Search the Community

HUNTINGTON July 1, 2013, marks a new beginning for Conference USA. Eight established members are officially joined Monday by eight newcomers in the new C-USA alignment. Marshall, East Carolina, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB and UTEP welcome Charlotte, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Old Dominion and UT-San Antonio to the league. Were really excited at Marshall with our new members coming in, Thundering Herd mens basketball head coach Tom Herrion said in a video clip on ConferenceUSA.com. I think its the first time our fan base has felt so energized because of the regional games the new membership provides to our fan base. I think its so valuable to us and its only going to enhance our enthusiasm for Conference USA. Old Dominion and Charlotte will compete in all C-USA sports this year except football. The Monarchs and 49ers are schools in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) the level formerly known as NCAA Division I-AA until moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level and entering C-USA competition in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Even in the transformation and expansion of Conference USA, which becomes official today, Marshall Athletic Director Mike Hamrick said the conference has come closer to his university's campus. "We stayed put and monitored what was going on in Conference USA, and it came closer to us," he said. "The conference has come back, geographically, to us." Many of Marshall's new neighbors, plus another arrival next year, are stationed much closer to Huntington, something that makes Marshall feel like less of a C-USA outpost. When the clock struck midnight today, Houston, the University of Central Florida, Southern Methodist University and Memphis all depart for the new American Athletic Conference. In their place come Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, Middle Tennessee State University, Old Dominion, Charlotte, Louisiana Tech, North Texas and the University of Texas at San Antonio. In 2014, the conference will say good-bye to Tulsa, East Carolina and Tulane, all headed to the American as well, and welcomes Western Kentucky. Marshall has been a C-USA member since 2005. The conference has been busy with the transition. It unveiled last week a new-look website and logo that had a few alterations from the previous one. On social media, C-USA has been introducing its new members and, on Sunday, offered its farewell and thanks to the four schools departing this year. Read more: http://www.dailymail.com/Sports/201306300116

Current Monarchs in the pros ODU has produced arguably, the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. Justin Verlander, who finished his college career as ODUs all-time strikeout leader, has been playing for the Detroit Tigers since 2005. The seven-year, $180 million deal he signed with the Tigers this past March makes him the highest paid pitcher in MLB history. Verlander has had quite the prolific MLB career so far. He led the MLB in strikeouts in 2009, 2011 and 2012 and won Rookie of the Year in 2006, among many other accolades. Arizona Diamondbacks starter Daniel Hudson is also an ODU alumnus. But following two successful campaigns in 2010-2011, Hudson has been unable to stay healthy for the last two years. Since last July, he has undergone Tommy John Surgery twice. As for the basketball program, Kent Bazemore is one of the most notable alumni. In 2011, he won the Lefty Driesell Awardan award given to the best defensive player in the NCAA. After graduating, he went undrafted and now plays for the Golden State Warriors. Bazemores career highlight thus far came in the 2013 playoffs, where he scored a go-ahead basket in the final seconds of double overtime against the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs. Background Located in Norfolk, VA, ODU has an undergraduate student body of over 18,000. The schools name stems from one of the states nicknamesThe Old Dominionwhich was given to Virginia for remaining loyal to the Englands King Charles II during the English Civil War. The Monarchs spent 22 years as one of the most recognizable schools of the CAA. Read more: http://eastcarolina.scout.com/2/1303996.html

