This time it could be the Sun Belt poaching C-USA. “I don't see any Sun Belt schools leaving," former Sun Belt Commissioner Wright Waters said. Middle Tennessee, FIU and Western Kentucky were all members of the Sun Belt.īut the Sun Belt is now in a position of strength relative to C-USA. In the past, Conference USA has poached the Sun Belt Conference when it needed replacement schools. The AAC had no interest and instead went on the offensive.Ĭonference USA will be down to eight members - Old Dominion, UTEP, Southern Mississippi, Marshall, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Florida International and Western Kentucky - with an unclear future. After the latest realignment moves have been completed, 12 of the American’s 14 members will be former C-USA schools.Įarlier this month, C-USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod sent a letter to AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco proposing a merger of sorts between the two conferences to make each a better geographic fit for its members. The result would be a 14-team conference, with four schools in Texas - the three new members and SMU.Ĭ-USA has been a frequent target when the American, formerly the Big East, has needed to reconstitute. Those moves are expected by the 2023 football season, and the American hopes to have its six new members in place when the departing schools leave. The American was in the market for new members after three of its most successful schools - Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida - announced in September they would be joining the Big 12. The ripple effects are now being felt across the country. The shuffling is part of the fallout from the latest round of conference realignment kicked off this summer when Oklahoma and Texas decided to bolt the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference. The people spoke to AP on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the league was not yet prepared to make its expansion plans public. Six schools from C-USA - UAB, UTSA, Rice, North Texas, Charlotte and Florida Atlantic - have applied for membership with the American and are expected to be accepted by the end of the week, according to two people with knowledge of the process who spoke with The Associated Press.Īn announcement could come as soon as Thursday. The American Athletic Conference's latest rebuild leaves Conference USA in a precarious position.
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