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

American Athletic Conference
The American
2013[a]
12[b]
22
Providence,
Rhode Island

Atlantic Coast Conference
ACC
1953
15[c]
27[d]
Greensboro,
North Carolina

Big Ten Conference
Big Ten
B1G
1896
14
28
Rosemont,
Illinois

Big 12 Conference
Big 12
1996
10
23
Irving,
Texas

Conference USA
C-USA
1995
14
19
Irving,
Texas

Division I
FBS Independents
Ind.

6[e]
1
None

Mid-American Conference
MAC
1946
12
23
Cleveland,
Ohio

Mountain West Conference
MW
MWC
1999
11[f]
18
Colorado Springs,
Colorado

Pac-12 Conference
Pac-12
1959[g]
12
24[h]
San Francisco,
California

Southeastern Conference
SEC
1932
14
21
Birmingham,
Alabama

Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt
1976
12[i]
18
New Orleans,
Louisiana

Using the tabular data and the supporting text listed below.

Solve the question: Who founded the county that the headquarters of the most recently founded conference are located in ? Output only the correct answer as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Avoid adding external knowledge.

The American Athletic Conference ( The American or AAC ) , is an American collegiate athletic conference , featuring 12 member universities and six associate 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 . The American 's legal predecessor , the original Big East Conference , was considered one of the six collegiate power conferences of the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) era in college football , and The American inherited that status in the BCS 's final season . With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014 , The American became a Group of Five conference , which shares one automatic spot in the New Year 's Six bowl games . [ note 3 ] The league is the product of substantial turmoil in the old Big East during the 2010-14 conference realignment period . It is one of two conferences to emerge from the all-sports Big East in 2013 . While the other successor , which does not sponsor football , purchased the Big East Conference name , The American inherited the old Big East 's structure and is that conference 's legal successor . However , both conferences claim 1979 as their founding date , and the same history up to 2013 . The American is headquartered in Providence , Rhode Island , and led by Commissioner Michael Aresco .
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the state of Rhode Island and is one of the oldest cities in the United States . It was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams , a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony . He named the area in honor of God 's merciful Providence which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers . The city is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay . Providence was one of the first cities in the country to industrialize and became noted for its textile manufacturing and subsequent machine tool , jewelry , and silverware industries . Today , the city of Providence is home to eight hospitals and seven institutions of higher learning which have shifted the city 's economy into service industries , though it still retains some manufacturing activity . The city is the third most populous city in New England after Boston and Worcester , Massachusetts .
Rhode Island ( /ˌroʊd -/ ( listen ) , like road ) , officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations , is a state in the New England region of the United States . It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh least populous , but it is also the second most densely populated . Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut to the west , Massachusetts to the north and east , and the Atlantic Ocean to the south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound . It also shares a small maritime border with New York . Providence is the state capital and most populous city in Rhode Island . On May 4 , 1776 , the Colony of Rhode Island was the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown , and it was the fourth among the newly independent states to ratify the Articles of Confederation on February 9 , 1778 . The state boycotted the 1787 convention which drew up the United States Constitution and initially refused to ratify it ; it was the last of the original 13 states to do so on May 29 , 1790 . Rhode Island 's official nickname is The Ocean State , a reference to the large bays and inlets that amount to about 14 percent of its total area .
The Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States . Headquartered in Greensboro , North Carolina , the conference consists of fifteen member universities , each of whom compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) 's Division I , with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) , the highest levels for athletic competition in US-based collegiate sports . The ACC sponsors competition in twenty-five sports with many of its member institutions ' athletic programs held in high regard nationally . Current members of the conference are Boston College , Clemson University , Duke University , Georgia Institute of Technology , Florida State University , North Carolina State University , Syracuse University , the University of Louisville , the University of Miami , the University of North Carolina , the University of Notre Dame , the University of Pittsburgh , the University of Virginia , Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , and