Conference USA

Conference USA, officially abbreviated CUSA, is a group of college sports teams that play each other on the NCAA Division I level.  It was formed in 1995 when the Great Midwest Conference and Metro Conference merged, and has added several members since then. Most of the new members have come from either the Western Athletic Conference or the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). From 2005 to 2014, it also lost many members, mostly to the original Big East Conference and its football-playing offshoot, the American Athletic Conference (The American). In a later wave of conference changes in the early 2020s, CUSA lost three members to the SBC in 2022 and six to The American in 2023. CUSA responded to these later moves by adding seven new members, with four joining in July 2023, one joining in July 2024, and two joining in July 2025. One school is confirmed to be leaving in 2026, and another will leave no later than 2027.

The conference sends several teams to bowl games every year, including the Liberty Bowl and New Orleans Bowl.

Memphis (now a member of The American) has been the most successful men's basketball team in the conference, reaching the national championship game in 2008. (However, the NCAA later took Memphis's wins from that season away because a Memphis player, namely Derrick Rose, had not been eligible to play.)

Members

Conference USA now has 12 "full members" which play most of their sports in the league; Liberty (which joined in 2023) is the only fully private school. Delaware (which joined in 2025) is defined as a "privately governed, state-assisted" school.

Before 2022, the schools were split into East and West Divisions for some sports, most notably football; this allowed the football division winners to play a conference championship game. The divisional split ended with the loss of three members to the SBC. The football championship game now features the top two teams in the conference standings.

 School  Location  Founded  Type(affiliation)  Nickname  Joined   Newark, Delaware  1746  Private–public hybrid  Blue Hens  2025  (FIU)  Miami, Florida  1965  Public  Panthers  2013 Jacksonville State University  Jacksonville, Alabama  1883  Public  Gamecocks  2023 Kennesaw State University  Kennesaw, Georgia  1963  Public  Owls  2024 Liberty University  Lynchburg, Virginia  1971  Private  Flames &Lady Flames  2023 Louisiana Tech University  Ruston, Louisiana  1894  Public  Bulldogs &Lady Techsters  2013 Middle Tennessee State University  Murfreesboro, Tennessee  1911  Public  Blue Raiders  2005 Missouri State University  Springfield, Missouri  1905  Public  Bears & Lady Bears  2025 New Mexico State University  Las Cruces, New Mexico  1888  Public  Aggies  2023 Sam Houston State University(Sam Houston)  Huntsville, Texas  1879  Public  Bearkats  2023  (UTEP)  El Paso, Texas  1914  Public  Miners  2005 Western Kentucky University (WKU)  Bowling Green, Kentucky  1906  Public  Hilltoppers &Lady Toppers  2014

Associate members
CUSA now has 15 "associate members"—schools that are full members of another conference who play select sports in CUSA. One plays baseball, four play women's beach volleyball, nine others compete in bowling (which the NCAA runs only for women), and one competes in both beach volleyball and bowling. Most of these schools became associate members in 2023, when CUSA expanded its beach volleyball membership and added bowling as a sponsored sport. CUSA added bowling by absorbing the Southland Bowling League, a single-sport conference founded by, but separate from, the all-sports Southland Conference.

Most recently, CUSA lost one bowling member after the 2024–25 season but gained three new associates in that sport, and also added a new beach volleyball member at that time. The baseball associate, Dallas Baptist, will leave after the 2026 baseball season to become an associate of the Pac-12 Conference.

 School  Location  Founded  Type  Nickname  CUSASport(s)  Joined  Main Conference Arkansas State University  Jonesboro, Arkansas  1909  Public  Red Wolves  Bowling  2023  Sun Belt Dallas Baptist University  Dallas, Texas  1898  Private  Patriots  Baseball  2022  Lone Star Florida Atlantic University  Boca Raton, Florida  1961  Public  Owls  Beach volleyball  2023  American   Lincoln, Nebraska  1869  Public  Cornhuskers  Bowling  2025  Big Ten Sacred Heart University  Fairfield, Connecticut  1963  Private  Pioneers  Bowling  2025  MAAC   Tampa, Florida  1956  Public  Bulls  Beach volleyball  2025  American Tarleton State University  Stephenville, Texas  1899  Public  Texans  Beach volleyball  2023  WAC Tulane University  New Orleans, Louisiana  1834  Private  Green Wave  Beach volleyball  2022  American Bowling  2023  (UAB)  Birmingham, Alabama  199   Public  Blazers  Beach volleyball  2023  American Valparaiso University  Valparaiso, Indiana  1859  Private  Beacons  Bowling  2023  MVC Vanderbilt University  Nashville, Tennessee  1873  Private  Commodores  Bowling  2023  SEC Wichita State University  Wichita, Kansas  1895  Public  Shockers  Bowling  2024  American Wright State University  Fairborn, Ohio  1964  Public  Raiders  Bowling  2025  Horizon League Youngstown State University  Youngstown, Ohio  1908  Public  Penguins  Bowling  2023  Horizon

Notes

Former full members
No fewer than 23 schools have left CUSA since it was founded. Of these schools, 11 are now members of the American Athletic Conference. Three others had been in The American before joining the Big 12 Conference in 2023, and another left The American for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024.

 School  Location  Founded  Type  Nickname  Joined  Left  Current Conference  (Charlotte)  Charlotte, North Carolina  1946  Public  49ers  1995, 2013  2023     Cincinnati, Ohio  1819  Public  Bearcats  1995  2005  Big 12 DePaul University  Chicago, Illinois  1898  Private  Blue Demons  1995  2005  Big East East Carolina University  Greenville, North Carolina  1907  Public  Pirates  2001  2014   Florida Atlantic University  Boca Raton, Florida  1961  Public  Owls  2013  2023     Houston, Texas  1907  Public  Cougars  1996  2013  Big 12   Louisville, Kentucky  1798  Public  Cardinals  1995  2005  ACC Marshall University  Huntington, West Virginia  1837  Public  Thundering Herd  2005  2022  Sun Belt Marquette University  Milwaukee, Wisconsin  1881  Private  Golden Eagles  1995  2005  Big East   Memphis, Tennessee  1912  Public  Tigers  1995  2013     Denton, Texas  1890  Public  Mean Green  2013  2023   Old Dominion University  Norfolk, Virginia  1930  Public  Monarchs  2013  2022  Sun Belt Rice University  Houston, Texas  1912  Private  Owls  2005  2023   Saint Louis University  St. Louis, Missouri  1818  Private  Billikens  1995  2005  Atlantic 10  (SMU)  University Park, Texas  1911  Private  Mustangs  2005  2013  ACC   Tampa, Florida  1956  Public  Bulls  1995  2005     Hattiesburg, Mississippi  1910  Public  Golden Eagles  1995  2022  Sun Belt  (TCU)  Fort Worth, Texas  1873  Private  Horned Frogs  2001  2005  Big 12 Tulane University  New Orleans, Louisiana  1834  Private  Green Wave  1995  2014     Tulsa, Oklahoma  1894  Private  Golden Hurricane  2005  2014    (UAB)  Birmingham, Alabama  1969  Public  Blazers  1995  2023    (UCF)  Orlando, Florida  1963  Public  Knights  2005  2013  Big 12  (UTSA)  San Antonio, Texas  1969  Public  Roadrunners  2013  2023  

Former associate members
In addition to the former full members, 21 other schools have been associate members in the past, but have moved their CUSA sports elsewhere. (This does not include the four current full members that had been associate members.) Most notably, the United States Military Academy, more often called "Army" in a sports context, was a football member from 1996 to 2005 (final CUSA season in 2004).

References


Category:1995 establishments in the United States