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There are big changes coming to Conference USA and most of the rest of the Group of Five, as the mid-major Football Bowl Subdivision leagues are known, that many league officials are understandably hesitant to embrace. College athletic administrators already have been through the ringer. Beginning about five years ago, a chain reaction of conference realignment began that ended with 80 schools changing leagues. Few were hit harder than Conference USA, which lost seven schools to the American Athletic Conference. But like it or not, more change is coming. When your expenses are rising and revenue is falling, simple economics demand that you become leaner and more efficient. And that’s the situation facing C-USA. “Conference USA’s current financial model is unsustainable,” said an athletic director who asked not to be named. I’m not picking on C-USA, which is a pretty good football league. The problem here isn’t on-the-field performance. It’s the bottom line. C-USA’s TV revenue cratered from $1.1 million per school in 2015-16 to $200,000 this year. Costs have also risen, in part because the NCAA adopted new policies such as paying stipends to athletes for costs not covered in scholarships. Paying the so-called full cost of attendance has cost ODU $600,000 this year. The elite Power 5 conferences, including the ACC and SEC, continue to be fat and happy. The ACC shared $26.2 million per school in TV and other revenue last season, and thus can afford the travel costs that come from a footprint extending from Miami to Syracuse. read more: http://pilotonline.com/sports/college/old-dominion/football/it-s-inevitable-conference-usa-as-we-know-it-is/article_19e86f15-f21e-53f4-8868-505de84abcf2.html

According to fbschedules.com, four C-USA schools -- Western Kentucky, Rice, Louisiana Tech and Florida Atlantic -- will have all 12 games televised. Marshall, Texas-San Antonio, Southern Mississippi, and UNC Charlotte, which plays its first season in the league, will have 11 on TV. ODU, Middle Tennessee and Texas-El Paso have ten games each set for TV and Florida International and North Texas each have nine. read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2015/06/odu-football-has-robust-tv-profile-also-reason-some-concern

Alabama-Birminghams future in Conference USA will be decided on June 8 when the leagues executive committee meets in Dallas, conference officials decided during a conference call earlier this week. Yet the decision may be a foregone conclusion. Several conference officials, who asked not to be identified, said there appears to be a consensus that unless UAB does the unthinkable and announces it will revive football, the Blazers will be forced to leave C-USA. UAB officials announced on Dec. 2 that they were shutting down their football program. That violates Conference USA bylaws that requires schools either to field a Football Bowl Subdivision program or be in the process of starting football. Yes, UAB is coming off a wonderful basketball season, in which the Blazers won the C-USA tournament in Birmingham, defeating Middle Tennessee State before a frenzied crowd of more than 8,000. UAB then upset No. 3 seed Iowa State in the NCAA tournament. It was indeed a feel-good couple of weeks for a UAB fan base that has been put through the ringer. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2015/04/conference-usas-executive-committee-will-make-decision-uab-june-meeting-dallas

Alabama-Birmingham officials are expected to announce this week that they will shutter their football program, USA Today and Sports Illustrated reported on Sunday. If true, it will be a blow to Conference USA, and as such, a blow for Old Dominion’s football program. UAB would be forced to withdraw from the conference, which requires schools to play football. First-year coach Bill Clark, who guided UAB to a 6-6 record this season and bowl eligibility, will have his contract bought out and athletic director Brian Mackin will be fired as part of a reorganization of the athletic department. UAB’s football program has struggled over the years, but the school is a large, urban university in a state that is football crazy. Birmingham is the nation’s 43rd-largest TV market. Read more: http://www.hamptonroads.com/2014/11/demise-uab-football-blow-conference-usa-and-thus-blow-old-dominion