Wake Forest University . ACC teams and athletes have claimed dozens of national championships in multiple sports throughout the conference 's history . Generally , the ACC 's top athletes and teams in any particular sport in a given year are considered to be among the top collegiate competitors in the nation . Also , the conference enjoys extensive media coverage . The ACC was one of the five collegiate power conferences , which had automatic qualifying for their football champion into the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) . With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014 , the ACC is one of five conferences with a contractual tie-in to a New Year 's Six bowl game , the successors to the BCS . The ACC was founded on May 8 , 1953 , by seven universities located in the South Atlantic States , with the University of Virginia joining in early December 1953 to bring the membership to eight . The loss of South Carolina in 1971 dropped membership to seven , while the addition of Georgia Tech in 1979 for non-football sports and 1983 for football brought it back to eight , and Florida State 's arrival in 1991 for non-football sports and 1992 for football increased the membership to nine . Since 2000 , with the widespread reorganization of the NCAA , seven additional schools have joined , and one original member ( Maryland ) has left to bring it to the current membership of 15 schools .
Greensboro ( /ˈɡriːnzbʌroʊ/ ( listen ) ; formerly Greensborough ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina . It is the 3rd-most populous city in North Carolina , the 68th-most populous city in the United States , and the county seat and largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region . As of the 2010 census , the city population was 269,666 , and in 2018 the estimated population was 294,722 . Three major interstate highways ( Interstate 40 , Interstate 85 , and Interstate 73 ) in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina were built to intersect at this city . In 1808 , Greensborough ( the spelling before 1895 ) was planned around a central courthouse square to succeed Guilford Court House as the county seat . The county courts were thus placed closer to the geographical center of the county , a location more easily reached at the time by the majority of the county 's citizens , who depended on horse and foot for travel . In 2003 , the previous Greensboro - Winston-Salem - High Point metropolitan statistical area ( MSA ) was re-defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget . This region was separated into the Greensboro-High Point MSA and the Winston-Salem MSA . The 2010 population for the Greensboro-High Point MSA was 723,801 . The combined statistical area ( CSA ) of Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point , popularly referred to as the Piedmont Triad , had a population of 1,599,477 . Among Greensboro 's many notable attractions , some of the most popular include the Wet ' n Wild Emerald Pointe water park , the Greensboro Science Center , the International Civil Rights Museum , the Weatherspoon Art Museum , the Greensboro Symphony , the Greensboro Ballet , Triad Stage , the Wyndham Golf Championship , the headquarters of the Atlantic Coast Conference , the Greensboro Coliseum Complex which hosts various sporting events , concerts , and other events , the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic Baseball League , the Carolina Dynamo of the Premier Development Soccer League , the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League , the Greensboro Roller Derby , and the National Folk Festival .
North Carolina ( /ˌkærəˈlaɪnə/ ( listen ) ) is a U.S. state located in the southeastern region of the United States . North Carolina is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the 50 United States . It is bordered by Virginia to the north , the Atlantic Ocean to the east , Georgia and South Carolina to the south , and Tennessee to the west . Raleigh is the state 's capital and Charlotte is its largest city . The Charlotte metropolitan area , with an estimated population of 2,569,213 in 2018 , is the most populous metropolitan area in North Carolina , the 23rd-most populous in the United States , and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City . The Raleigh metropolitan area is the second-largest metropolitan area in the state , with an estimated population of 1,362,540 in 2018 , and is home to the largest research park in the United States , Research Triangle Park . North Carolina was established as a royal colony in 1729 and is one of the original Thirteen Colonies . North Carolina is named in honor of King Charles I of England who first formed the English colony , with Carolus being Latin for Charles . On November 21 , 1789 , North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution . In the run-up to the American Civil War , North Carolina declared its secession from the Union on May 20 , 1861 , becoming the last of eleven states to join the Confederate States . Following the Civil War , the state was restored to the Union on June 25 , 1868 . On December 17 , 1903 , Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully piloted the world 's first controlled , sustained flight of a powered , heavier-than-air aircraft at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina 's Outer Banks .
