2010–13 Conference USA realignment

The 2010–13 Conference USA realignment refers to Conference USA (C-USA) dealing with several proposed and actual conference expansion and reduction plans among various NCAA conferences and institutions from 2010 to 2013.

On October 14, 2011 Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference announced they would enter into a football-only alliance, forming a 22-team league. The league would span 15 states and 5 time zones.

However, following further defections from both conferences, the two leagues decided to enter into talks on a full merger. In early February 2012, ESPN.com reported that the C-USA board of directors was to meet to discuss the merger. This topic had been on the agenda even before the recent announcement that C-USA charter member Memphis had accepted an invitation from the Big East. The two conferences then met on February 12, with media reporting the following day that an official announcement of a full merger was imminent. It was reported at the time that the new conference could begin as early as 2013–14.

C-USA and the MW initially wished to dissolve and form a new association in order to negotiate new television deals. However, the NCAA told the conferences that if they merged, the new league would receive only one automatic bid to NCAA championships; at least one of the merging conferences would not receive its share of so-called "tournament units" (explained below); and at least one of the merging conferences would forfeit its conference exit fees to the departing schools. Conferences receive roughly $250,000 for each round that a member advances in the NCAA men's basketball tournament; the money is paid out after a rolling six-year period. In the event of a dissolution or merger, tournament units revert to the schools that earned them. The revenue loss to the two conferences potentially outweighed any possible gains from a new broadcast deal.

With the option of a complete merger now likely off the table, the commissioners of both C-USA and the MW indicated that all 16 schools that had been committed to those conferences beyond 2013 (15 for all sports, and Hawaiʻi for football only) had entered into binding agreements to form a new alliance. In addition, five subgroups of school presidents had been working on various aspects of the alliance since mid-February. Finally, both commissioners stated that they expected the future membership of their conferences to be set by early June 2012.

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