Conference USA facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Conference USA

Association	NCAA
Founded	1995
Commissioner	Judy MacLeod (since 2015)
Sports fielded	19 men's: 8 women's: 11
Division	Division I
Subdivision	FBS
No. of teams	12 (11 in 2026, 10 by 2027)
Headquarters	Dallas, Texas
Region	Southern United States and Southwestern United States
TV partner(s)	CBS Sports Network ESPN
Locations

Conference USA (CUSA) is a group of colleges and universities in the Southern and Western United States. These schools compete in sports together. CUSA is part of the NCAA's Division I, which is the highest level for college sports. Their football teams play in the top Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). CUSA's main office is in Dallas, Texas.

Member Schools

CUSA has different types of members: full members and affiliate members. Full members compete in most of the conference's sports. Affiliate members only compete in one or a few specific sports.

Current Full Members

These are the schools that are full members of Conference USA.      This school will join the Mountain West Conference in 2026.      This school will join the Sun Belt Conference by 2027.

Membership Map

Affiliate Members

These schools are part of CUSA for specific sports, not all of them.

Former Full Members

These schools used to be full members of Conference USA.

Former Affiliate Members

These schools were once affiliate members of CUSA for specific sports.

Membership Timeline

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

History of CUSA

CUSA started in 1995. It was formed when two other sports conferences, the Metro Conference and Great Midwest Conference, joined together. These older conferences did not have football teams.

When CUSA began, it was a very large conference. It stretched across many states, from Florida to Missouri and Texas. Many of its first schools were in big cities. They had strong basketball teams, which helped the new conference become well-known.

Changes in 2005–06

Big changes happened in CUSA for the 2005–06 school year. Another conference, the Big East, invited some CUSA schools to join them. Five CUSA schools left for the Big East. Two other schools went to the Atlantic 10 Conference. One school, TCU, joined the Mountain West Conference. Another school, Army, which only played football in CUSA, decided to play football on its own.

To make up for these losses, CUSA invited six new schools. These schools came from other conferences like the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). After these changes, CUSA had 12 schools. All of them had football teams. The conference then split into two groups, or divisions, for football.

Changes in 2013–14

More changes happened in 2013. Four schools left CUSA to join the American Athletic Conference. This conference was formed from the football-playing parts of the old Big East Conference.

CUSA then invited five new schools to join. All of them accepted. UTSA and Louisiana Tech came from the WAC. North Texas and FIU joined from the Sun Belt Conference. Old Dominion also joined, bringing all its sports to CUSA. Charlotte, an original member, also returned to CUSA.

Changes in 2014–15

In 2014, Tulane left CUSA to join the Big East. East Carolina also left for the American Athletic Conference. CUSA then added Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic from the Sun Belt.

Later, Western Kentucky, also from the Sun Belt, joined CUSA. This helped balance the schools after Tulsa left for the American Athletic Conference.

From 2014 to 2021

Conference USA members after the 2014–15 realignment

In 2014, the UAB football team was almost shut down. But in 2015, UAB decided to bring football back. Their team started playing again in 2017. They even won the CUSA championship in 2018 and 2020.

In 2015, Judy MacLeod became the new commissioner of CUSA. She was the first woman to lead a major college football conference. In 2021, Marshall's men's soccer team won a national championship. This was the first national title for a CUSA team.

Recent Changes (2020s)

Many schools changed conferences in the early 2020s. In 2021, six CUSA schools (Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA) announced they would join the American Athletic Conference in 2023. Soon after, Southern Miss, Old Dominion, and Marshall announced they would join the Sun Belt Conference in 2022.

To replace these schools, CUSA added four new members in 2023. These were Liberty and Jacksonville State from the ASUN conference. Also, New Mexico State and Sam Houston joined from the WAC.

In 2024, Kennesaw State also joined CUSA. The conference also added new sports like bowling and beach volleyball. In 2023, CUSA changed its name from "C-USA" to "CUSA" and updated its logo.

In 2025, Delaware and Missouri State joined CUSA. This brought the number of full members to 12. However, UTEP will leave CUSA in 2026 to join the Mountain West Conference.

Hall of Fame

In 2019, CUSA started its Hall of Fame. It honored 20 student-athletes, three coaches, and two leaders. Famous people like basketball player Kenyon Martin and baseball player Kevin Youkilis were among the first to be inducted.

Commissioners

• Michael Slive (1995–2002)
• Britton Banowsky (2002–2015)
• Judy MacLeod (2015–present)

Sports in CUSA

CUSA offers championships in 8 men's sports and 11 women's sports. Some schools are affiliate members, meaning they only play one or two sports in CUSA. Bowling was added in 2023–24.

Sports Sponsored

Men's Sports by School

Women's Sports by School

Departing members are shown in pink.

Football Teams

For the upcoming season, see 2025 Conference USA football season.

CUSA Football Champions CUSA holds a championship game for football.

Bowl Games College football teams play in special "bowl games" at the end of the season. The best team from the "Group of Five" conferences (which includes CUSA) is guaranteed a spot in one of the big bowl games. Starting in 2024, at least one champion from these conferences will get a spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.

Here are some of the major bowl games:

CUSA teams also play in other bowl games. Here are some of them:

Football Rivalries Some CUSA teams have special rivalries. They often play for a trophy or have a special name for their game.

Men's Basketball Teams

For the most recent season, see 2024–25 Conference USA men's basketball season.

Women's Basketball Teams

Baseball Teams

CUSA also holds a baseball tournament.

Championships

Current CUSA Champions

"RS" means Regular Season (best record). "T" means Tournament (won the championship game).

National Champions

Only a few CUSA teams have won national championships while being part of the conference. Jacksonville State won the NCAA bowling championship in 2024. Youngstown State won the NCAA bowling title in 2025. Marshall won the men's soccer championship in 2021.

Many current and future CUSA teams have won national championships before joining CUSA.

Sports Facilities

These are the main sports venues for CUSA schools. Schools leaving the conference are shown in red.

Media Coverage

CUSA has agreements with TV networks like ESPN and CBS Sports Network. These networks show many CUSA football and basketball games. CUSA also has its own streaming service called CUSA.tv. It shows games that are not on other TV channels.

Academics

Many CUSA schools are highly ranked universities. They are known for their strong research programs.

See also

In Spanish: Conference USA para niños