The most far-reaching change in Old Dominion University's athletic history began with a relaxed conversation on April Fool's Day 2012 in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Athletic Director Wood Selig and his counterpart at Virginia Commonwealth, Norwood Teague, were in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel between rounds of the men's basketball Final Four when Teague's face suddenly grew serious. He leaned toward Selig and hit him with the news: VCU would likely be leaving the Colonial Athletic Association to join the Atlantic 10, and so might George Mason. "I didn't want you to be blindsided." At the time, ODU was firmly committed to the CAA, where it had been a member since 1991. The league had four strong rivals in Virginia, and ODU's men's and women's basketball teams had thrived. Moving to the top tier of NCAA football was something ODU officials figured eventually would happen, though not for many years. Now, Selig was learning that the league Old Dominion considered home was about to unravel. VCU and George Mason weren't just strong rivals; both had recently sent their teams to the men's basketball Final Four. "The nature of the conference, of the people we would compete against in the future, was about to change," Selig said. Teague's revelation set off a frenetic 6-1/2 weeks in which ODU officials would reassess the school's entire athletic future. In that short span, they reached out to half a dozen prospective new conferences, met commissioners and quietly flew league officials into Norfolk to keep their search for a new home secret. Whatever the school decided would potentially affect 26,000 students, 120,000 alumni, 4,500 employees and tens of thousands of residents of Hampton Roads. Yet, the decision ultimately would fall on the shoulders of just one man: ODU President John Broderick. And in the end, Broderick made the bold choice to join a far-flung league that offers both potential and risks. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/06/lot-work-not-much-time-odus-big-move

MURFREESBORO - The University and Blue Raider athletics will celebrate the official move to Conference USA on July 1 and want to encourage all alums and fans to take part in this historic day. Approximately 52 businesses and restaurants will be wearing specially designed tee shirts with the inaugural C-USA logo on July 1 throughout Murfreesboro and football players and staff will be handing out schedule cards and posters all day, hitting The Square, The Avenue, Rutherford Boulevard, Broad Street, Memorial Boulevard, and Church Street. The official celebration headquarters will be at Sam's Sports Grill at the Stones River Mall where patrons will be greeted by Blue Raider cheerleaders and Lightning. President Sidney McPhee, Director of Athletics Chris Massaro, Rick Stockstill, Kermit Davis, and Rick Insell, will all be on hand at Sam's from 11:30 AM until 1 PM to answer questions and talk with fans and supporters. The marketing department, Aspire, Alumni, and the BRAA will all be on hand as well at Sam's, while various football players will be signing autographs and distributing posters and schedule cards. There will also be other giveaways fans will not want to miss so make plans to attend today. Ideastees will also be selling the official tee-shirt at their main store for $10. Come celebrate one of the biggest days in Blue Raider history and learn more about our new conference members as MT embarks on a new era in collegiate athletics. July 1 Timeline 7:00 AM: MT helmet displayed on Old Fort Parkway and C-USA banner will be up at intersection of Broad Street and Memorial. 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Football players and designated coach signing autographs and passing out schedule cards and posters at Reeves-Sain 11:00 AM - 2 PM: Plane will flyover Murfreesboro advertising the move to C-USA 11:30 AM - 1 PM: Sam's Sports Grill, the Official Headquarters 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Football players and designated coach signing autographs and passing out schedule cards and posters at Chick-Fil-A 4:00 PM - 6 PM: Plane will flyover Murfreesboro/Nashville advertising the move to C-USA

The conference realignment carousel has been spinning for years while FAU stood outside the fence without a ticket to the ride. The Owls finally received their pass in November when Conference USA came calling. The offer was an easy to accept. C-USA member schools receive in the neighborhood of $2 million a year through TV contracts – which is almost $2 million more than Sun Belt schools make. When the Owls first announced they said the move would happen no later than the 2014-15 season. Turns out FAU wasn't interested in waiting that long. In January FAU announced the move would happen in July, meaning the Owls football team will play in C-USA for the upcoming season, with the other sports following. Why it's important: The Sun Belt was a good starter conference for FAU football (and that's the sport that necessitated the move) but that conference is now in rapid decay. Sure, many of the Owls old SBC foes have or will make the move to C-USA too, but that doesn't diminish the move. At least FAU wasn't left behind to play FCS schools (They also never have to visit Troy or Louisiana-Monroe again – reasons in themselves to make the move). Read more: http://www.fauowlaccess.com/articles/179/fau-move-to-c-usa-top-story-of-the-year.aspx

Still a couple of months till the games begin but I am very excited to be in this conference officially!! GMG!

