Before the most recent conference shake-ups, the ACC was already thinking about ways to get out of an increasingly bad TV deal that runs through 2036, with expansion the best option. After the conference already lost Colorado, Nebraska, Texas A&M and Missouri from 2011 to 2012, Texas and Oklahoma finagled an SEC invite this year, stunning the college football world -- and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby. Then these would be the Thanksgiving weekend games: Austin Peay-Western Kentucky CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: collegefootball | pageType: stories | The geographical overlap of the American, Conference USA and Sun Belt doesn't really affect the MAC, which shares only one common state with the AAC (Ohio) and none with Conference USA or the Sun Belt. In the last round of major conference realignment, C-USA lost a number of members (East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa and UCF) to the AAC, then turned around and raided the Sun Belt. Louisiana Tech at Middle Tennessee Over the next four weeks, 32 teams will compete across 64 matches at 10 venues in Australia and New Zealand. James Madison and the Sun Belt announced they will hold a news conference today on the school's Harrisonburg, Va., campus. Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, North Texas,. For most of its existence, Conference USA's role has been to act as a way station for programs moving either up or down in the college football hierarchy. And those moves were the Big 12's reaction to the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners jumping ship for the SEC. QB Grayson James, Jr., FIU
UNLV has never been good in football, but Las Vegas has become the Pac-12's adopted home and it's hard to ignore the pull of the sports gambling mecca. OL Elijah Klein, RS Sr., UTEP
FIU at Louisiana Tech 2 in the AP poll, while UCF is a massive public school (with a current enrollment of 66,000) that has previously reached nearly the same heights as the Bearcats. Hugh Freeze's squad currently sits as an independent, but the team will transition to Conference USA with most of Liberty's NCAA sports effective July 1, 2023. Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA join the remaining AAC schools to form a 14-team conference. Five student-athletes from each of the conference's nine member institutions are recognized as key players to watch ahead of the 2023 season. The steps we have taken over the last decade have prepared us for this move. What we've found with the latest maneuvering is that there might not be anyone lower in the hierarchy anymore. But with the top three football programs gone, this is a blow to the American in the short term. Now that the Big 12 is in a stronger position after its announced expansion plans, that's all off the table. C-USA loses programs to conferences greater in the hierarchy and plucks from conferences lower. 7 Florida International 76 Game 3: No. Find a complete listing of all the Conference USA basketball teams, on ESPN.com . Louisiana TechRB Deion Hankins, Jr. UTEPWR Malachi Corley, Jr. WKUWR Michael Mathison, Sr. WKU TE Sean Brown, Jr. Jacksonville StateOT Steven Hubbard, Sr. UTEPOG Quantavious Leslie, Jr. WKUC Vincent Murphy, Jr. WKUOG Brendan Schlittler Sr. LibertyOT X'Zauvea Gadlin, Sr. Liberty2023 CUSA Team Previews, Season PredictionsFIU | Jacksonville State | Liberty Louisiana Tech|Middle Tennessee NMSU|Sam Houston | UTEP|WKU CFN Preseason Top 30 CUSA PlayersCFN 2023 Preview | @ColFootballNews, Conference USA Preseason Defensive Player of the YearTeldrick Ross, CB/S Sr. Middle TennesseeIs he a corner, a safety, or anywhere in between? So adding these six may end up devaluing the American, at least for now. CUSA will want UConn in all sports, not just football. This is a quality mix of established and emerging universities that provides us with a compelling group to continue to build with, focusing on competing for and winning championships well into the future. Oklahoma and Texas are headed to the SEC -- by at least the start of the 2025 season and maybe sooner -- and the SEC seems content becoming college football's first 16-team super conference for now. Liberty at FIU I guess they just want/need the tv money. Houston, formerly a Southwest Conference rival of Texas Tech, Baylor and TCU, adds some regional spice back into the league while also featuring an athletic department that has been on the rise for years. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) - Conference USA released its full 72-game schedule for the 2023-24 men's basketball season on Monday afternoon. Oct 21, 2021 Original: Oct 19, 2021 The American Athletic Conference is adding six schools as part of its expansion, the conference announced Thursday. Its name is as noncommittal as possible when it comes to specific membership or region. TE Sean Brown, RS Jr., Jacksonville State
