List of NCAA conferences
NCAA Division I -- Football Championship Subdivision
Table:
Conference
Nickname
Founded
Full Members
Sports
Headquarters
Map

Big Sky Conference
Big Sky
BSC
1963
11[a]
16
Ogden, Utah

Big South Conference
Big South
1983
11[b]
19
Charlotte, North Carolina

Colonial Athletic Association
CAA
1983
10[c]
21
Richmond, Virginia

Division I FCS Independents

1[d]
1

Ivy League
Ivy League
1954[e]
8
32[f]
Princeton, New Jersey

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
MEAC
1970
11[g]
15
Norfolk, Virginia

Missouri Valley Football Conference
MVFC
1985[h]
10[i]
1
St. Louis, Missouri

Northeast Conference
NEC
1981
11[j]
23
Somerset, New Jersey

Ohio Valley Conference
OVC
1948
12[k]
19
Brentwood, Tennessee

Patriot League
Patriot
1986
10[l]
24
Center Valley, Pennsylvania

Pioneer Football League
PFL
1991
10[m]
1
St. Louis, Missouri

Southern Conference
SoCon
1921
10[n]
21
Spartanburg, South Carolina

Southland Conference
Southland
1963
13[o]
18
Frisco, Texas

Southwestern Athletic Conference
SWAC
1920
10
18
Birmingham, Alabama

Leveraging the given table plus the supplementary paragraphs provided.

Solve the question: Which city has the larger population from all the conferences that have more than 11 members ? Output only the correct answer as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}.

