WKU Official Notice of Move to C-USA

[Harry]

http://www.wkusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5400&ATCLID=207018161

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Western Kentucky University will announce a membership agreement with Conference USA for its athletic programs beginning on July 1, 2014 in a press conference at noon (CT) today in the Jack and Jackie Harbaugh Stadium Club at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium.

Conference USA is an established, nationally prominent athletic conference that sponsors intercollegiate competition in 20 sports. Conference USA will have 16 member institutions in 2013-14, including 14 that compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

The press conference is open to the media and the public.

The press conference will be streamed live on WKUSports.com.

The upcoming 2013-14 academic year will be WKU's last as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, which it joined prior to the 1982-83 academic year. Currently in its 31st year as a member of the conference, WKU has won the Vic Bubas Cup five times, which is given annually to the member institution gaining the most cumulative points awarded for athletic success in the league's 19 sponsored sports.

Since 2000, WKU has won 86 Sun Belt Conference championships, more than 30 more than the next closest conference school. Also since the year 2000, WKU has committed more than $100 million towards new construction or renovation of athletic facilities, and 85 percent of Hilltopper and Lady Topper student-athletes who have fulfilled their eligibility have graduated.

Conference USA membership in 2013-14 will include Charlotte, East Carolina, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UTEP and UTSA, with Charlotte and Old Dominion not competing in football.

In addition to reuniting with current Sun Belt Conference members FIU, Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee and North Texas, beginning in 2014-15 WKU will once again be in a conference with former Sun Belt Conference foes Charlotte, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion and UAB. Furthermore, WKU and Marshall were founding members of the Ohio Valley Conference in 1948.

Sun Belt Conference membership in 2013-14 will include UALR, Arkansas State, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, ULM, South Alabama, Texas-Arlington, Texas State, Troy and WKU, with UALR and Texas-Arlington not competing in football.

[GTWT]

Sigh........

[Rudy]

So now who Bensen's class of the Sun Belt?

[UNT90]

With Ark. St. and S.Alabama to follow once USM and Marshall can figure a way to get the hell out.

[LakeTravis]

wow, they just gave Britton their maxi pad rag and a baseball hat in the press conference.

[golfingomez]

so when is the big reveal that it's all just an April Fool's hoax?

[LakeTravis]

unfortunately thats the first thing Britton said in the press conf.

[Rudy]

unfortunately thats the first thing Britton said in the press conf.

What did he say, something about the maxi pad rag and ball cap, or this is/isn't an April Fool's Joke?

[LakeTravis]

This isn't an April fools joke.

When he was handed the maxi pad towel, he literally looked at it like it was pile of shit on the floor.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Best thing for North Texas is that our varsity teams still get to make trips to Houston, Texas, USA, every other year. If we lose that then we can all collectively start looking for rusty razor blades.

I still see all this social climbing as steerage passengers on the Titanic trying to get the best view of the northern Atlantic from not a very good

vantage point.

We have some pretty good destination cities in CUSA at this point that I know we all hope we keep. The new CUSA is as marketable a geographical area as any other with real potential rivalries. The former CUSA schools still have one leg in many of their's glorious past and the other on a banana peel. I don't think this change for them will do much more than CUSA did for some of them which did not amount to not much.

The new CUSA must always have its football champion in a Top 25 poll for this to work IMO; otherwise, this will just be old hat.

GMG!

Edited April 2, 2013 by PlummMeanGreen