HUNTINGTON — July 1, 2013, marks a new beginning for Conference USA. Eight established members are officially joined Monday by eight newcomers in the new C-USA alignment. Marshall, East Carolina, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB and UTEP welcome Charlotte, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Old Dominion and UT-San Antonio to the league. “We’re really excited at Marshall with our new members coming in,” Thundering Herd men’s basketball head coach Tom Herrion said in a video clip on ConferenceUSA.com. “I think it’s the first time our fan base has felt so energized because of the regional games the new membership provides to our fan base. “I think it’s so valuable to us and it’s only going to enhance our enthusiasm for Conference USA.” Old Dominion and Charlotte will compete in all C-USA sports this year except football. The Monarchs and 49ers are schools in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) — the level formerly known as NCAA Division I-AA — until moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level and entering C-USA competition in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Read more: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/x2055788054/C-USA-to-welcome-8-newcomers

From its founding in 1995, Conference USA has been a home for the upwardly mobile. Created by a merger of the Metro Conference and Great Midwest, it immediately became one of the nation's best college basketball leagues with national powers Louisville, DePaul, Marquette, Cincinnati and Memphis as charter members. Eventually, Houston, East Carolina, SMU and Texas Christian would join, making the conference something of a national player in not only basketball, but football. Monday morning, Old Dominion officially departs the Colonial Athletic Association to became a member of Conference USA, a league that has seen radical change in its 18 years. Many members have moved on to bigger and better things. Louisville landed in the Big East and is headed to the ACC in 2014. Texas Christian moved to the Big 12. Houston, Cincinnati and Memphis are all in the newly formed American Athletic Conference, a spinoff of the Big East. Britt Banowsky, who has been the C-USA commissioner since 2002, said change is a good thing. "I embrace change because I think it's the opportunity to reinvent and keep us fresh," he said. He's certainly seen plenty of it. Since 2005, 15 members have either left the league or announced they will leave in the near future. The Big East/AAC has absorbed nine schools since then. Three more depart in 2014. Seven others join C-USA today: Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee and North Texas from the Sun Belt; Louisiana Tech and Texas-San Antonio (Western Athletic Conference) and UNC Charlotte (Atlantic 10). Western Kentucky also leaves the Sun Belt for C-USA in 2014. By 2014, only five schools will remain from the 14 that were members in 2012 - Southern Miss, Rice, Texas-El Paso, Alabama-Birmingham and Marshall. The league retains TV contracts with Fox College Sports, Fox Sports 1 and the CBS Sports Network, and, according to tax returns available online, a healthy bottom line. Conference USA's latest returns, filed in 2011, show it had $58 million in revenue and $48 million in expenses. Its $32 million in assets include $15 million in cash. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/06/cusa-no-stranger-conference-realignment

On Monday July 1st, four current members of Conference USA (UCF, Memphis, Houston and SMU) will depart for the American Athletic Conference. In 2014, they will be followed by ECU, Tulsa and Tulane. Picking up the C-USA banner in their place will be Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, the University of Texas at San Antonio and, in 2014, Western Kentucky. Charlotte football will begin conference play in 2015. Whether it be good or bad, how Marshall fans feel about the nine schools officially joining C-USA next week is no secret. But what about how the incoming members feel about being newbies in the re-vamped conference? In this edition of Through Green Glasses, HerdNation takes a look at the new members of C-USA. Chris McLaughlin spoke with staff members of fan sites for all nine incoming schools about the upcoming changes… Paul Smith - Moderator of the Lion's Den(ODU) on the CSNBBS board What do you think your fan base is most excited about with regards to the move? After the departure of ECU to the AAC, most ODU fans still are thrilled about burgeoning rivalries with UNCC and Marshall (where ODU great Gerald Lee's father played). Add to that a yearly series with UAB and WKU, and the glory days of the old SunBelt adds much excitement. Our fan base thrives on rivalries - important games between familiar opponents, and development of new rivalries is first and foremost. - See more at: http://marshall.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1519930#sthash.coQM4qhs.dpuf