The Big Sky Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA 's Division I , with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the western United States in the nine states of Arizona , California , Colorado , Idaho , Montana , Oregon , Utah , and Washington . Four affiliate members each participate in one sport . Two schools from California are football-only participants , and two schools from the Northeast participate only in men 's golf .
Ogden /ˈɒɡdən/ is a city and the county seat of Weber County , Utah , United States , approximately 10 miles ( 16 km ) east of the Great Salt Lake and 40 miles ( 64 km ) north of Salt Lake City . The population was 87,325 in 2018 , according to the US Census Bureau , making it Utah 's 7th largest city . The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history , and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a convenient location for manufacturing and commerce . Ogden is also known for its many historic buildings , proximity to the Wasatch Mountains , and as the location of Weber State University . Ogden is a principal city of the Ogden-Clearfield , Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area ( MSA ) , which includes all of Weber , Morgan , Davis , and Box Elder counties . The 2010 Census placed the Metro population at 597,159 . In 2010 , Forbes rated the Ogden-Clearfield MSA as the 6th best place to raise a family . Ogden has had a sister city relationship to Hof ( Germany ) since 1954 .
The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA 's Division I . Originally a non-football conference , the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 . Its football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) . The Big South , founded in 1983 , is firmly rooted in the South Atlantic region of the United States , with full member institutions located in North Carolina , South Carolina , and Virginia . Associate members are located in Alabama , Georgia , and New Jersey .
Charlotte ( /ˈʃɑːrlət/ ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina . Located in the Piedmont , it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County . In 2018 , the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population was 872,498 , making it the 16th-most populous city in the United States . The city is the cultural , economic , and transportation center of the Charlotte metropolitan area , whose population ranks 23rd in the U.S. , and had a population of 2,569,213 , in 2018 . The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of a sixteen-county market region or combined statistical area with a 2018 census-estimated population of 2,728,933 . Between 2004 and 2014 , Charlotte was ranked as the country 's fastest-growing metro area , with 888,000 new residents . Based on U.S. Census data from 2005 to 2015 , Charlotte tops the U.S. in millennial population growth . It is the second-largest city in the southeastern United States , just behind Jacksonville , Florida . It is the third-fastest-growing major city in the United States . It is listed as a gamma global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . Residents are referred to as Charlotteans . Charlotte is home to the corporate headquarters of Bank of America , Truist Financial , and the east coast operations of Wells Fargo , which along with other financial institutions has made it the second-largest banking center in the United States since 1995 .
The Colonial Athletic Association ( CAA ) 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 Northeast ( of five that joined from rival conference America East ) after the turn of the 21st century , which added balance to the conference . The CAA was founded in 1979 as the ECAC South basketball league . It was renamed the Colonial Athletic Association in 1985 when it added championships in other sports ( although a number of members maintain ECAC affiliation in some sports ) . As of 2006 , it organizes championships in 21 men 's and women 's sports . The addition of Northeastern University in 2005 gave the conference the NCAA minimum of six football programs needed to sponsor football . For the 2007 football season , all of the Atlantic 10 Conference 's football programs joined the CAA football conference , as agreed in May 2005 .
Richmond ( /ˈrɪtʃmənd/ ) is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia . It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area ( MSA ) and the Greater Richmond Region . Richmond was incorporated in 1742 and has been an independent city since 1871 . As of the 2010 census , the city 's population was 204,214 ; in 2018 , the population was estimated to be 228,783 , making Richmond the fourth-most populous city in Virginia . The Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029 , the third-most populous metro in the state . Richmond is at the fall line of the James River , 44 miles ( 71 km ) west of Williamsburg , 66 miles ( 106 km ) east of Charlottesville , 91 miles ( 146 km ) east of Lynchburg and 92 miles ( 148 km ) south of Washington , D.C . Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties , the city is at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64 and encircled by Interstate 295 , Virginia State Route 150 and Virginia State Route 288 . Major suburbs include Midlothian to the southwest , Chesterfield to the south , Varina to the southeast , Sandston to the east , Glen Allen to the north and west , Short Pump to the west and Mechanicsville to the northeast . The site of Richmond had been an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy , and was briefly settled by English colonists from Jamestown from 1609 to 1611 . The present city of Richmond was founded in 1737 . It became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780 , replacing Williamsburg . During the Revolutionary War period , several notable events occurred in the city , including Patrick Henry 's Give me liberty or give me death speech in 1775 at St. John 's Church , and the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom written by Thomas Jefferson .
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions in the United States whose football programs are not part of a football conference . This means that FCS independents are not required to schedule each other for competition as conference schools do . As of the next college football season of 2020 , three schools will play as FCS independents . Presbyterian will spend only the 2020 season as an independent . It began a transition to non-scholarship FCS football in 2017 and will play the final season of that transition as an FCS independent before joining the Pioneer Football League in 2021 . ( Presbyterian will remain a full but non-football Big South member . ) Also in 2020 , Dixie State and Tarleton State will move up from Division II , with both joining the non-football Western Athletic Conference . Both schools have announced they will play as FCS independents for the foreseeable future . The only school that had played as an FCS independent in the most recently completed 2019 season , North Dakota , will join the Missouri Valley Football Conference in July 2020 . The Fighting Hawks left the Big Sky Conference for the non-football Summit League in July 2018 , but agreed to honor existing contracts to play Big Sky members in football , and thus played a full Big Sky football schedule in both 2018 and 2019 .