The Big Ten Conference ( stylized B1G , formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference ) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States . It is based in Rosemont , Illinois . For decades the conference consisted of 10 universities , while the present conference has 14 member institutions . They compete in the NCAA Division I ; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) , formerly known as Division I-A , the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport . The conference includes the flagship public university in each of 11 states stretching from New Jersey to Nebraska , as well as two additional public land-grant schools and a private university . The Big Ten Conference was established in 1895 when Purdue University president James H. Smart and representatives from the University of Chicago , University of Illinois , University of Michigan , University of Minnesota , Northwestern University , and University of Wisconsin gathered at Chicago 's Palmer House Hotel to set policies aimed at regulating intercollegiate athletics . In 1899 , Indiana University and the University of Iowa joined the conference to increase the membership to nine schools . In 1905 , the conference was officially incorporated as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives . The conference is one of the nation 's oldest , predating the founding of the NCAA by a decade , and was one of the first collegiate conferences to sponsor men 's basketball . Big Ten member institutions are major research universities with large financial endowments and strong academic reputations . All institutions except full member University of Nebraska and associate member Notre Dame are members of the Association of American Universities . Large student enrollment is a hallmark of Big Ten Universities , as 12 of the 14 members feature enrollments of 30,000 or more students .
Rosemont is a village in Cook County , Illinois , United States . Located immediately northwest of Chicago , as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,202 . The village was incorporated in 1956 , though it had been settled long before that . While Rosemont 's land area and population are relatively small among municipalities in the Chicago Metropolitan Area , the village is a major center for commercial activity in the region and is a key component of the Golden Corridor . Due to its proximity to several interstates , O'Hare International Airport , and downtown Chicago , it has emerged as a significant edge city and entertainment district , with corporate facilities , millions of square feet of office space , nearly 50 restaurants , 15 hotels , the 840,000-square-foot ( 78,000 m2 ) Donald E. Stephens Convention Center ( home to conventions and trade shows ) , the 16,000+ seat Allstate Arena ( home to the Chicago Wolves , Chicago Sky , DePaul Blue Demons until 2017 , and concerts and other live entertainment events ) , the 4,000+ seat Rosemont Theatre , the 130-store Fashion Outlets of Chicago , the Rosemont Stadium ( home to an outdoor collegiate-level baseball stadium and 140,000 sq ft indoor sports dome ) , and the entertainment complex Parkway Bank Park , which features restaurants , entertainment and a large common area used for summer concerts and ice skating in the winter . Rosemont is near Rivers Casino in Des Plaines and additional hotels , offices , restaurants , and corporate facilities in the adjacent O'Hare neighborhood of Chicago and nearby suburban communities such as Des Plaines and Schiller Park . The residential sections of Rosemont are a gated community , as a result of the 1995 decision by residents to enclose the residential portions of the village ( roughly half the area of the village ) , thereby restricting access to locals .
Illinois ( /ˌɪləˈnɔɪ/ ( listen ) IL-ə-NOY ) is a state in the Midwestern and Great Lakes Regions of the United States . It has the fifth largest gross domestic product ( GDP ) , the sixth largest population , and the 25th largest land area of all U.S. states . Illinois has been noted as a microcosm of the entire United States . With Chicago in northeastern Illinois , small industrial cities and immense agricultural productivity in the north and center of the state , and natural resources such as coal , timber , and petroleum in the south , Illinois has a diverse economic base , and is a major transportation hub . Chicagoland , Chicago 's metropolitan area , encompasses over 65% of the state 's population . The Port of Chicago connects the state to international ports via two main routes : from the Great Lakes , via the Saint Lawrence Seaway , to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River , via the Illinois Waterway to the Illinois River . The Mississippi River , the Ohio River , and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois . For decades , Chicago 's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world 's busiest airports . Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and , through the 1980s , in politics . The capital of Illinois is Springfield , which is located in the central part of the state . Although today Illinois 's largest population center is in its northeast , the state 's European population grew first in the west as the French settled lands near the Mississippi River , when the region was known as Illinois Country and was part of New France . Following the American Revolutionary War , American settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1780s via the Ohio River , and the population grew from south to north .