It’s taken all the negotiating skills of Henry Kissinger for Conference USA to survive the chaotic realignment process that recently caused a seismic upheaval in college athletics. But who would have thought that nearly three years after more powerful conferences began feasting upon those with fewer resources that C-USA would improve its football TV profile and stabilize its postseason bowl contracts? That’s exactly what C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky has managed to do for his oft-maligned, far-flung league. For that, Banowsky probably hasn’t received enough recognition. Banowsky led an aggressive expansion process that added nine new members, including Old Dominion. Even shorn of some of its best football programs, Banowsky negotiated a TV deal this summer that nearly doubled the number of conferences games on the tube. And he managed to sign 10-year agreements with ten football bowl games that guarantees C-USA at least five postseason bids per season. Eleven of ODU’s 12 games this season will be on television, and when the Monarchs are ready for prime time, there will be bowl game opportunities. ODU president John Broderick, who had the final call when the school decided in 2012 to leave the Colonial Athletic Association for C-USA, said Banowsky had much to do with the decision. “When we were in the process of discussing our future, talking with people from around the country, his name kept coming up,” Broderick said. “We heard from a lot of people that he was really a quality commissioner. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2014/07/cusa-has-benefitted-banowskys-leadership

Conference realignment is over for now, but college athletics face major changes in the next few years, Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky said. Old Dominion was among the last schools to move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision from the Football Championship Subdivision when it joined C-USA two years ago. Speaking at media day this week, Banowsky said his conference is set with 14 members and he doesn't foresee expansion for years. That's bad news for FCS schools considering a move, such as Liberty and James Madison. College administrators have turned their attention to potentially seismic changes in the governance of sports. The NCAA likely will grant the five power conferences, including the ACC and SEC, more autonomy early next year. The amateur nature of college sports is being challenged in the courts and the disparity of revenues between the power conferences and mid-major leagues, such as Conference USA, continues to grow. "I believe we're transitioning from a time of conference realignment to system realignment," Banowsky said during a 40-minute discussion with reporters. Excerpts of that conversation: Q: In the last two years, Conference USA has lost seven schools and added nine. Is conference realignment over? A: "I believe it is for now. The realignment seas are pretty calm. Not only was it very taxing, people learned better ways to create legal structures that pulled associations together, whether it was a formal assignment of TV rights like the Big 12 did or what the ACC did" in requiring a $50 million exit fee. "The idea that being a member of an athletic conference is like you're a member of a country club that you can basically leave, that probably wasn't the best model for college athletics." Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2014/07/cusa-chief-athletics-are-facing-big-changes

About North Texas: The Mean Green upset Rice, yet missed the C-USA championship game when they fell at Texas-San Antonio, 21-13, late in the season. They nonetheless defeated UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, 36-14 – their seventh win in their final eight games. McCarney, in his fourth season, faces something of a rebuilding task offensively. Most of his offensive line returns, but most skill players were seniors, including wide receiver Brelan Chancellor, a second-team all-league choice, and quarterback Derek Thompson, the MVP of their bowl game. North Texas is an aggressive, physical defensive team that allowed just 17.8 points per game, the stingiest in C-USA. North Texas had 39 sacks and led the nation in blocked punts with five and blocked kicks with eight. North Texas may not be a household name, but has played football since 1913 and made its first bowl appearance in 1959 in the Sun Bowl. The university is located in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, one of the nation’s largest TV markets. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2014/02/odu-monarchs-2014-football-schedule

Conference USA's presidents and athletic directors unanimously endorsed providing a stipend for full-scholarship athletes during a two-day retreat that ended Thursday in Irving, Texas. The issue of providing athletes with a stipend of about $2,000 per year to help pay for living expenses not provided in traditional scholarships is one of several that has led the major conferences to consider forming a new NCAA division. ODU athletic director Wood Selig said traditional scholarships pay for tuition, room, board and books. They do not pay for clothing, expenses for athletes to travel home during the holidays or for necessary items such as toothpaste and razors. Selig estimates those additional costs add up to about $2,000 at ODU. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/athletes-would-get-stipend-under-cusa-proposal

Old Dominion’s football program could receive a verbal commitment this week from a big-time prospect in Virginia Beach. Christian Byrum, a 3-star safety and wide receiver from Tallwood High School, is attending ODU’s team camp this week and said he may commit during camp. If so, it seems likely he would commit to ODU. Byrum would be the most highly-recruited prospect ever to commit to the Monarchs. When Byrum trimmed his list of finalists to six two weeks ago, many thought he included ODU as a courtesy. North Carolina State, Boston College, Syracuse and Duke of the ACC have offered him, as has Wisconsin of the Big Ten. So have East Carolina and Cincinnati of the American Athletic Conference. It’s not often that a Conference USA school – ODU joins C-USA in 2014 – beats four ACC teams for a recruit. It would be a first for ODU. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/07/odu-may-get-commitment-bigtime-recruit