North Texas, making the jump from the Sun Belt along with FAU, FIU, La. Tech and MTSU, definitely holds the title for the most unique nickname out of all the C-USA schools. They actually got it as a derivation of the nickname of one of its most famous alumni, Pro Football Hall of Famer “Mean Joe” Greene, who actually got his nickname while in the NFL. Turns out green (obviously) is the school color of North Texas, so their fans began to refer to the team as the “Mean Green”. Of course, “Mean Joe” is known outside of sports circles for this: read more: http://pickaxedigest.com/2013/06/22/countdown-to-conference-usa-get-to-know-north-texas/

I think this is a good, hard hitting article that gets to the gist of the situation at Southern Miss and many other schools in the gang of 5: Let me preface this article to say that, Make It Rain Sports is a sports outlet that lives on the edge. We are often confrontational and not afraid to hit emotional topics within the world of sports. This is in no way intended to belittle or insult the University of Southern Mississippi sports program as we love the fine alumni and supporters of the Golden Eagles. Having said that, we look at the facts and give our opinion as we continue to, Make it Rain. Sixteen straight winning seasons, eight consecutive bowl appearances, and four league championships in the 12-year history of Conference USA. In 2007, they were selected as the conference team and coach of the decade. This is Southern Miss Football. Remarkable accomplishments, regardless of conference affiliation. But conference affiliation is something USM must evaluate, as conferences rapidly jockey for new teams and position themselves for the inevitable super conferences. Many teams will surely be left out to dry. This doesn’t mean teams in small conferences will have to stop playing competitive college sports, but it does mean opportunities for success will be increasingly limited for those not affiliated with the upper tier conferences. And yes, USM is one of those teams. For years USM played football as an independent and played other sports in the old Metro Conference. In those days (1982-95) USM played and beat teams like, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, and others. But even then, teams started making big conference moves. Florida State to the ACC in 1991, South Carolina to the SEC in 1992 are just a few that began in the early nineties making the conference jump. read more: http://www.makeitrainsports.com/football/southern-miss-facing-the-harsh-reality-of-conference-realignment-2/

Athlon picks 2013 All Conference C-USA read more: http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/conference-usa-football-2013-all-conference-team

stinks that the big 5 are pulling out of games vs the go5...but, Yay for getting another bowl, especially one in a neigboring state http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/jeremy-fowler/22514306/pac-12-likely-leaving-new-mexico-bowl

Now that we have hit some stable waters and Britton Banowsky has indicated C-USA will stand pat, how do you see the divisions forming? Here's my best guess on how this will play out in football 2014 C-USA Football (13 teams) EAST (6) Marshall Old Dominion Florida Atlantic Florida International Middle Tennessee Western Kentucky WEST (7) Rice Southern Miss UAB North Texas La. Tech UTSA UTEP 2015 C-USA (14 teams) EAST Marshall Old Dominion Florida Atlantic Florida International Charlotte* (not eligible for conference play until 2015) Middle Tennessee Western Kentucky WEST Rice Southern Miss UAB North Texas La. Tech UTSA UTEP I think UAB will move to the west in 2014 since they will want to start learning the teams and travel routines for when Charlotte comes on board in 2015. 2014 could be a tricky year for scheduling though since it will be an odd number (13) So in 2015 we can start looking forward to divisional trips to Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Ruston/Shreveport, Hattiesburg and Birmingham. I would assume that we would continue to play two crossover games to allow for three non-conference opponents (1 money; 2 winnable). In comparison, the belt offered up a conference slate consisting of Murfeesboro, Jonesboro, Bowling Green, Mobile, Boca Raton, Miami, Lafayette, Monroe and Troy. Anyone have any other ideas on how they will split divisions?