The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Irving , Texas . The conference consists of ten full-member universities . It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) for all sports . Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ; formerly Division I-A ) , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition . Its ten members , in the states of Iowa , Kansas , Oklahoma , Texas , and West Virginia , include eight public and two private , Christian schools . Additionally , the Big 12 has 11 affiliate members - eight for the sport of wrestling , one of which is also a member in women 's equestrianism ; one for women 's gymnastics ; and two for women 's rowing . The Big 12 Conference is a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) nonprofit organization incorporated in Delaware . The Big 12 Conference was founded on February 25 , 1994 . The eight members of the former Big Eight Conference joined with Southwest Conference schools Texas , Texas A & M , Baylor , and Texas Tech to form the new Big 12 Conference , which commenced competition on August 31 , 1996 . The conference 's current 10-campus makeup resulted from the 2010-13 Big 12 Conference realignment , in which Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference , Colorado joined the Pac-12 , and Missouri and Texas A & M joined the Southeastern Conference . TCU and West Virginia joined from the Mountain West and Big East Conferences respectively to offset two of the departing schools , bringing the conference to its current strength . The Big 12 Conference , like others involved in the realignment , has kept its name primarily for marketing purposes ; the conference has high name recognition and remains one of the Power Five conferences which are considered the primary contenders to produce a College Football Playoff champion team in any given year .
Irving is a principal city in Dallas County in the U.S. state of Texas and it is also an inner ring suburb of the city of Dallas . According to a 2017 estimate from the United States Census Bureau , the city population was 240,373 making it the thirteenth-most populous city in Texas and 93rd most populous city in the U.S . The city of Irving is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex . Irving includes the Las Colinas community , one of the first master-planned developments in the United States and once the largest mixed-use development in the Southwest with a land area of more than 12,000 acres ( 4,856 ha ) . Las Colinas is home to the Mustangs at Las Colinas , which is the largest equine sculpture in the world , as well as many Fortune 500 companies , such as ExxonMobil , Kimberly-Clark and Fluor Corporation . In April 2019 , the Westin Irving Convention Center Hotel opened , signalling the completion of the city 's special entertainment district that includes the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas and the Toyota Music Factory . Part of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport lies inside the city limits of Irving .
Texas ( /ˈtɛksəs/ , locally /ˈtɛksɪz/ ; Spanish : Texas or Tejas , pronounced [ ˈtexas ] ( listen ) ) is the second largest state in the United States by area ( after Alaska ) and population ( after California ) . Located in the South Central region , Texas shares borders with the states of Louisiana to the east , Arkansas to the northeast , Oklahoma to the north , New Mexico to the west , and the Mexican states of Chihuahua , Coahuila , Nuevo León , and Tamaulipas to the southwest , and has a coastline with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast . Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth largest in the U.S. , while San Antonio is the second-most populous in the state and seventh largest in the U.S. Dallas-Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country , respectively . Other major cities include Austin , the second-most populous state capital in the U.S. , and El Paso . Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State for its former status as an independent republic , and as a reminder of the state 's struggle for independence from Mexico . The Lone Star can be found on the Texas state flag and on the Texas state seal . The origin of Texas 's name is from the word taysha , which means friends in the Caddo language . Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault , Texas contains diverse landscapes common to both the U.S. Southern and Southwestern regions . Although Texas is popularly associated with the U.S. southwestern deserts , less than 10% of Texas 's land area is desert . Most of the population centers are in areas of former prairies , grasslands , forests , and the coastline . Traveling from east to west , one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods , to rolling plains and rugged hills , and finally the desert and mountains of the Big Bend . The term six flags over Texas [ note 1 ] refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory .
Conference USA ( C-USA or CUSA ) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current 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 Dallas , Texas .
