The Sun Belt and Conference USA announced on Tuesday that the acrimonious departure of three schools from Conference USA to the Sun Belt has been finalized.
The schools are moving to the Sun Belt for the football season in 2022, ending a series of legal battles.
The terms of the separation agreement were not made public. The Conference USA bylaw requires a 14-month notice before a school leaves the league.
The legal issues came into focus after the Sun Belt placed the three schools on the football schedule for 2022, which was released on March 1.
Conference USA will play with 11 members next season. The schedule for the new structure is expected to be released soon.
The league petitioned the NCAA for health and safety reasons to play two football games in Week 0 in 2022, according to sources. There is a fear that too many teams would have to play for more than two months in a row without a bye because of the odd number of teams. It would be helpful to play in Week 0.
Conference USA is excited about the future with our 11 institutions in the 2022-23 academic year, and is committed to the long-term growth of the league as we bring in new members in the coming years.
There is more change on the way for Conference USA. The American Athletic Conference has six more schools headed to it. Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State and Sam Houston will be joining Conference USA.
James Madison was added to the Sun Belt in recent months.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