UNT officials say the additional exposure that television games provide is just one of several ways the move to C-USA will help the program improve. “We will be on TV a lot more than we ever have before and have access to more bowl games,” UNT athletic director Rick Villlarreal said about the benefits of moving to C-USA. “Those are all things that are important to coaches and to players.” UNT spent the last 12 seasons as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. UNT also announced kickoff times for five of its games next season, bringing the total number of game times that have been set to seven. - See more at: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20130613-football-unt-up-to-eight-tv-games.ece#sthash.n2tyjPC9.dpuf

Brett McMurphy‏@McMurphyESPN C-USA's board discussed potential expansion models but elected to remain "for foreseeable future" w/14 members in 2014-15.

Because college football's Power Five conferences prefer to play each other in bowl games, the smaller conferences are exploring opportunities to create additional bowl games next season, sources said. As many as nine locations are under consideration to begin bowl games in 2014, according to sources: Miami, Orlando, Little Rock, Ark.; Boca Raton, Fla.; Montgomery, Ala.; Los Angeles; Ireland; Dubai and either Toronto or Nassau, Bahamas. Any new bowls created in 2014 would be for the smaller conferences: the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt. An NCAA moratorium to add new bowls expires after the 2013 season. Read more: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9364692/smaller-conferences-look-add-bowl-games-sources

I don't know about you guys, but I can't remember being more excited and intrigued by an upcoming college football season. There's the obvious, we're playing our first year in C-USA and we're playing in some great destinations like New Orleans, Hattiesburg etc. We also get some Texas teams in our home stadium which will be fun (Rice, UTSA, UTEP). But beyond that, I am really interested to see how teams like UTSA and Texas State fare in their new conferences. I see them as sort of going down the same road as we have in the past and I wonder how they will respond. I'm interested in seeing how Western Kentucky fares in the new Belt and how MTSU, FIU and FAU will hang in C-USA. I think perhaps it is being in a conference with so many Texas schools. I used to read up on the Texas schools like UTEP in Dave Campbell's and then really didn't follow them much after that. In the Belt, I cared about the teams we were playing against in the week leading up to playing them and followed scores but that was about it. I find myself really trying to learn more about every program in C-USA and especially the ones in Texas. Heck I'll even admit that I am interested in seeing how the Ponies and Cougars fare in the AAC. That conference is sort of like the lottery this year with the last year of the autobid. What a huge game changer that could be for someone. Maybe it's just me but being on an island in the Belt sort of diminished my interest somewhat in following the other programs here in the state. There just seems to be so many regional teams to follow this season and I know realignment has a big piece of that but I also think that we are in a conference that makes everything more interesting for us as fans.