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eight private universities in the Northeastern United States . The term Ivy League is typically used to refer to those eight schools as a group of elite colleges beyond the sports context . The eight members are Brown University , Columbia University , Cornell University , Dartmouth College , Harvard University , the University of Pennsylvania , Princeton University , and Yale University . Ivy League has connotations of academic excellence , selectivity in admissions , and social elitism . While the term was in use as early as 1933 , it became official only after the formation of the NCAA Division I athletic conference in 1954 . Seven of the eight schools were founded during the colonial period ( Cornell was founded in 1865 ) , and thus account for seven of the nine Colonial Colleges chartered before the American Revolution . The other two colonial colleges , Rutgers University and the College of William & Mary , became public institutions instead . Ivy League schools are generally viewed as some of the most prestigious in the world , and are ranked among the best universities worldwide by U.S. News & World Report . All eight universities place in the top seventeen of the 2020 U.S. News & World Report national university rankings , including four Ivies in the top three ( Columbia and Yale are tied for 3rd ) . In the 2019 U.S. News & World Report global university rankings , three Ivies rank in the top ten ( Harvard 1st , Columbia 7th , and Princeton 8th ) and six in the top twenty-three . Undergraduate-focused Ivies such as Brown University and Dartmouth College rank 99th and 197th , respectively . U.S. News has named a member of the Ivy League as the best national university in each of the past 18 years ending with the 2018 rankings : Princeton eleven times , Harvard twice , and the two schools tied for first five times .
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County , New Jersey , United States , that was established in its current form on January 1 , 2013 , through the consolidation of the now-defunct Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township . As of the 2010 United States Census , the municipality 's population was 28,572 , reflecting the former township 's population of 16,265 , along with the 12,307 in the former borough . Princeton was founded before the American Revolutionary War . It is the home of Princeton University , which bears its name and moved to the community in 1756 from its previous location in Newark . Although its association with the university is primarily what makes Princeton a college town , other important institutions in the area include the Institute for Advanced Study , Westminster Choir College , Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory , Princeton Theological Seminary , Opinion Research Corporation , Bristol-Myers Squibb , Siemens Corporate Research , SRI International , FMC Corporation , The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation , Amrep , Church and Dwight , Berlitz International , and Dow Jones & Company . Princeton is roughly equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia . It is close to many major highways that serve both cities ( e.g . Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1 ) , and receives major television and radio broadcasts from each . It is also close to Trenton , New Jersey 's capital city , and Edison . The New Jersey governor 's official residence has been in Princeton since 1945 , when Morven in what was then Princeton Borough became the first Governor 's mansion . It was later replaced by the larger Drumthwacket , a colonial mansion located in the former Township . Morven became a museum property of the New Jersey Historical Society .
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ( MEAC ) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities ( HBCUs ) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States . It participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I , and in football , in the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) . Currently , the MEAC has automatic qualifying bids for NCAA postseason play in baseball ( since 1994 ) , men 's basketball ( since 1981 ) , women 's basketball ( since 1982 ) , football ( 1996-2015 ) , softball ( since 1995 ) , men and women 's tennis ( since 1998 ) , and volleyball ( since 1994 ) . Bowling was officially sanctioned as a MEAC governed sport in 1999 . Before that season , the MEAC was the first conference to secure NCAA sanctioning for women 's bowling by adopting the club sport prior to the 1996-97 school year .
Norfolk ( /ˈnɔːrfʊk/ ( listen ) NOR-fuuk ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States . At the 2010 census , the population was 242,803 ; in 2018 , the population was estimated to be 244,076 making it the second-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Beach and the 91st largest city in the nation . Norfolk is located at the core of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area , named for the large natural harbor of the same name located at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay . It is one of nine cities and seven counties that constitute the Hampton Roads metro area , officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News , VA-NC MSA . The city is bordered to the west by the Elizabeth River and to the north by the Chesapeake Bay . It also shares land borders with the independent cities of Chesapeake to its south and Virginia Beach to its east . Norfolk is one of the oldest cities in Hampton Roads , and is considered to be the historic , urban , financial , and cultural center of the region . The city has a long history as a strategic military and transportation point . The largest naval base in the world , Naval Station Norfolk , is located in Norfolk along with one of NATO 's two Strategic Command headquarters . The city also has the corporate headquarters of Norfolk Southern Railway , one of North America 's principal Class I railroads , however the company is currently in the process of relocating their headquarters to Atlanta , Georgia . Norfolk is also home to Maersk Line , Limited , which manages the world 's largest fleet of US-flag vessels . As the city is bordered by multiple bodies of water , Norfolk has many miles of riverfront and bayfront property , including beaches on the Chesapeake Bay .
The Missouri Valley Football Conference ( MVFC ) , formerly the Gateway Football Conference , is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States . It participates in the NCAA 's Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) as a football-only conference .