National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Football Bowl Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions whose football programs are not part of an NCAA-affiliated conference . This means that FBS independents are not required to schedule each other for competition like conference schools do . There are fewer independent schools than in years past ; many independent schools join , or attempt to join , established conferences . The main reasons to join a conference are to gain a share of television revenue and access to bowl games that agree to take teams from certain conferences , and to help deal with otherwise potentially difficult challenges in scheduling opponents to play throughout the season . All Division I FBS independents are eligible for the College Football Playoff ( CFP ) , or for the so-called access bowls associated with the CFP , if they are chosen by the CFP selection committee . Notre Dame has a potential tie-in with the Orange Bowl . Army has an agreement with the Military Bowl ( formerly the EagleBank Bowl ) , and Notre Dame , in addition to its CFP agreement , has other bowl agreements as part of its affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) . ( Notre Dame had similar agreements with its previous conference , the Big East . ) BYU had an agreement with the Armed Forces Bowl for 2011 . The ranks of football independents increased by one starting with the 2011 season with the announcement that BYU would leave the Mountain West Conference ( MWC ) to become a football independent starting with that season . The ranks increased by two in 2013 when the Western Athletic Conference ( WAC ) dropped football and New Mexico State and Idaho did not have a conference for football . The ranks of football independents decreased by two in 2014 with the return of Idaho and New Mexico State as football-only members of the Sun Belt Conference ( SBC ) and decreased by one more in 2015 with Navy joining the American Athletic Conference ( AAC ) as a football-only member .
The Mid-American Conference ( MAC ) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois . Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan , with single members located in Illinois , Indiana , and New York . For football , the MAC participates in the NCAA 's Football Bowl Subdivision . The MAC is headquartered in the Public Square district in downtown Cleveland , Ohio , and has two members in the nearby Akron area . The MAC has been referred to as the Conference of Quarterbacks because of the accomplishments of numerous former players in the National Football League . The conference also ranks highest among all ten NCAA Division I FBS conferences for graduation rates .
Cleveland ( /ˈkliːvlənd/ KLEEV-lənd ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio , and the county seat of Cuyahoga County . The city proper has a population of 385,525 , making it the 52nd-largest city in the United States and the second-largest city in Ohio . Greater Cleveland is ranked as the 33rd-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. , with 2,057,009 people in 2018 . A Gamma + city , Cleveland anchors the Cleveland-Akron-Canton Combined Statistical Area , which had a population of 3,515,646 in 2010 and is ranked 15th in the United States . The city is located on the southern shore of Lake Erie , across the U.S. maritime border with Canada and approximately 60 miles ( 100 kilometers ) west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania state border . It was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River by General Moses Cleaveland . It became a manufacturing center due to its location on both the river and the lake shore , as well as being connected to numerous canals and railroad lines . Cleveland 's economy relies on diversified sectors such as manufacturing , financial services , healthcare , biomedicals , and higher education . The city 's major cultural institutions include the Cleveland Museum of Art , the Cleveland Orchestra , Playhouse Square , and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Known as The Forest City among many other nicknames , Cleveland serves as the center of the Cleveland Metroparks nature reserve system .
Ohio /oʊˈhaɪoʊ/ ( listen ) is a state in the East North Central region of the Midwestern United States . Of the fifty states , it is the 34th largest by area , the seventh most populous , and the tenth most densely populated . The state 's capital and largest city is Columbus . Ohio is bordered by Lake Erie to the north , Pennsylvania to the east , West Virginia to the southeast , Kentucky to the southwest , Indiana to the west , and Michigan to the northwest . The state takes its name from the Ohio River , whose name in turn originated from the Seneca word ohiːyo ' , meaning good river , great river or large creek . Partitioned from the Northwest Territory , Ohio was the 17th state admitted to the Union on March 1 , 1803 , and the first under the Northwest Ordinance . Ohio is historically known as the Buckeye State after its Ohio buckeye trees , and Ohioans are also known as Buckeyes . Ohio rose from the wilderness of Ohio Country west of Appalachia in colonial times through the Northwest Indian Wars as part of the Northwest Territory in the early frontier , to become the first non-colonial free state admitted to the union , to an industrial powerhouse in the 20th century before transitioning to a more information and service based economy in the 21st . The government of Ohio is composed of the executive branch , led by the governor ; the legislative branch , which comprises the bicameral Ohio General Assembly ; and the judicial branch , led by the state Supreme Court . Ohio occupies 16 seats in the United States House of Representatives . Ohio is known for its status as both a swing state and a bellwether in national elections . Seven presidents of the United States have been elected who had Ohio as their home state .