Conference USA athletic officials began three days of meetings Monday in Destin, Fla., the scenic resort city along the Gulf Coast of Floridas Panhandle, where officials and coaches will discuss scheduling, officiating, finances, championships and other topics. Athletic director Wood Selig was joined by Deborah Polca, ODUs senior associate athletic director and the senior womens athletic administrator; football coach Bobby Wilder, mens basketball coach Jeff Jones and womens basketball coach Karen Barefoot at the meetings. Athletic directors, senior womens athletic administrators, football coaches , mens basketball coaches and womens basketball coaches all met separately on Monday to discuss mutual issues, Selig said. The groups will hold a series of joint meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, with any formal decisions to be made Wednesday morning, Selig said. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/05/odu-officials-attending-conference-usa-meetings-florida

NORFOLK Old Dominion athletic director Wood Selig says he's been encouraging Conference USA officials to invite James Madison to join the league, a possibility that seems more plausible now than even a few weeks ago. C-USA commissioner Britt Banowsky told CBS Sports on Monday the league is considering expanding by two to 16 schools in 2014. "We've modeled it at 16, and it does kind of create some divisions that are a little more geographically connected," Banowsky said. "I think, personally, a larger conference is better because you get some efficiencies." Media reports have indicated that Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette from the Sun Belt Conference are the most likely C-USA expansion candidates. However, Selig said he supports expansion only if it results in at least one more member from the Southeast. JMU is the only likely candidate from this region. JMU officials also appear more open to leaving the Colonial Athletic Association and moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision. JMU officials said they were committed to the CAA last year when ODU and Georgia State announced they were leaving to move up to FBS and Virginia Commonwealth exited for the Atlantic 10. But after the recent announcement that George Mason was also leaving for the A-10, JMU officials announced they had hired a consultant to assist in creating a "comprehensive strategic plan" for JMU's athletic future. The consultant's report isn't expected to be finished until this summer. "I'm not going to pretend that I know what's best for JMU," Selig said. "This is an issue for JMU's leadership to decide. But from the outside looking in, they appear to have everything that an institution needs to be successful in FBS. "When I've been asked by other athletic directors within Conference USA about James Madison, I have been very supportive of JMU. They've been casual conversations. A lot of people in Conference USA don't know a lot about JMU. As we continue to try and add a presence in the southeast in Conference USA, JMU seems like a natural." Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/04/odu-eyes-jmu-potential-future-conference-usa-invite

Losing East Carolina, which along with Tulane announced earlier this week that it was joining the Big East, was a huge blow to Conference USA. There’s no way to sugarcoat that news, and frankly, most C-USA officials didn’t try. The Pirates have the most rabid football following in the league, who loyally fill Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium’s 50,000 seats. The Pirates have a long tradition of winning. And for Old Dominion, especially, it was a tough loss. ECU is the closest Football Bowl Subdivision team to Norfolk. Officials envisioned a spirited rivalry between the two schools when the Monarchs begin playing C-USA football in 2014. Yet C-USA officials reacted quickly, adding Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, and in the process, improved the league's television profile. The league added two pretty good football programs. Middle Tennessee has the Sun Belt’s best team. The Blue Raiders have won the Sun Belt Conference all-sports trophy eight times and their football team, 8-3 entering its regular-season finale on Saturday, upset Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Florida Atlantic, also from the Sun Belt, opened a breathtakingly beautiful $70 million, 30,000-seat stadium on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in 2011 and although 3-8 this season, has won two bowl games. Neither has the football resume of ECU, but both programs will be stronger than Tulane, a C-USA bottom feeder whose games at the Louisiana Superdome draw embarrassingly small crowds. Big East officials touted the New Orleans media market when they welcomed the Green Wave. But having lived in New Orleans as a child, and having visited there a dozen times since, I can tell you that Tulane is but a footnote in New Orleans market. The Saints and Hornets and LSU football are all the rage in the Big Easy. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2012/11/conference-usa-responded-well-it-could-have