![]() ![]() ![]() Haggling over an exit fee led to a 20-month legal battle that eventually forced the Terrapins to give up $31.4 million. If you think back to the last seismic change to the conference landscape when the old Big East broke up and the ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 expanded, Maryland’s move to the Big Ten left no warm feelings between the school and the Atlantic Coast crew. There is precedent for situations like this getting messy. Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss were not part of that group headed for the AAC, but they were left with a severely diminished league and sought refuge in the Sun Belt. The American then back-filled by taking six schools from… yes, Conference USA. That forced the Big 12 to expand, poaching football independent BYU and Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF from the American Athletic Conference. The dominoes began to fall over the summer when Texas and Oklahoma announced they were leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. Meanwhile, Conference USA is still planning for those three to compete next year.Īnd neither side seems prepared to back down. Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Mississippi have all announced their intention to leave the conference this June. What’s happening right now in Conference USA goes beyond that, with the league and three of its nine outgoing schools at a standoff regarding when exactly that exit is going to occur. It’s often not a problem, though sometimes it makes headlines when a bitter conference seeks to punish outgoing member schools or student-athletes. Even if it’s not at the Power 5 level, schools switch leagues all the time, across NCAA divisions. Strap yourselves in and hold on.Īcross the wide world of college sports, conference realignment - or straight-up consolidation, in some cases - is always happening. Southern Miss, Old Dominion, and Marshall want to leave Conference USA early - but the league is not about to let that happen peacefully. ![]()
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