So Bill Conelly at SBNation does IMHO quite outstanding previews of all FBS college Football teams.&nbsp; They are bit stats heavy, but that is ok with me He tends to go from worst to first and has thus far gone through the Belt and the MAC and now started with C-USA. A bit less stat heavy but even more up to date are the previews by Paul Myerberg. I put it Up here for all our opponents and the c-USA teams we will not get to play (before the championship game that is). Very interesting reads. August 31 Idaho Paul Myerbergs writeup Athlon Scout If we are loosing this one the suicide watch is indeed merrited. Myerberg reall does not think much of Idaho, particularly as he thinks both lines will struglle mightily and receivers are not talented enough, a good recipe for disaster in other words. Conelly thinks even less of them and looking at what Personell Petrino has to work with, there really must be no way NT loses this game at home. Cout does not Love them either, but does not have them as far down as the others.... on top of that coust has the game with NT as Idahos 'key game'. coveragewise the blog http://www.thevandalnation.com/ seems interesting boardwise the scout site seems the most active September 7 Ohio Their record too looked better than it was, and run defense was not their strenght. But they do also return a decent batch of starters everywhere including the line, yet a ton of injuries might keep that from beeing as helpful as it would usually be (sound familiar NT fans?). I think this will be a tough game overall, partially because this is a game you have to beat the opponent with the pass, and how we will fare there this season remains a question mark Athlon Scout Spetember 14. Ball state Athlon scout If Ball state had played a semi decent schedule last year, their record would have been much worse. their skill players on offense return generally, but nearly the whole offensive line has to be replaced and there will be little depth.... I take from that that this is the game where our DL has to come up big, if it does we do have a shot. Also their DL is not big and the top 3 DTs are gone...cue NTs running game...I am optimistic about this one Myerberg is really high on them though Boards: it seems the independent site BSUfans.com is the way to go September 21 Georgia Athlon Scout Connelly has them as the possibly best offense in the country but only as average (by SEC standards that is) defense. This game will be extremely tough. NTs best hope is to completely get forgotten in the midst of a Georgia schedule that has 2super difficult games before and 1 after NT visits. Talkwise - as you'd expect from a football school like Georgia, tere are many options. I like the independent DawgRun the best. Blogwise if you like it to be all text and very detailed go to get the picture. If you like it a bit more graphic and don't have time to sort through everything, the SBnation blog dawgsport might be your best option. October 5th Tulane Less nervous here, even though they return a ton of starters, because it seems they were very dependent on their departed QB and their defense is awful against the run. Myerberg thinks the are two years away from breakthrough, that their depth on DL is terrible but that their incoming QB is probably the answer. Scout is not very high on them Athlon Boards: there is the independent one http://www.yogwf.com and then there is the rivals one. October 12th MTSU Conelly is really high on them. Their offense does look scary. their defense was terrible, particularly against the run, but returns almost every one. This might be a tough game. Myerberg seems a lot less high on them, and thinks even with everyone returning the defense was terrible. Scout Athlon Almost all those reviews were made before MTSU had 3 players arrested. Boardwise the rivals forum seems the best used, but not super impressive either October 19th La.Tech Reading Conelly makes me surprisingly confident about this game. They lose sooo much production on offense and have to cope with a new coach. Other than medium class DT starters there is not too much left in defense either. I think they may struggle mightily this season. Myerberg Thinks that a lot is gone but thare is still enoguh talent for 8 wins. Athlon Boardwise it seems you best go to http://www.latechbbb.com/ October 26th Southern Miss I don't know. Their recruiting rankings say there is still a lot of talent... but the 3rd system in 3 years, almost no offensive line returning, but otherwise an experienced team. really hard to judge before the season starts what identity they will have. I don't think they will be worldbeaters though. Myerberg has the NT game as the one to watch for them. He blieves steadfast in the offensive coach but does not see greatness in their personell, particularly the line. Their OL against NTs DL might be the cruicial match up. Athlon Scout Boardwise the eaglepost seems to be the best October 31 Rice Looks like a tough game for us. They are on a streak from last year and bring 19 starters of quality back. It seems their run defense is most probably their weekest spot, so if we can establish a good running game we have a shot. And NT will be sadled with the disadvantage of having only 5 days to recoup and prepare. Myerberg does not like Rice very much, considering their stretch run was very good and how much quality they return. He thinks that the overall talent level is to little to really make more noise. Still: he has them clearly winning against NT. Scout Athlon Boardwise their csnbbs site called the parliament might be the best place to go November 9 UTEP This spells interesting game. what I take from the article is that their deense ought to be terrible , 6 of the back seven starters are gone and the line was terrible last year, but their offense brings back almost everyone except the starting qb and they have some star transfer from A&amp;M to mediate this. Might be a game that comes down to who fails to score first. Myerbergs preview: basically they get a big hope from getting showers at QB, but he better be mobile, cause the OL is a major concern. Defense lacks depth across the board. Scout. Athlon The miners have the only SBNation blog of C-USA: http://www.minerrush.com minerillustrated.com is the rivals site and possibly the best forum for UTEP and seems pretty active. November 23 UTSA Makes me a bit anxious. What I take from this is that you beat em easily if your passing game is halfway decent... but I am not sure ours is. Myerberg on the other hand is really low on them, saying that with the severly more difficult schedule they will have serious depth problems. That would bode well for NT, which plays them rather late. Athlon Seems the best fan board is http://www.rowdytalk.com/forum.php November 30 Tulsa A lot of people act as if Tulsa was gonna be a certified loss. I am not so sure, even less after reading this. The offense was actually not as good as it seemed last season, he contends it was more the defense that made the big splash. Now apart from loosing 3 OL the offense does not lose extremely much, but this great defense does. The DL gets a complete makeover, the best LB graduated and the secondary is a construction site too. Then again with this coaching staff the regression might not be that big and we might get blown out anyway. But right now I see NT having a shot at this one. Scout does not agree with my feelings on Tulsa. Athlon boardwise it seems really thin to me. Previews of North Texas: Connelly Myerberg Scout Athlon C-USA teams we don't play: Eastern Carolina Athlon Myerberg we don't play them. They are one of the favourites in the east; Quite a few people returning Marshall recruited well for a few years now, now the record might start really showing it. Offense comes back quite complete and the defense also only loses a lot in secondary (but is clearly worse than the offense). Scout Athlon for message boards it's been suggested below to go to http://www.herdnation.com FAU: SBN ; Myerberg Athlon Scout Boardwise owlsnest is interesting. owlaccess is less active but still ok it seems. FIU Conelly calls them a total wildcard, I on the other hand think we missed out on an easy game. Myerberg seems to agree with me. Athlon Boardwise FIU's fans can be found at FIUGoldenPanthers.com UAB another interesting read... but we don't play them. Myerberg Athlon Scout Boardwise blazertalk the CSNBBS board- seems actually the most used for UAB</p>