That said, it would be a major surprise if the Pac-12 pursued any of them as things stand today. The Liberty Flames, New Mexico State Aggies, Jacksonville State Gamecocks, and Sam Houston Bearkats will each join Conference USA in 2023, it was officially announced on Friday. It is also "probable" that the beleaguered conference will lose Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee to the MAC, sources told CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd. "Their chances [to make the College Football Playoff] are better coming through the Big 12," Bowlsby said. On Sept. 10, the Big 12 announced that it was officially adding BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to become members no later than 2024-25. DL Deshon Hall, Sr., Louisiana Tech
Including Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky, Conference USA has only five members that have not announced plans to leave in the next few years. The NCAA requires at least eight football schools for a conference to remain linked to College Football Playoff money distribution, so with no conference from which to pluck at the FBS level, C-USA added two football independents (NMSU and Liberty) and two FCS programs (Jacksonville State and defending FCS champion Sam Houston). Liberty and Jacksonville State are both members of the Atlanti Sun Conference for most of their sports, though Liberty is an independent competing in FBS. The AAC is losing three of its current 11 members to the Big 12 next year, but adding six new schools from Conference USA. We predicted chances for 14 top prospects, Does the 2024 class have the next Marvin Harrison Jr.? Tech look to defend Conference . Conference USA announced Friday that it will add Liberty, Jacksonville State, New Mexico State and Sam Houston State in 2023 as the league tries to replenish its ranks after having nine. Previous season During the 2022 season, the UTSA Roadrunners posted the best record in the regular season. " the ASUN will have multiple options to expand and continue its growth and achievement," Gumbart said. We're a long way away from that, but Phillips needs to consider the future for the ACC not just in a year or two but a decade or more down the line. Schedule. In order to create the most comprehensive Team Recruiting Ranking without any notion of bias, 247Sports Team Recruiting Ranking is solely based on the 247Sports Rating. -- Mark Schlabach, Future look: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest. UTEP at Jacksonville State Conference USA announced Friday that it will add Liberty, Jacksonville State, New Mexico State and Sam Houston State in 2023 as the league tries to replenish its ranks after having nine. The 11-team alignment for the 2022 campaign will feature each team playing eight conference games, along with four non-league contests. Additionally, each of the nine institutions has highlighted one academic performer ahead of the 2023 season, which is also listed below. C-USA has also lost three members to the Sun Belt in recent weeks and the last piece of the Sun Belt's plan to expand to 14 football members fell into place Friday: James Madison, a perennial championship contender in the Football Championship Subdivision, was given approval by the state to move up to FBS, where the Sun Belt competes. LB Kavian Gaither, Jr., Sam Houston
Why does C-USA need a championship game with only 9 teams in the league? With playoff expansion on hold, there's no immediate on-field incentive for Notre Dame to jump, and the league's toxic TV deal means there's no financial reason either. Stream on ESPN+. Colorado State at Middle Tennessee Conference USA Leaders Full Conference Stats Conference USA Headlines Conference USA Preview: All Eyes on North Texas but Talent Abounds Elsewhere 2022 Fall Report: North Texas CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas . Texas and OU both stated in a letter to the SEC that they intend to remain in the Big 12 through June 2025, when that conference's current media rights deals end. Any hopes of wooing the Fighting Irish remain distant, at best. Who are all of the movers and newcomers to FBS? And in 2023, we'll build on all we've accomplished through the strength of our nine members: FIU, Jacksonville State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP and WKU. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 2023 Conference USA football schedule announced, 2023 Jacksonville State Football Schedule. P Joshua Sloan, Jr., UTEP