The Mountain West Conference ( MW ) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) ( formerly I-A ) . The MW officially began operations in July 1999 . Geographically , the MW covers a broad expanse of the Western United States , with member schools located in California , Colorado , Hawaii , Idaho , Nevada , New Mexico , Utah , and Wyoming . Craig Thompson has served as Commissioner of the MW since its founding in 1999 . The charter members of the MW included the United States Air Force Academy , Brigham Young University , Colorado State University , San Diego State University , the University of New Mexico , the University of Nevada , Las Vegas , the University of Utah , and the University of Wyoming . Before forming the Mountain West Conference , seven of its eight charter members had been longtime members of the Western Athletic Conference , and half of these had been charter members of that conference from 1962 . Overall , each school that has ever been either a full or football-only member of the MW spent at least three years in the WAC before joining the Mountain West .
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality that is the largest city by area in Colorado as well as the county seat and the most populous municipality of El Paso County , Colorado , United States . It is in east central Colorado , on Fountain Creek , 60 miles ( 97 km ) south of Denver . At 6,035 feet ( 1,839 m ) the city stands over 1 mile ( 1.6 km ) above sea level , though some areas are significantly higher and lower . Colorado Springs is near the base of Pikes Peak , which rises 14,115 feet ( 4,302 m ) above sea level on the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains . The United States Air Force Academy opened just north of Colorado Springs in 1958 . The city is home to 24 national sports governing bodies , including the United States Olympic Committee , the United States Olympic Training Center , and USA Hockey . The city had an estimated population of 472,688 in 2018 , and a metro population of approximately 738,939 , making it Colorado 's second most populous city , behind Denver , and the 39th most populous city in the United States . The Colorado Springs , CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 712,327 in 2016 . The city is in the Front Range Urban Corridor , an oblong region of urban population along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming , generally following Interstate 25 . The city covers 194.9 square miles ( 505 km2 ) , making it the most extensive municipality in Colorado . In 2017 and 2018 , Colorado Springs received several accolades . In 2018 U.S. News named it the most desirable place to live in the United States .
Colorado ( /ˌkɒləˈrædoʊ , -ˈrɑːdoʊ/ ( listen ) , other variants ) is a state of the Western United States encompassing most of the southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains . It is the 8th most extensive and 21st most populous U.S. state . The estimated population of Colorado is 5,770,545 as of 2019 , an increase of 14.7% since the 2010 United States Census . The state was named for the Colorado River , which early Spanish explorers named the Río Colorado ( Red River ) for the ruddy silt the river carried from the mountains . The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28 , 1861 , and on August 1 , 1876 , U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed Proclamation 230 admitting Colorado to the Union as the 38th state . Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it became a state one century after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence . Colorado is bordered by Wyoming to the north , Nebraska to the northeast , Kansas to the east , Oklahoma to the southeast , New Mexico to the south , Utah to the west , and touches Arizona to the southwest at the Four Corners . Colorado is noted for its vivid landscape of mountains , forests , high plains , mesas , canyons , plateaus , rivers and desert lands . Colorado is part of the western and southwestern United States and is one of the Mountain States . Denver is the capital and most populous city of Colorado . Residents of the state are known as Coloradans , although the antiquated term Coloradoan is occasionally used .
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western United States , participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level . Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ; formerly Division I-A ) , the higher of two tiers of NCAA Division I football competition . The conference 's 12 members are located in the states of Arizona , California , Colorado , Oregon , Utah , and Washington . They include each state 's flagship public university , four additional public universities , and two private research universities . The modern Pac-12 conference formed after the disbanding of the Pacific Coast Conference ( PCC ) , whose principal members founded the Athletic Association of Western Universities ( AAWU ) in 1959 . The conference previously went by the names Big Five , Big Six , Pacific-8 , and Pacific-10 . The Pac-12 moniker was adopted in 2011 with the addition of Colorado and Utah . Nicknamed the Conference of Champions , the Pac-12 has won more NCAA national championships in team sports than any other conference in history . The top three schools with the most NCAA team championships are members of the Pac-12 : Stanford , UCLA , and USC , respectively . Washington 's national title in women 's rowing in 2017 was the 500th NCAA championship won by a Pac-12 school . The current commissioner of the conference is Larry Scott . Scott replaced Thomas C. Hansen , who retired in July 2009 after 26 years in that position .