Decision time for UMass is coming regarding its future in the MAC in football. When UMass went to the FBS level a few years ago, the MAC took them in the way they accepted Temple, which allowed basketball to remain in the Atlantic 10. But both sides have escape clauses and the word may be that the MAC is ready to tell UMass, if you want to stay in the MAC in football, you have become a full member in all sports, which would mean UMass leaving the rising in stature A10. If UMass balks at that, they will need to find another conference for their football team, with only Conference USA as the most likely choice, but even that has no guaranteesThe Golf Gods had a busy weekend. At the European Tours Nordea Masters tournament, Australian golfer Andrew Dodt had some interesting moments in posting a score of 65 on Friday. Dodt had not one, but two hole in ones. According to Golf Channel research, only one other PGA player ever managed that-Yusaku Miyazato a the 2006 Reno-Tahoe Open. A day later, Tiger Woods, on his way to a round of 79, posted a nine hole total of 44 on his front ninethe highest 9 hole total in Woods career. Read more: http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=6948

IRVING The Heart of Dallas Bowl will continue a tie-in with the Big 12 as part of the conferences bowl lineup for 2014-19. We want to be good corporate citizens and community citizens, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Friday on the final day of the leagues spring meetings. Im serving on the board and trying to help [Conference USA commissioner] Britton Banowsky to put something together to benefit the area. Big 12 spokesman Bob Burda confirmed that the Big 12s six-year bowl lineup will include the Allstate Sugar (New Orleans), Valero Alamo (San Antonio), Russell Athletic (Orlando, Fla.), AutoZone Liberty (Memphis, Tenn.), Buffalo Wild Wings (Tempe, Ariz.) and Meineke Car Care of Texas (Houston), as expected. Big 12 will be part of several conferences providing teams to the Heart of Dallas Bowl at Cotton Bowl Stadium on a rotating basis. Read more: http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/big-12-will-provide-teams-to-heart-of-dallas-bowl-on-rotating-basis-from-2014-19-conferences-other-bowl-lineup-confirmed.html/