Kennesaw State becomes a member in 2024. "We are incredibly excited about adding these four new members and feel there is tremendous upside in these moves for our conference," Conference USA commissioner Judy MacLeod said in a release. Note: All stats shown are before the start of the 2023 season. And how messy will this departure get before it's all done? Middle Tennessee at Alabama Things certainly could change in the next few years, but the Big Ten is strong as currently constructed and lacks any obvious expansion additions outside of Notre Dame, which has shown no interest in joining a league in football. The league has been building the next generation of great college programs for 27 years. TEAM CONF GB OVR; . Still, the Big Ten doesn't need to expand, nor is the league in any real danger of losing members. 10 Louisiana Tech 81, No. 4. K/P Jadon Cardell, RS So., Sam Houston
When all is said and done, Conference USA will have nine football-playing members in 2023. "We have been deliberate in our efforts for the past few weeks to get us to this point and will continue to evaluate and consider our additional options for membership.". "This is a quality mix of established and emerging universities that provides us with a compelling group to continue to build with, focusing on competing for and winning championships well into the future. For the 2023 season, Conference USA will consist of nine football-playing members and no divisions. We're also proud to have Dallas Baptist (baseball) and Tulane (beach volleyball) as associate members. The Conference USA slate opens on Saturday, Aug. 26, with five teams in action, highlighted by a pair of league contests. New Mexico State at Liberty Only five of those 14 will remain Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, FIU and UTEP and four new members will join next year: Liberty, New Mexico State, Sam Houston and. RB Anwar Lewis, RS Jr., Jacksonville State
That could happen as early as 2022, or they could ride out their remaining four years in the Big 12 -- as painful and inhospitable as that might be. On behalf of Liberty University, I want to thank Commissioner MacLeod and the leaders in Conference USA for this exciting opportunity, said Liberty University Director of Athletics Ian McCaw. All Rights Reserved. OL Shiyazh Pete, RS So., New Mexico State
DE Praise Amaewhule, RS Sr., UTEP
One of the most puzzling developments of this latest round of realignment was the discussion Air Force and Colorado State had about joining the depleted American Athletic Conference. Liberty at Jacksonville State, Wednesday, Oct. 11 While the three departing schools are the ones that helped set that standard with a combined four of the league's five New Year's Six appearances, confidence remains high that the league can continue forward and stay in the national spotlight. The leagues 19thConference USA Football Championship Game is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1. The 2022 alignment will . But after Cincinnati, Houston and UCF left, they would have been leaving for an inferior conference with more travel and no clear benefits. OL XZauvea Gadlin, Sr., Liberty
LB Tyrice Knight, RS Sr., UTEP
Thank you for your support! Were also grateful to our colleagues at Conference USA and anticipate an exciting final season as members in 2022-23., UTSA Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lisa Campos, Given the news about the agreement the American Athletic Conference came to with Cincinnati, Houston and UCF regarding the departure of those institutions in 2023, our intent is to join The American on July 1, 2023., FAU Vice President & Director of Athletics Brian White, Florida Atlantic Athletics has an extremely bright future. When all is said and done, Conference USA will have nine football-playing members in 2023. IRVING, Texas (AP) Men's and women's basketball teams in the expanded Big 12 will still play 18 conference games each during the 2023-24 season. North Texas at Louisiana Tech OL Ethan Hagler, Sr., Sam Houston
Either way, the Sun Belt will win this round of realignment (as it did, in retrospect, the last time around) and C-USA will look almost completely different in a few years than it does now. Here is a final classification of that tournament. FIU at Sam Houston View All Events New Mexico State at Louisiana Tech DL Kendy Charles, Sr., Liberty
