DESTIN, Florida – Conference USA concluded its annual Spring Meetings Wednesday in Destin, Florida. Conference USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod and staff hosted Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, Faculty Athletics Representatives and head coaches for football, men's and women's basketball from its 14 member institutions.

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“We had great discussions with our membership regarding national issues and opportunities for growth and advancement of our member institutions and Conference USA,” MacLeod said.
 
The meetings launched on Monday with strategic discussions between both coaches and administrators on various key topics, with the focus on the basketball reform, national transfer regulations and championship sites.
 
NCAA staff members Kevin Lennon, Dan Gavitt, Lynn Holzman, Kris Richardson and Eric Mayes joined select groups to provide information and discuss relevant topics.
 
Former coach and ESPN analyst Mark Adams met with the league’s men’s and women’s basketball head coaches to discuss strategic scheduling, focusing on improved perception and strength of the league.
 
The Athletics Directors supported the expansion of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament to 72 teams with the requirement that all teams qualifying achieve at least a .500 conference record. An expansion of the NIT field was also supported.
 
The group discussed how best to honor Conference USA’s first commissioner, Mike Slive. Details will be released following the Board of Directors meeting in June.
 
The league honored the tremendous academic and athletic achievements of C-USA student-athletes through the selection of the Jim Castañeda postgraduate scholarship award recipients and completed the appointment process for the 2018-19 Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
 
Presentations were also made to the full group from Kevin DeShazo of Fieldhouse Media, and the league’s multimedia partners. Additionally, time was taken to reflect on recent accomplishments, including:

• The league inked innovative multimedia rights partnerships with CBS Sports and Stadium in conjunction with Facebook. The new agreements will provide substantial increases in reach and revenue to the league’s membership.
• A record nine C-USA teams participated in bowl games, while 10 were bowl-eligible. UTSA defensive end Marcus Davenport became the first Roadrunner taken in the first round of the NFL Draft (14th overall – New Orleans Saints). 
• A total of 708 student-athletes earned the Commissioner’s Academic Medal (3.75 GPA or higher) this season, a 10% increase from 2016-17. Furthermore, over 55% of C-USA student-athletes earned a 3.0 or better.
• C-USA organized and implemented a YouCaring.com initiative called the #CUSACares Campaign in response to Hurricane Harvey. More than $50,000 was raised to assist the Rice community. 

Sites for several 2018-19 C-USA Championships were selected and will be presented to the C-USA Board of Directors for final approval.
 

Sport	Dates	Location	Site
Cross Country	Oct. 27	Boca Raton, Fla.	Florida Atlantic
Women’s Soccer	Oct. 31-Nov. 4	Norfolk, Va.	Old Dominion
Men’s Soccer	Nov. 7-11	Charlotte, N.C.	Charlotte
Volleyball	Nov. 16-18	Huntington, W. Va.	Marshall
Football	Dec. 1	Divisional Champion with best record
Indoor Track & Field	Feb. 16-17	Birmingham, Ala.	UAB
Women’s Swimming & Diving	Feb. 27-March 2	Atlanta, Ga.	C-USA
Men’s & Women’s Basketball	March 13-16	Frisco, Texas	C-USA
Women’s Golf	April 15-17	Fort Myers, Fla.	C-USA
Women’s Tennis	April 18-21	Miami, Fla.	FIU
Men’s Tennis	April 19-21	Murfreesboro, Tenn.	Middle Tennessee
Men’s Golf	April 22-25	Texarkana, Ark.	C-USA
Softball	May 8-11	Birmingham, Ala.	UAB
Outdoor Track & Field	May 9-12	Charlotte, N.C.	Charlotte

About Conference USA
Conference USA is an NCAA Division I athletic conference based in Irving, Texas, that services 14 institutions of higher education – Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA and WKU. Now in its third decade, Conference USA has adapted to the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics with an unwavering commitment to excellence, integrity and leadership in competition, academics and community.