Conference USA allows three schools to leave after this spring season
Conference USA issued a statement acknowledging Old Dominion, Southern Miss and Marshall will leave the league for the Sun Belt effective at the end of this spring season.
C-USA had previously vowed legal action to force the three schools to remain in the conference through next season, and last month both C-USA and the Sun Belt released contradictory football schedules with those three teams on it.
C-USA has not announced a time frame for a revised football schedule.
"Conference USA, Marshall University, Old Dominion University, and the University of Southern Mississippi have reached a resolution that allows the schools to withdraw as members at the end of the academic year," C-USA said in a statement released at 5:33 p.m. Central time Tuesday. "Conference USA will move forward into the 2022-23 academic year with 11 members. The Universities will compete as members of the Sun Belt Conference."
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Fifteen minutes later C-USA issued a second release: "Conference USA is excited about the future with our 11 institutions in the 2022-23 academic year, and is committed to the long-term growth of the league as we usher in new members in the coming years. As we begin this new era of Conference USA, our focus remains on providing the best possible experiences for our student-athletes while engaging in the broader national conversation and process around changing the overall model. The landscape of college athletics has shifted expansively and we will continue to be a substantial part of that evolution.”
UTEP has games with Old Dominion and Southern Miss on its schedule which will now sub out. C-USA also may throw out the entire conference schedule and replace it in the coming days.
The American Athletic Conference, which will bring in six current C-USA members for the 2023-24 season, has played with 11 football teams for the past two years. It uses a schedule where members play eight conference games, with each school not playing two other schools.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Conference USA allows 3 schools to leave after this spring season
