![]() The second option is to pay a buyout fee. This number typically ranges from two years to five years depending on the conference. The first option is to wait the number of months or years upon announcing their intentions to leave their conference as stated in the conference bylaws. Traditionally when schools change conferences, they have two viable options. Still, the drama doesn’t end there for the Conference USA. The conference didn’t waste any time in finding new members, adding Liberty from the Atlantic Sun Conference, New Mexico State from the Western Athletic Conference, Jacksonville State from the Ohio Valley Conference and Sam Houston State from the Southland Conference. The once 14-team Conference USA was left with just five members in the matter of a month. These four schools were initially set to join the Sun Belt by July 1, 2023. In addition, they also grabbed James Madison from the Colonial Athletic Conference. The defections continued for Conference USA as the Sun Belt plucked Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss from the conference on Oct. 19: North Texas, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Florida Atlantic, Rice, The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Charlotte. The AAC turned around and snagged six teams from Conference USA on Oct. The Big 12 announced the additions of Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida from the American Athletic Conference and BYU from the West Coast Conference on Sept. It started in late July when Oklahoma and Texas, two of most valuable brands in all of college sports, announced their plans to leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference by July 1, 2025, causing a domino effect across other conferences. Just over the past few months, there have been several seismic shifts at the Division 1 level of college athletics. Many factors are considered when a university decides to relocate to compete in a new conference, such as conference prestige, recruiting, traveling costs, annual revenue and more.Ĭonference realignment is something that won’t be going away any time soon. Southern Miss will become Sun Belt members no later than July 1, 2023.In the world of college athletics, it’s common to see schools move from conference to conference and division to division in an effort to find the perfect fit for them. Little Rock and UTA compete as Sun Belt members in sports other than football. USM’s fellow C-USA members Marshall and Old Dominion could also be headed to the Sun Belt.Īpp State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy represent the league’s 10 football members. The Golden Eagles become the 13th member of the Sun Belt with the conference expected to add additional teams as conference realignment continues. “Southern Miss perfectly matched those parameters, and my colleagues look forward to welcoming President Bennett and his colleagues to the Sun Belt Conference.” Kelly Damphousse, Arkansas State President & Chair of Sun Belt Executive Committee, said. Our goal was to only add schools that added value, that fit geographically, and that mirrored our athletics and academic missions,” Dr. ![]() “When national realignment discussions began, our presidents and chancellors expressed confidence in the current SBC configuration, but also defined the parameters for potential new members. Just days later, The Athletic reported that USM was close to finalizing an agreement with the Sun Belt. News of the move came to light last week in the midst of a mass exodus from C-USA after six member institutions left to join the American Athletic Conference. “We are excited about adding our rich tradition of success and passionate fan base to a conference that values those attributes, and look forward to working together to continue to elevate the Sun Belt on the national stage.” I want to thank Commissioner Gill and the Board of Directors within the Sun Belt for their faith in our institution and our ability to add value to the conference,” Jeremy McClain, Southern Miss Director of Athletics, said. Please join us in welcoming to the Sun Belt Conference. In a tweet, the new conference home of the Golden Eagles welcomed its 13th member.
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