Search the Community

After adding six new football schools for 2013 and Western Kentucky for the year after, Conference USA might not be done. C-USA is considering expansion to 16 teams in football, commissioner Britton Banowsky said Monday. Western Kentucky replaces Tulsa as the 14th C-USA member for 2014. Last week, the Golden Hurricanes bolted to the American Athletic Conference, formerly known as the Big East. “We've modeled it at 16, and it does kind of create some divisions that are a little more geographically connected,” Banowsky said. “We haven't acted on it. I think personally a larger conference is better because you get some efficiencies, you get the benefit of a bigger group. We don't want to lose our identity in the process. We're just kind of moderating the growth at a pace where people are comfortable. It could be folks are just comfortable (at 14).” Such a proactive move would come during a time of relative small-conference stability -- the AAC, Mountain West and MAC all appear settled. The Sun Belt is deciding whether it wants to dip into the Football Championship Subdivision waters for two more teams. Banowsky said it's too early to speculate about potential new members, while adding he's not sure how flexible his membership will be after rampant change in recent months. Read more: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/jeremy-fowler/22030790/conference-usa-weighing-16-team-model

There was a moment in the Miami case Friday when infractions committee chairman Britton Banowsky came close to imposing what could be interpreted as a gag order. A conference call had been called by the Conference USA commissioner for reported "procedural" matters related to the case. On the call were lawyers representing coaches and the university. Multiple sources have told CBSSports.com that Banowsky urged parties to keep from commenting publicly on the contents of the call. Banowsky's action was covered by Bylaw 32.1.1, the so-called "confidentiality rule," according to the commissioner and NCAA spokesman Stacey Osburn. The bylaw reads: "... an institution and any individual subject to NCAA rules involved in a case shall treat that case under inquiry by the enforcement staff ... as confidential." Read more: http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/21766696/more-ncaa-missteps-add-another-chapter-to-already-confusing-case

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Although Tuesday's news focused on Conference USA's official inclusion of Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee, on Wednesday, Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky was looking to the future. "Our deal is to be the conference that really represents the next generation of great programs," Banowsky said. "We target large markets, generally. We target growth markets. We find universities that have their best ahead of them in terms of potential, that have invested in facilities, that are gearing up and getting ready to go, and then we give them a stage and a platform to participate." Addressing reporters Wednesday upon the conclusion of the 2013 Conference USA Winter Meetings at the South Beach Marriott, Banowsky offered an update of the conference's latest moves and expressed excitement over the new structure. "That's our strategy," Banowsky said. "I wouldn't be looking for opportunities that didn't fit into that general bandwidth." According to a C-USA spokesperson, all current and future athletic directors of C-USA member programs attended the two-day meetings, with the exception of Tulsa interim director of athletics, Kevan Buck. Tulsa has widely been reported as a potential Big East or Mountain West target. According to the spokesperson, Buck cited personal reasons for missing the meetings. Read more: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/21605066/cusa-introduces-new-look-and-work-might-not-be-done-yet

Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said Thursday that he expects a 14-team conference in football in 2013. In response to recent reports that C-USA members Tulane and East Carolina might be able to play in the Big East in the fall, Banowsky clarified it by saying, ”I think they’re with us next year.” Banowsky said he hopes to produce a C-USA football schedule with defined Western and Eastern divisions by the end of the month. UTSA will be in the Western Division, he said, before stopping short of sorting out the two seven-team divisions. Banowsky said UTSA would play six conference games within its division and two against the East. Presumably, the West would include UTSA, UTEP, North Texas, Rice, Tulsa, Louisiana Tech and Tulane. Tulsa is the defending C-USA champion. Presumably, the East would include Southern Mississippi, Middle Tennessee, Alabama-Birmingham, Marshall, East Carolina, Florida International and Florida Atlantic. Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/utsa/2013/01/c-usa-still-expects-to-field-14-in-football-in-2013/

Britton Banowsky has got to be feeling frustrated. How could he not? Every time Conference USA's veteran commissioner plugs a hole, fixes a leak or patches a crack another develops. Banowsky has used more Bondo, duct tape and spackle than a poor man's Bob Vila. And he might not be finished. Remember when East Carolina and Tulane announced they were leaving C-USA back on Nov. 27? Remember how the Pirates and Green Wave joined the stampede to the Big East? Remember how Banowsky quickly countered by inviting Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic to join C-USA? It was a prime example of "The Domino Effect" where every action has a reaction. But what happens if the dominoes un-fall? What then? That is precisely the premise Banowsky and C-USA just might be facing. What if East Carolina and Tulane take a hard, honest look at a Big East Conference that has been gutted like a mackerel and decide it isn't worth leaving C-USA? It is a distinct possibility. "East Carolina and Tulane haven't formally withdrawn from Conference USA," said Courtney Morrison-Archer, C-USA's Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs. "They have one full year to do that." Read more: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/x2070307741/Schools-playing-dominoes-vs-C-USA

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - After Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky welcomed Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic to the league on Thursday, he took time to share his own opinions on the sudden realignment and changes to conferences over the past week. It started with Maryland and Rutgers joining the Big Ten, making it soon to be a 14-team conference. The Atlantic Coast Conference picked up Louisville from the Big East. The Big East had already swiped Tulane and East Carolina from Conference USA before Conference USA took Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic from the Sun Belt Conference. "I believe the volatility around conferences is not healthy and particularly harmful to higher education," Banowsky said during a Thursday media teleconference. "Every time the system gets shocked, it's harder to restore trust and collaboration among universities and conference at a time where we really need to be thinking how we make American higher education better for everyone. "When we start ripping the fabric or start putting a lot of stress on the fabric, things separate. When it's not woven tightly, it's not good for the United States. It's not good for higher education. It's just a mess." Read more: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/11/conference_usa_welcomes_two_ne.html

One of the last people I spent a minute or two with at C-USA media day was commissioner Britton Banowsky. I was picking up some material for our preseason football magazine, but we wandered off to some other topics for a minute or two. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2012/07/c-usa-commissioner-speaks-highly-of-mccarney.html/

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?articleid=20120514_203_B1_TulsaP806599

SAN ANTONIO -- Conference USA is set to bring aboard Texas-San Antonio ahead of a planned merger with the Mountain West that would create a new league with as many as 24 schools. The University of Texas System Board of Regents has scheduled a vote for Wednesday, and chancellor Francisco Cigarroa has recommended approving the move only months before UTSA is set to begin its first season in the Western Athletic Conference. Football coach Larry Coker and UTSA officials apparently began having reservations about the WAC, telling regents that three other WAC members have declared their intentions to defect. Football coach Larry Coker and UTSA officials apparently began having reservations about the WAC, telling regents that three other WAC members have declared their intentions to defect. The agenda does not reveal which of the remaining football-playing WAC schools -- Utah State, Idaho, New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech, Texas State or San Jose State -- plan to depart. "Joining CUSA ... will provide greater national visibility and association with universities of similar enrollment, academic standing and community size," the agenda item reads. read more: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7866383/utsa-roadrunners-poised-exit-wac-conference-usa