But Aresco is convinced they will only serve to enhance the league. HCU at WKU, Saturday, Sept. 16 The season will begin on August 26, 2023, and conclude with the Conference Championship Game on December 2, 2023. Bowlsby did not rule out another round of future expansion, noting in a recent interview with D Magazine that Boise State and Memphis expressed interest in joining. Middle Tennessee at Missouri The C-USA overhaul might not be done, either: Mid-American Conference presidents met Friday with possible expansion on the agenda and C-USA members Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State as potential options, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league's discussions are private. James Madison currently competes in the Colonial Athletic Association, a league which is making the school pay for its decision to jump by barring it from competing for conference championships until its transition to the Sun Belt is complete in accordance with league bylaws. It is believed they will start playing in the AAC as soon as the 2023-24 athletic season. Todays agreement puts our university in the best position for success and we are looking forward to the bright future ahead of us., Ever since our last football game we played as a conference member, the 2017 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl win in front of 25,000 members of Aggie Nation, my primary goal for that program was to return to a conference, said NM State Director of Athletics Mario Moccia. In an interview with CBS last week, Bowlsby reiterated that the league plans to hold OU and Texas to its commitment. July 21, 2023. Eastern Michigan at Jacksonville State History (Both recently arranged to leave.) Louisiana Tech at Liberty Published 4:51 PM PDT, July 20, 2023. Should Conference USA lose the three aforementioned programs and ultimately dissolve, the result. WR Ife Adeyi, Sr., Sam Houston
April 24-27, 2023 Texarkana CC | Hosted by C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL: Beach Volleyball April 27-29, 2023 Fort Lauderdale Beach Park | Hosted by C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL: Softball 2023 Overall C-USA Football Team Rankings Last updated on 07/21/23 at 2:51 PM CST The Formula where c is a specific team's total number of commits and R n is the 247Sports Rating of the nth-best . Louisiana Tech at Jacksonville State Stream on ESPN+. A total of 133 games are scheduled over 13 regular season playing weeks, plus three week zero contests. New Mexico State at New Mexico Kennesaw State-Liberty Middle Tennessee at Sam Houston, Friday, Dec. 1 or Saturday, Dec. 2 6 Rice 72, No. "This move brings another strong brand and passionate fanbase into the Sun Belt and elevates the Dukes' storied football program to the highest level of NCAA competition. The Big Ten, meanwhile, is a financial heavyweight that doesn't need much help generating television ratings or boosting revenue streams. They appealed to the league as like-minded institutions that fit the size and scope of the current membership, and as an added bonus over many of the original schools since the time the league was founded, they actually wanted to be there. C-USA responded by adding four schools -- Liberty, Jacksonville State, New Mexico State and Sam Houston State -- for the 2023 season. The 2023 Conference USA men's basketball tournament was held March 8-11, 2023, at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. With the landscape of collegiate athletics changing more rapidly now than ever, we are thrilled to be able to align with a league with such an outstanding tradition as C-USA., We are certainly proud of the tradition that has been built by Gamecock Football, one that spans well over a century, JSU Athletics Director Greg Seitz said. DB Quinton Reese, Sr., Liberty
Sam Houston at Louisiana Tech Conference USA announced Friday that it will add Liberty, Jacksonville State, New Mexico State and Sam Houston State in 2023 as the league tries to replenish its ranks after having nine schools announce plans to leave in the last month. FIU at Middle Tennessee T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY, Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN, Houchens IndustriesL. Western Illinois at New Mexico State The 2023-24 UEFA Europa Conference League is the third season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA . The beat Kansas earlier this year on Monday night, February 7th! UMass at Liberty Evan, -The WAC is scheduled to have 6 football schools (SUU, Dixie St, ACU, Tarleton St, Lamar, SFA) However, that number goes back to five schools with JSU's departure. Those moves have the conference at nine members, with FBS independents UConn and UMass, plus FCS teams potentially looking to move up, still out there as possible further additions. WKU at Troy, Thursday, Sept. 28 Jacksonville State at New Mexico State The Liberty Flames, New Mexico State Aggies, Jacksonville State Gamecocks, and Sam Houston Bearkats will each join Conference USA in 2023, it was officially announced on Friday. UTSA and North Texas advanced to the championship game, where UTSA won by a score of 48-27. Wait, hold