St. Louis ( /seɪnt ˈluːɪs/ ) is an independent city in Missouri . It is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Missouri , however the independent city of St. Louis is the second-largest city in Missouri behind Kansas City . It is situated along the western bank of the Mississippi River , which forms the state line between Illinois and Missouri . The Missouri River merges with the Mississippi River 15 river miles north of Downtown St. Louis , forming the fourth-longest river system in the world . The estimated 2018 population of the city proper was 302,838 and the bi-state metropolitan area was 2,804,724 . Greater St. Louis is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri , second-largest in Illinois , 7th-largest in the Great Lakes Megalopolis , and the 20th-largest in the United States . Before European settlement , the area was a regional center of Native American Mississippian culture . The city of St. Louis was founded in 1764 by French fur traders Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau , and named after Louis IX of France . In 1764 , following France 's defeat in the Seven Years ' War , the area was ceded to Spain and retroceded back to France in 1800 . In 1803 , the United States acquired the territory as part of the Louisiana Purchase . During the 19th century , St. Louis became a major port on the Mississippi River ; at the time of the 1870 Census , it was the fourth-largest city in the country . It separated from St. Louis County in 1877 , becoming an independent city and limiting its own political boundaries .
The Northeast Conference ( NEC ) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) . Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports except football , which competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) , formerly Division I-AA . Participating schools are located principally in the Northeastern United States . The conference was named the ECAC Metro Conference when it was established in 1981 . The original eleven member schools were Fairleigh Dickinson University , the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University ( whose athletic program has now merged with that of LIU 's Post campus into a single athletic program ) , Loyola College in Maryland ( left in 1989 ) , Marist College ( left in 1997 ) , Robert Morris University , St. Francis College ( NY ) , Saint Francis College ( PA ) , Siena College ( left in 1984 ) , Towson State University ( left in 1982 ) , the University of Baltimore ( left in 1983 ) and Wagner College . The conference 's name was changed to its present form on August 1 , 1988 . Other names considered were Big North , Great North , North Shore , Northern , Northeastern , Eastern and Eastern Private Intercollegiate . The Northeast Conference has expanded eight times since 1981 . The expansions and additions from the original charter members were in 1985 ( Monmouth University , which left in 2013 ) , 1989 ( Mount St. Mary 's University ) , 1992 ( Rider University , which left in 1997 ) , 1997 ( Central Connecticut State University ) , 1998 ( Quinnipiac University and the University of Maryland , Baltimore County which respectively left in 2013 and 2003 ) , 1999 ( Sacred Heart University ) , 2008 ( Bryant University ) , and 2019 ( Merrimack College ) . The Northeast Conference 's rank was largest at 12 in 2008 with the addition of Bryant University ; it dropped to 10 in 2013 with the departure of Monmouth and Quinnipiac for the MAAC , and returned to 11 with the 2019 addition of Merrimack . The most recent changes were announced in 2018 and took effect with the 2019-20 school year . First , on September 10 , the NEC announced it would add Merrimack .
Somerset is an unincorporated community and census-designated place ( CDP ) located within Franklin Township , in Somerset County , New Jersey , United States . As of the 2010 United States Census , the CDP 's population was 22,083 . Somerset housed one of the first Marconi Wireless Stations in the United States .
The Ohio Valley Conference ( OVC ) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States . It participates in Division I of the NCAA ; the conference 's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ; formerly known as Division I-AA ) , the lower of two levels of Division I football competition . The OVC has 12 members , 9 of which compete in football in the conference .
Brentwood is a suburb of Nashville , Tennessee , located in Williamson County , part of Middle Tennessee . The population was 37,060 as of the 2010 U.S. Census , and estimated at 42,505 in 2018 .
The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States . Outside the Ivy League , it is among the most selective group of higher education institutions in NCAA Division I and has a very high student-athlete graduation rate for both the NCAA graduation success rate and the federal graduation rate . The Patriot League consists of 10 core members : American University , the United States Military Academy ( Army ) , Boston University , Bucknell University , Colgate University , College of the Holy Cross , Lafayette College , Lehigh University , Loyola University Maryland and the United States Naval Academy ( Navy ) . All 10 core members participate in the NCAA 's Division I for all Patriot League sports that they offer . Since not all schools sponsor every available NCAA sport , such as ice hockey and wrestling , most schools are affiliated with other collegiate conferences . Additionally , the Patriot League has a unique arrangement for football . Bucknell , Colgate , Holy Cross , Lafayette , and Lehigh are members of the Patriot League 's Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) conference . Of the five other conference members , American , Boston University and Loyola Maryland do not sponsor football while Army and Navy play in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ; Army is an independent while Navy currently competes as an associate member of the American Athletic Conference . Four other private institutions are Patriot League members only for specific sports and are referred to as 'Patriot League associate members . ' Fordham University and Georgetown University are associate members in football , while MIT is an associate member in women 's rowing and University of Richmond is an associate member in women 's golf .
Center Valley is an unincorporated community ( Census Class Code U6 ) one mile north of Coopersburg , Pennsylvania , at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 309 and Pennsylvania Route 378 in Upper Saucon Township , Lehigh County , Pennsylvania in the United States . Its zip code is 18034 .
The Pioneer Football League ( PFL ) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States . The conference participates in the NCAA 's Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) as a football-only conference . It has member schools that range from New York , North Carolina , and Florida in the east to California in the west . It is headquartered in St. Louis , in the same complex that also contains the offices of the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference . Unlike most other Division I FCS conferences , the Pioneer League consists of institutions that choose not to award athletic scholarships ( grants-in-aid ) to football players . Most of the PFL 's members are private schools . Morehead State University is currently the only public school in the 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 ( formerly known as Division I-AA ) . