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What conference is navy in?

What Conference is Navy in?

The Naval Academy (USNA) is home to the Navy Midshipmen, which competes in the NCAA Division I American Athletic Conference (AAC) for 19 sports: baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, rifle, rowing, gymnastics, fencing, indoor and outdoor track and field, and cross country. However, football is the most unique case, as it plays in Conference USA (C-USA).

How did this split happen?

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Prior to the 2014-2015 academic year, the NCAA restructured and realigned its athletic divisions, affecting the membership status of certain schools. During this restructuring, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) expanded from 12 to 14 teams, prompting the withdrawal of four members, including Houston, Memphis, SMU, and East Carolina, from the former Conference USA to join the AAC. Navy, also a member of the Independent FBS, maintained its athletic partnerships with each of these four schools through the Servco Pact, ensuring mutual support, scheduling, and financial collaborations.

How does Conference USA fit in?

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and the Independent FBS team, East Carolina, collectively created a new Western Athletic Conference (WAC) comprising 12 member schools from the mid-southwestern United States and Hawaii. This merger primarily served football scheduling purposes among FBS members to counteract the influence of the aforementioned conferences.

Subsequently, in 1996, the Southland Conference split away from the WAC and merged with the American Athletic Conference. Meanwhile, several schools gradually left the WAC or were realigned with conferences like Conference USA (est. 1996 as the Big East Conference Southwest Division), a league designed primarily for basketball teams. At the end of the 2012 FBS Football Season, West Virginia bolted for the Big 12, reconfiguring the Big East, followed by TCU, West Virginia, Houston, Southern Methodist (SMU), and University of Cincinnati departing from the same conference for varying destinations by 2012.

Concurrently, a series of conference reshuffling events transformed the collegiate football landscape between 2010 and 2015:

• Houston, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, University of Memphis, Rice, Marshall, Texas-San Antonio (UTSA), Florida International University (FIU), Miami, Florida University at East Carolina, Middle Tennessee, and UAB (2015 departure)
• Western Kentucky and former CUSA member University
Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC)
• Georgia State became a FCS independent during this timeframe as well as
Army’s football scheduling** pact within the league

This dramatic reshuffle led the Conference USA Steering Committee, alongside other mid-major and high-major organizations, to revise the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) postseason to better promote competitive balance by incorporating multi-bidirectional bowl contracts.

Other Noteworthy Points

  • Non-football sports compete in the American Athletic Conference, following the league’s re-formation and renaming in July 2013, whereas football falls under the Conference USA structure within the Western Division (West) sub-group alongside Rice, Tulane, and Charlotte as of 2020 season.
  • Each school bears a 22-game primary and 27-game optional scheduling schedule during the annual 2021 NCAA Fall Sports calendar, including rivalries like East Carolina-Virginia Tech within the Conference.
  • College football bowl structure: Top teams can accept bids Conference-USA bids, then ascend to or participate in prominent postseason stages like major bowl, College Football Playoff (CFP), College Football Bowl Subdivision, or at-large Bowl
  • Key Athletic Director or AD, University of Pittsburgh, Athletics; Director-Interim Director of University of Tennessee Knoxville; Chief Operating Officer-Chief Student-Athlete Services Vice President (Student Life-Campus Affairs Officer) steer the institution alongside its membership in this alignment

<Table 1: Conferences’ Mergers and Break-Aways within the United States>

Conference NameEstablished
Conference USA (initially as Southwest Conference of the American Basketball Association’s (ABA))1996 (1997)
American Athletic Conference2013 (initially as Mid-American Conference before re-naming in July 2020)

Navigating College Conference Alignments

While examining the question "What Conference is Navy in?" offers insight into the Complexities in College Sports Confereeration, recognizing both the unique circumstances and historic context demonstrates the significance of these divisions in college football. Despite the seeming disparities between academic structures and competitive performance, an understanding of conferences and postseason opportunities Serves student-athletes, enhances the experience of spectators and participants, solidifying NCAA’s presence throughout the year.

Remember the intricate nuances and evolution surrounding collegiate Conference Structure Adjustments (CSAs), Realignments, Re-establishments, (Conference RRs, College Conference Associations (CCAS)) – and remember where your curiosity takes you (or be taken to find your niche in NCAA competitions) by exploring related studies on sport, educational environment, university administration, media coverage.

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