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco and colloquially known as SF , San Fran , Frisco , or The City , is the cultural , commercial , and financial center of Northern California . San Francisco is the 15th most populous city in the United States , and the fourth most populous in California , with 883,305 residents as of 2018 . It covers an area of about 46.89 square miles ( 121.4 km2 ) , mostly at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area , making it the second most densely populated large U.S. city , and the fifth most densely populated U.S. county , behind only four of the five New York City boroughs . San Francisco is the 12th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States by population , with 4.7 million people , and the 4th-largest by economic output , with GDP of $ 549 billion in 2018 . With San Jose , it forms the fifth most populous combined statistical area in the United States , the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland , CA Combined Statistical Area ( 9.67 million residents in 2018 ) . As of 2018 , San Francisco was the seventh-highest-income county in the United States , with a per capita personal income of $ 130,696 . In the same year , San Francisco proper had a GDP of $ 183.2 billion , and a GDP per capita of $ 207,371 . The CSA San Francisco shares with San Jose and Oakland was the country 's third-largest urban economy as of 2018 , with a GDP of $ 1.03 trillion . Of the 500+ primary statistical areas in the U.S. , this CSA had among the highest GDP per capita in 2018 , at $ 106,757 . San Francisco was ranked 12th in the world and 2nd in the United States on the Global Financial Centres Index as of September 2019 . As of 2016 , the San Francisco metropolitan area had the highest GDP per capita , labor productivity , and household income levels in the OECD . San Francisco was founded on June 29 , 1776 , when colonists from Spain established Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate and Mission San Francisco de Asís a few miles away , all named for St. Francis of Assisi .
California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States . With 39.5 million residents across a total area of about 163,696 square miles ( 423,970 km2 ) , California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area . The state capital is Sacramento . The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation 's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions , with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively . Los Angeles is California 's most populous city , and the country 's second-most populous , after New York City . California also has the nation 's most populous county , Los Angeles County , and its largest county by area , San Bernardino County . The City and County of San Francisco is both the country 's second most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth most densely populated county , behind only four of the five New York City boroughs . California 's economy , with a gross state product of $ 3.0 trillion , is the largest sub-national economy in the world . If it were a country , California would be the fifth-largest economy in the world ( larger than the United Kingdom , France , or India ) , and the 36th-most populous as of 2017 [ update ] . The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation 's second- and third-largest urban economies ( $ 1.3 trillion and $ 1.0 trillion respectively as of 2018 [ update ] ) , after the New York metropolitan area . The San Francisco Bay Area PSA had the nation 's highest gross domestic product per capita in 2018 ( $ 106,757 ) among large primary statistical areas , and is home to three of the world 's ten largest companies by market capitalization and three of the world 's ten richest people . California culture is considered a global trendsetter in popular culture , communication , information , innovation , environmentalism , economics , politics , and entertainment .
The Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States . Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ten states , three additional public land grant universities , and one private research university . The conference is headquartered in Birmingham , Alabama . The SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I in sports competitions ; for football , it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) , formerly known as Division I-A . The SEC is regarded as one of the most accomplished sports conferences in terms of its winning reputation , with 43 national football championships , 21 basketball championships , 41 indoor track championships , 42 outdoor track championships , 24 swimming championships , 20 gymnastics championships , and 13 College World Series . The conference is also highly successful financially , as it consistently leads most others in revenue distribution to its members , including an SEC record $ 455.8 million for the 2014-15 fiscal year , which was a sizable increase over the $ 292.8 million for the 2013-14 fiscal year , largely due to the revenue from the introduction of the SEC Network . The SEC was also the first NCAA Division I conference to hold a championship game ( and award a subsequent title ) for college football and was one of the founding members of the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) . The current SEC commissioner is Greg Sankey . The conference sponsors team championships in nine men 's sports and twelve women 's sports .