on!!! The official Baseball page for Conference USA. I know Aggie Nation is anxious to create new rivalries with programs from around the nation, especially when it comes to our mens basketball program which has long been one of the premier mid-majors in the land., Jacksonville State University has and always will be eager to listen to opportunities that put our University and athletics department in the best situation possible, so when Conference USA reached out to us we were excited to listen, JSU President Dr. Don Killingsworth said. (NWA Media). Conference USA isn't the only Group of Five conference. New Mexico State is also an FBS independent and member of Western Athletic Conference for basketball and other sports. Conferece USA is suddenly FCS+. They will join FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, UTEP, and WKU. Toggle Conference USA records vs other conferences subsection, Conference USA records vs other conferences, Conference USA vs FBS independents matchups, NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, "AAC to add six new member schools from Conference USA ahead of 2023 college football season", "Conference USA adds Liberty, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, Jacksonville State", "C-USA Adds Kennesaw State, Owls to Join in 2024", "Liberty hires Jamey Chadwell; sides agree to 7-year deal, sources say", Conference USA Football Championship Game, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2023_Conference_USA_football_season&oldid=1165255547, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll, Tied with team above or below also with this symbol, BurgessSnow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL, Houchens IndustriesL. He also questioned both schools' decisions to leave, saying it would be more difficult for the Longhorns and Sooners to have as much success in the SEC. Wait.Its not South Carolina? FBSchedules - College and Pro Football Schedules. You know Texas is a basketball school. That the ACC's fortunes in 2021 have fallen even further -- marquee teams Clemson, Miami and Florida State are all struggling -- and that the league has yet to broker a deal to get its TV network on Comcast only add to the reasons Notre Dame is in the catbird's seat in any possible talks. [1] Print Headline: Conference USA adds four to league for 2023, Copyright 2023, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. Opening Day . UTEP at Middle Tennessee UCA Athletic Director Brad Teague told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in October that the conference planned to have eight total football schools by 2023, and ASUN commissioner Ted Gumbart seemed to echo those sentiments in a statement Friday, saying the conference is receiving "great interest from outstanding universities in our region" about joining the ASUN, though he declined to mention specific schools. PR/KR Smoke Harris, RS Sr., Louisiana Tech
Below is a graphical representation of how our formula works. 11 UTSA 71 Quarterfinals Thursday, March 9 DL Jackson Luttrell, Sr., Jacksonville State
During the 2022 season, the UTSA Roadrunners posted the best record in the regular season. WR Smoke Harris, RS Sr., Louisiana Tech
Now the list of programs that could genuinely change the economic landscape for the league is probably down to one: Notre Dame. Standings. (The Big 12 also added independent BYU.) 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Related: Conference USA 2023 All-Conference Team. The following games include C-USA teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes Army, UConn, or UMass. TBD at Sam Houston or a boring blowout? Twenty percent of FBS programs have belonged to C-USA at one point or another, and of its original football members, only Alabama-Birmingham and Southern Miss remain in the conference. WKU at Louisiana Tech DB Andre Seldon, RS So., New Mexico State, SPECIAL TEAMS
The Conference USA TV schedule for the 2023 season will be announced later this spring. The 2023 schedule complies with C-USA scheduling policies as approved by the Board of Directors. Middle TennesseeCB Teldrick Ross, Sr. Middle Tennessee, PK Alen Karajic, PK Jr. Middle TennesseeP Daton Montiel, P Jr. FIUKR/PR Smoke Harris, Sr. Louisiana Tech. Liberty at WKU, Wednesday, Oct. 25 Becoming a member of Conference USA is a significant day in our athletic departments history., Conference USA is a founding member of the College Football Playoff and will provide access to funding that will help all our athletic teams and 400 Aggie student-athletes, Moccia continued. Liberty and New Mexico State are each independent in football, while Jacksonville State and Sam Houston compete at the FCS level. The formation of the Alliance between