs Fall 2014 Census Day Report". Utsa.edu. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
28. "Brand Identity Guide" (PDF). The University of Texas at San Antonio. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
29. http://www.bgdailynews.com/news/enrollment-holding-steady-for-wku/article_05b7cd53-a82e-538c-b96f-0a368e031950.html
30. "Western Kentucky Communication and Branding Manual" (PDF). Western Kentucky University. 2011. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
31. McMurphy, Brett (April 17, 2012). "Conference Mountain West merger "unlikely"". College Football Insider (CBSSports.com). Retrieved April 21, 2012.
32. Western Kentucky announces move
33. Tulsa set to join league for 2014–15 season
34. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11967626/uab-blazers-shut-football-program
35. Scarborough, Alex (June 1, 2015). "UAB reinstates football for 2016". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
36. "C-USA's MacLeod is 1st female commissioner of FBS league". AP-sports. October 26, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
37. http://www.conferenceusa.com/
38. "Western Kentucky Suspends Swimming and Diving Program for 5 Years" (Press release). Western Kentucky Athletics. April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
39. "Women's Golf Added as 18th Sport; Holly Clark Named as Head Coach". University of North Carolina at Charlotte Department of Athletics. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
40. All time Division I-A football records, College Football Data Warehouse
41. Brett McMurphy (November 13, 2013). "Six bowls in playoff format". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
42. "2013–14 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
43. "NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Records Through 2012–13" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
44. Fornelli, Tom (July 17, 2014). "Conference USA announces new television agreement". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
45. "Eleven USM football games to be televised in 2014". The Clarion-Ledger (Gannett). July 17, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
46. "AAU Member Institutions and Years of Admission". Association of American Universities. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
47. "Carnegie Classifications Institution Lookup". Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. 2013. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
48. "National Association of College and University Business Officers" (PDF). National Association of College and University Business. 2013. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
49. "Best College Rankings and Lists". U.S. News & World Report. 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
50. "Forbes America's Top Colleges 2015". Forbes. 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-21.

External links

• Official website