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
Alabama ( /ˌæləˈbæmə/ ) is a state in the southeastern region of the United States . It is bordered by Tennessee to the north , Georgia to the east , Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south , and Mississippi to the west . Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states . With a total of 1,500 miles ( 2,400 km ) of inland waterways , Alabama has among the most of any state . Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer State , after the state bird . Alabama is also known as the Heart of Dixie and the Cotton State . The state tree is the longleaf pine , and the state flower is the camellia . Alabama 's capital is Montgomery . The largest city by population is Birmingham , which has long been the most industrialized city ; the largest city by land area is Huntsville . The oldest city is Mobile , founded by French colonists in 1702 as the capital of French Louisiana . The Greater Birmingham metropolitan area is Alabama 's most populous urban area . From the American Civil War until World War II , Alabama , like many states in the southern U.S. , suffered economic hardship , in part because of its continued dependence on agriculture .
The Sun Belt Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA 's Division I since 1976 . Originally a non-football conference , the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001 . Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) . The 12 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed primarily across the southern United States .
New Orleans ( /ˈɔːrl ( i ) ənz , ɔːrˈliːnz/ , locally /ˈɔːrlənz/ ; French : La Nouvelle-Orléans [ la nuvɛlɔʁleɑ̃ ] ( listen ) ) is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana . With an estimated population of 391,006 in 2018 , it is the most populous city in Louisiana . Serving as a major port , New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States . New Orleans is world-renowned for its distinct music , Creole cuisine , unique dialect , and its annual celebrations and festivals , most notably Mardi Gras . The historic heart of the city is the French Quarter , known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street . The city has been described as the most unique in the United States , owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage . Founded in 1718 by French colonists , New Orleans was once the territorial capital of French Louisiana before being traded to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 . New Orleans in 1840 was the third-most populous city in the United States , and it was the largest city in the American South from the Antebellum era until after World War II . The city has historically been very vulnerable to flooding , due to such factors as high rainfall , low lying elevation , poor natural drainage and location next to multiple bodies of water . State and federal authorities have installed a complex system of levees and drainage pumps in an effort to protect the city . New Orleans was severely affected by Hurricane Katrina on August 29 , 2005 , which resulted in flooding more than 80% of the city , thousands of deaths , and so much displacement because of damaged communities and lost housing as to cause a population decline of over 50% . Since Katrina , major redevelopment efforts have led to a rebound in the city 's population .
Louisiana ( /luˌiːziˈænə/ ( listen ) , /ˌluːzi-/ ( listen ) ) [ a ] is a state in the Deep South region of the South Central United States . It is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States . Louisiana is bordered by the state of Texas to the west , Arkansas to the north , Mississippi to the east , and the Gulf of Mexico to the south . A large part of its eastern boundary is demarcated by the Mississippi River . Louisiana is the only U.S. state with political subdivisions termed parishes , which are equivalent to counties . The state 's capital is Baton Rouge , and its largest city is New Orleans . Much of the state 's lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River , leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp . [ self-published source ] These contain a rich southern biota ; typical examples include birds such as ibis and egrets . There are also many species of tree frogs , and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish . In more elevated areas , fire is a natural process in the landscape and has produced extensive areas of longleaf pine forest and wet savannas . These support an exceptionally large number of plant species , including many species of terrestrial orchids and carnivorous plants . Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other southern state , including four that are federally recognized , ten that are state recognized , and four that have not received recognition .