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama , Georgia , North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee , and Virginia . Established in 1921 , the Southern Conference ranks as the fifth-oldest major college athletic conference in the United States , and either the third- or fourth-oldest in continuous operation , depending on definitions . Among conferences currently in operation , the Big Ten ( 1896 ) and Missouri Valley ( 1907 ) are indisputably older . The Pac-12 Conference did not operate under its current charter until 1959 , but claims the history of the Pacific Coast Conference , founded in 1915 , as its own . The Southwest Conference ( SWC ) was founded in 1914 , but ceased operation in 1996 . The Big Eight Conference claimed the same history as the Missouri Valley from 1907 to 1928 during its existence ; though it essentially merged with four SWC members to form the Big 12 Conference in 1996 , the Big 12 does not claim the Big Eight 's legacy . The Ivy League was formally organized in 1954 with athletic competition starting in 1955 , but claims the history of the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League , which competed from 1901 to 1955 , as its own . The SoCon was the first conference to use the three-point field goal in basketball in a November 29 , 1980 game at Western Carolina against Middle Tennessee State University ( MTSU ) , where Ronnie Carr shot the historic shot from 22 feet ( 6.7 m ) away and the Catamounts won 77-70 . The Southern Conference is considered one of the stronger football conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision and is considered a mid-major conference in basketball . It has also garnered considerable national attention from its recent success in these sports : in particular , former member , three-time Division I NCAA Football champion Appalachian State Mountaineers , who stunned the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines 34-32 on September 1 , 2007 ; from the Davidson Wildcats , who reached the Elite Eight in the 2008 NCAA Men 's Division I Basketball Tournament by upsetting power programs Gonzaga ( a mid-major school which became a power program in the 2000s ) , Georgetown , and Wisconsin .
Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County , South Carolina , United States , and the 12th-largest city by population in the state . The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 37,013 , and Spartanburg County has an urban population of 180,786 as of the 2010 census . For a time , the Office of Management and Budget grouped Spartanburg and Union Counties together as the Spartanburg Metropolitan Statistical Area , but as of 2018 the OMB defines only Spartanburg County as the Spartanburg MSA . Spartanburg is the second-largest city in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Combined Statistical Area , which has a population of 1,385,045 as of 2014 . It is part of a 10-county region of northwestern South Carolina known as The Upstate , and is located 98 miles ( 158 km ) northwest of Columbia , 80 miles ( 130 km ) west of Charlotte , North Carolina , and about 190 miles ( 310 km ) northeast of Atlanta , Georgia . Spartanburg is the home of Wofford College , Converse College , USC Upstate , Spartanburg Methodist College , and Spartanburg Community College . It is also the site of headquarters for Denny 's .
The Southland Conference , abbreviated to SLC , is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States ( specifically Texas , Louisiana , and Arkansas ) . It participates in the NCAA 's Division I for all sports ; for football , it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) . The Southland sponsors 18 sports , 10 for women and eight for men , and is governed by a presidential Board of Directors and an Advisory Council of athletic and academic administrators . Tom Burnett was named the Southland 's sixth commissioner on Dec. 23 , 2002 . From 1996 to 2002 , for football only , the Southland Conference was known as the Southland Football League . The conference 's offices are located in the Dallas suburb of Frisco , Texas .
Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in Texas . It is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex , and is approximately 25 miles ( 40 km ) from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport . The city population was 116,989 at the 2010 census . The 2018 Census estimate placed the city population at 188,170 . Frisco was the fastest-growing city in the United States in 2017 , and also the fastest-growing city in the nation from 2000 to 2009 . In the late 1990s , the northern Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex suburban development tide hit the northern border of Plano and spilled into Frisco , sparking rapid growth into the 2000s . Like many of the cities in the northern suburbs of Dallas , Frisco serves as a bedroom community for professionals who work in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex . Since 2003 , Frisco has received the designation Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation .
The Southwestern Athletic Conference ( SWAC ) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham , Alabama , which is made up of historically black colleges and universities ( HBCUs ) in the Southern United States . It participates in the NCAA 's Division I for all sports ; in football , it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) , formerly referred to as Division I-AA . The SWAC is widely considered the premier HBCU conference and ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of alumni affiliated with professional sports teams , particularly in football . On the gridiron , the conference has been the biggest draw on the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) level of the NCAA , leading the nation in average home attendance every year except one since FCS has been in existence . In 1994 , the SWAC fell just 40,000 fans short of becoming the first non-Football Bowl Subdivision conference to attract one million fans to its home games .
Birmingham ( /ˈbɜːrmɪŋhæm/ BUR-ming-ham ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama . With an estimated 2018 population of 209,880 , it is the most populous city in Alabama . Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County , Alabama 's most populous and fifth largest county . As of 2018 , the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 1,151,801 , making it the most populous in Alabama and 49th-most populous in the United States . Birmingham serves as an important regional hub and is associated with the Deep South , Piedmont , and Appalachian regions of the nation . Birmingham was founded in 1871 , during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era , through the merger of three farm towns , most notably Elyton . The new city was named for Birmingham , England , the United Kingdom 's second largest city and then a major industrial city . The Alabama city annexed its smaller neighbors as it developed into a major industrial center based on mining , the iron and steel industry , and rail transport . Most of the original settlers were of English ancestry . The city was developed as a place where low paid , non-unionized immigrants ( mainly Irish and Italian ) , along with African-Americans from rural Alabama , who worked in the city 's steel mills and blast furnaces and gave it a competitive advantage over unionized industrial cities of the Midwest and Northeast . :14