We are Conference USA. Through our dedicated leadership, diverse members and dynamic partners, we’re championing success in college athletics. We’re taking our conference to the next level by challenging the norm and striving to exceed expectations.
Experience guides our vision. Passion fuels our progress.
The college athletics landscape is evolving faster than ever. We believe that in times of change, original thinking can lead to inspiring outcomes. We’re pairing our proud legacy with new perspectives to take a steadfast, future-focused position, and maximizing the good we bring to our schools, student-athletes, and fans. In three decades, we’ve achieved numerous football bowl appearances, basketball tournament berths and postseason championship bids. We’ve also been a mainstay of academic achievement, garnering numerous academic honors and thousands of diplomas, while cultivating relationships and service in our communities. We will continue to build on all we’ve accomplished through the strength of our 12 members: Delaware, FIU, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Missouri State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP, and WKU. We’re also proud to have Dallas Baptist (baseball); Florida Atlantic, Tarleton State, Tulane, UAB and USF (beach volleyball); and Arkansas State, Nebraska, Sacred Heart, Tulane, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt, Wichita State, Wright State and Youngstown State (bowling) as affiliate members.
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COMPETITIVE HIGHLIGHTS
COMPETITION
Conference USA sponsors competition in 19 sports – eight for men (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track and field) and 11 for women (basketball, beach volleyball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, and volleyball).
ACADEMICS
Our schools are among the nation’s best in academic performance of student-athletes, bolstered by the fact that student-athletes at league schools have a higher graduation rate than the general student population. Each year the league names recipients to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll and awards the Commissioner’s Academic Medal, indicative of outstanding achievement in the classroom. Honor Roll is awarded to student-athletes in conference-sponsored sports that have achieved a 3.0 cumulative GPA or above, while Academic Medal recipients have achieved a 3.75 cumulative GPA or above. CUSA annually awards each institution a Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarships, along with the Sport Academic Awards, Scholar-Athletes of the Year and the Institutional Academic Excellence Award.
COMMUNITY
CUSA emphasizes the relationships our student-athletes form with our member communities through volunteer service and has implemented several initiatives designed to maintain strong ties within our communities, as well as with fans and alumni across the country. Individually, student-athletes are recognized each season through the Spirit of Service award.
MULTIMEDIA PARTNERS
CUSA enjoys significant exposure through a new multimedia rights deal that launched in 2023-24. These partnerships, which include long term partners CBS Sports Network and ESPN, emphasize accessibility, opportune scheduling models, along with increased national linear and digital exposure for football, men’s and women’s basketball and conference Olympic sports. Through our partnership with Sidearm Sports, the league’s official website, ConferenceUSA.com, features a nationally recognized content management system providing a place for fans, members, and media to connect with us. Additionally, our partnership with industry-leader INFLCR supplies a content delivery platform for our student-athletes.
GOVERNANCE
We have significant representation in the NCAA governance structure. The presidents and/or chancellors of the member institutions serve as the league's Board of Directors. Commissioner Judy MacLeod is the third commissioner in league history, appointed on October 26, 2015. She was the first female commissioner of a Football Bowl Subdivision athletics conference.
MEMBERSHIP TIMELINE
Updated July 2025