the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 generated some laughter around college football, but the pact has a purpose. The loss of the last two historical powers from the league's roster significantly weakened its appeal in upcoming media rights negotiations, after it was already rebuffed on extension talks while Texas and Oklahoma were still in the Big 12. You can see that the area under the curve gets smaller both as the rating for a commit decreases and as the number of total commits for a school increases. In addition to the previously-announced additions of Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss, the Sun Belt is also adding FCS power James Madison after the school received state approval in Virginia on Friday to make the move. Prior to the 2023 season, Conference USA saw substantial realignment, with six schools leaving the conference to join the American Athletic Conference: UTSA, North Texas, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice, and UAB. No way UConn gives up Big East basketball. The conference, which has 14 schools for the upcoming season before the departures of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC next summer, released its basketball . Marshall has become the third Conference USA institution to join the Sun Belt Conference, the league announced on Saturday. Here's a breakdown of the many changes to the FCS football. Its Jacksonville State? We have been deliberate in our efforts for the past few weeks to get us to this point and will continue to evaluate and consider our additional options for membership.". The NCAA requires Football Bowl Subdivision leagues to have at least eight teams. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. Ahead of the 2023 college football season, PFF presents its preseason All-Conference USA Team. Events Results. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. Sam Houston at BYU FIU, Jacksonville State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP and WKU comprise Conference USA for the 2023 football season. New members Liberty (FBS Independent), New Mexico State (FBS Independent), Jacksonville State (FCS; ASUN Conference), and Sam Houston (FCS; WAC) will join FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, UTEP, and WKU. Jacksonville State at Middle Tennessee, Thursday, Oct. 5 Eh, I dont think the Big 12 would take them all. Any word on if UConn and/or UMass will join C-USA for football only? I didnt get to watch the Texas Roadrunners play the Troy Uni.Trojans in their ranked VS ranked Exhibition. In the latest edition of "How the Conferences Turn," the American added six schools from Conference USA -- Alabama-Birmingham, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice and Texas-San Antonio -- and the Group of 5 conferences all were forced to reassess their situations and decide where to go from here. Your email address will not be published. 8 Western Kentucky 73, No. Its the College Football News 2023 Preseason All-Conference USA team. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. We look forward to all of our teams competing for Conference USA championships in the not so distant future and our fans becoming acquainted with new conference opponents. We have been deliberate in our efforts for the past few weeks to get us to this point and will continue to evaluate and consider our additional options for membership.. Competition proper: 32 +8. The Charlotte 49ers, Florida Atlantic Owls, and UTSA Roadrunners each announced their move. The additions, particularly in Texas, are meant to solidify the league's Western flank and also draw in larger media markets. However, the Washington Post reported that the JMU football team could still compete for a league title and automatic FCS playoff bid since football in the CAA is governed by different bylaws. OL Quantavious Leslie, Jr., WKU
The Longhorns haven't won a league title since 2009. Maine at FIU The 2023 season format is without divisions and will pit the top two teams in conference play against one another in the 2023 Conference USA Championship Game, which will be hosted by the team with the best league winning percentage. Today that goal has become a reality. "We are thrilled to welcome James Madison University to the Sun Belt Conference," said Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill. Posted at 5:58 PM, Jan 20, 2022 and last updated 6:42 AM, Jan 25, 2022 DALLAS, TX (WTKR)- Amid reports that three of its members, including Old Dominion, hope to be competing in the Sun Belt by the. All of this conference realignment is a trickle down from what started in July with the SEC inviting Texas and Oklahoma to leave the Big 12 and join the powerhouse league by 2025.