PARKERSBURG - The dizzying pace of conference realignment has subsided and for Marshall University, that means regional ties with members of Conference USA. Director of Athletics Mike Hamrick, football coach Doc Holliday and men's basketball coach Tom Herrion were among the representatives from the Marshall athletic department who were on hand for the meet-and-greet with Thundering Herd fans at Wednesday's Rally in the Alley conducted in the lot behind North End Tavern. "With conference realignment, Conference USA becomes more of a regional conference," Hamrick said. "With schools such as Charlotte, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky and Old Dominion, we now have schools that our fans can drive to. In old Conference USA, you had to get on a plane and go." Exiting what used to be a 12-team C-USA are Central Florida, Southern Methodist, Memphis and Houston. For the 2013-2014 academic year, the league will consist of 16 schools. Newcomers include Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Old Dominion, Texas-San Antonio and UNC-Charlotte. One year from now, the conference will experience a slight shift as Tulane, East Carolina and Tulsa depart. Western Kentucky's arrival will bring the total number of members to 14 schools. "Western Kentucky is right down the road; Middle Tennessee is close and Charlotte is an easy drive -plus we still have two games in Florida with two south Florida teams which is a big part of our recruiting base," Holliday said. "If you draw a circle around a six-hour radius around the campuses, there are a lot of good football players. Read more: http://newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/574575/Realignment-part-of-main-course-at-Rally.html?nav=5063

Conference USA was hit pretty hard by the realignment changes going on around the country. While the Big East takes the bullet on the national scale of realignment, Conference USA has been one of the conference to feel the rough impact of changes in the Big East. As the Big East made moves to stay afloat, many of the top targets for their expansion came from Conference USA. This season will see Central Florida, Houston and SMU leave Conference USA for The American. They take some of the top television markets for the conference with them as well (Orlando, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth). Next year more Conference USA members will leave for The American when East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa all change their patriotic conference flags. Conference USA does add some new members to the fold this season though, to make up for the vacancies opened up by the departure of Central Florida, Houston and SMU. Florida International and Florida Atlantic will leave the Sun Belt Conference for Conference USA to fill two spots. Conference USA also picks up two schools form the rubble that is the WAC, with Louisiana Tech and UTSA. Conference USA will keep two divisions of seven teams each in 2013. Here is how they look for 2013: East Division: East Carolina, FIU, FAU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Southern Miss, UAB West Division: Louisiana Tech, North Texas, Rice, Tulane, Tulsa, UTEP, UTSA Conference USA will add Western Kentucky (Sun Belt) and Old Dominion (FCS) in 2014. Charlotte will play their first football season in school history this fall and will join Conference USA in 2015. Read more: http://www.bloguin.com/crystalballrun/2013-articles/may/the-conference-usa-preview-amid-realignment-changes-tulsa-looks-to-contend-once-again.html

Know what the best news was from the recent Conference USA meetings? What wasn't said. Namely, no talk about expanding the league back to 16 teams after East Carolina, Tulsa and Tulane leave in 2014. Oh, sure, commissioner Britton Banowsky mentioned the "16-team model" for about the bajillionth time. But did the C-USA athletic directors say a word about future expansion during their meetings? "It wasn't discussed a single time," said Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick. Thank goodness. When the league's East Division is composed of Marshall, Old Dominion, Charlotte, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic and Florida International, which is the configuration I favor, then that will be enough. And when a West Division of Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, Rice, Louisiana Tech, North Texas and UT-San Antonio is complete, which is the other side I advocate, that will be enough as well. C-USA doesn't need an additional two members. There are two reasons for that opinion. No. 1: The five remaining C-USA members, who have stayed the course while the seven others bolted for the boringly named American Athletic Conference, would be insane to agree to slicing another two pieces out of the league's revenue pie. Read more: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/marshall/x1430512008/No-news-of-C-USA-expansion-a-positive