With the ACC announcing its Grant of Rigths agreement in April, realignment at the highest level of college football looks to be on hold for the foreseeable future. The same can now be said for Conference USA’s expansion plans for the immediate future.
In a statement on Tuesday, the conference board of directors “elected to remain, for the foreseeable future, with its current membership plan.”
“We are thrilled with our membership going forward and excited about our collective potential,” commissioner Britton Banowsky said. “Our organization has established a great foundation in an increasingly stable environment. The system has found calm waters, which is helpful to all of us.”
Depending on your interpretation of “foreseeable future,” C-USA’s membership beginning in 2014 will be as follows (unless another league plucks a team or two): UNC-Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA and Western Kentucky.
The conference had been considering adding two more members to become a 16-team league.