With changing Conference USA landscape, Marshall, Old Dominion and James Madison play key roles
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (BVM) — With the recent announcement by the American Athletic Conference that six teams would join, Conference USA lost six member schools, shifting the college football and athletic landscape as a whole. Sprinkle in the fact that over the weekend, another C-USA school, Southern Mississippi, also made the decision to jump ship to the Sun Belt Conference according to the AP and C-USA is facing significant odds to remain relevant in both football and beyond.
In response to both the confirmed and rumored decisions, C-USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod issued a statement Friday where she , 鈥淲e have a strong core of members to build around and are continuing to work to strengthen our league as we move forward. There are several institutions interested in joining Conference USA, both across FBS and FCS…When appropriate, we will release more information, though out of respect for those involved, we will continue to operate outside of the public space.鈥�
Out of the seven schools that now remain, two, Marshall and Old Dominion, have been rumored as other potential institutions to move on from the C-USA as well. According to the , 鈥淰arious media outlets have reported the Sun Belt has interest in adding Marshall and Old Dominion, and has also discussed inviting FCS powerhouse James Madison.鈥�
Though not charter members of the conference, both Marshall and Old Dominion play a key part in what may happen to C-USA in the near future. Marshall, who joined the conference as full-time members for all sports in 2005, has appeared in three football conference championship games with one win, won one C-USA men鈥檚 basketball tournament championship and recently won a men鈥檚 soccer national championship, the only national championship in the conference鈥檚 history regardless of sport. ODU joined the conference in 2013 and has had varying degrees of success including being conference regular season and tournament men鈥檚 basketball champions in 2019 and recently winning their first C-USA conference championship in baseball this past season.
These losses, along with the overall dwindling numbers the conference currently faces, would of course be detrimental to the C-USA as a whole. Add in the fact that and the situation gets more dire. However, there is one school that is not a member of Conference USA that could impact the organization鈥檚 future.
James Madison University, currently a member of the Colonial Athletic Conference which is a Division I basketball conference, but an FCS football conference, could further impact the fledgling C-USA numbers. According to , 鈥淛ames Madison was choosing between Conference USA and the Sun Belt with its decision potentially determining the future of Old Dominion and Marshall.鈥�
While nothing has become officially available from any of the three institutions yet, the decision by James Madison will likely loom large as it seems the other C-USA members could be swayed whether the school chooses to join the conference or not. In the meantime, each school has given respective statements about the ongoing conference rumors.
鈥淲e鈥檝e stated previously that we genuinely believe James Madison University brings value to any conference, and we鈥檙e seeing that play out with the interest being expressed in our institution,” JMU . “Strategic vision and investment over a long period of time have put JMU in an attractive position as it relates to all aspects of the institution. Our process has been very thorough, and we will continue to respect that process of review as it relates to university and commonwealth protocol. Our focus remains on providing the ideal overall experience for our student-athletes.”
Though Marshall has not been too public about its impending decision, there does appear to be a timeline for when the decision will occur as the school will wait until its new school president, who will be announced during their Oct. 28 Marshall Board of Governors meeting, gets a chance for their say.聽
Please see this updated timeline.
— Jeff O'Malley (@jeffgocards)
In a previous tweet, Marshall Interim Athletics Director Jeff O鈥橫alley , 鈥淲ith the news that broke yesterday, I want to assure our fans that we have worked and will continue to work to position Marshall in the best possible way. 鈥� The one thing I鈥檝e learned throughout this process is that Marshall University has a tremendous brand and one of the best fan bases in the country. Although the climate is changing, I鈥檓 very excited about the future of Marshall Athletics.鈥�
Old Dominion鈥檚 president, Dr. Brian Hemphill, said in a statement released to Monarch Nation on Oct. 19: 鈥淎s a C-USA member, ODU officials are tracking these discussions and activities. We are also actively engaged in a number of conversations to ensure the long-term viability and attractiveness of C-USA for ODU, especially our student-athletes and dedicated fans. By working together with our partners at C-USA, we are optimistic about attracting additional members with a regional benefit to ODU, resulting in less travel and greater competition, for many years to come.鈥�
Statement from President on and
— Harry Minium Jr. (@Harry_MiniumODU)
Of course things move fast when it comes to these tough conference realignment decisions, but fans all across Conference USA, the Sun Belt Conference and the country will have their eyes on the three teams involved in the potential move from C-USA. If movement were to happen, the college sports landscape would be vastly different than the one fans see now and things will change, both good and bad, for these schools based on their respective decisions.
