Conference Judgement Day came and went yesterday. And this morning, the college athletics landscape looks vastly different.

The Big East, Conference USA and Western Athletic Conference all gained schools in a dizzying domino effect. Mid-American Conference commissioner Rick Chryst, whose league lost two schools to Conference USA, said the shifting may continue.

‘There could be up to 20 or more teams changing conferences,’ Chryst said.

So far, 15 teams have switched conferences, including Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech, which previously bolted the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Here’s how the saga continued yesterday:

(BULLET) The Big East snagged five Conference USA schools – Marquette, Cincinnati, DePaul, South Florida and Louisville.

(BULLET) In turn, Conference USA took two MAC colleges, Marshall and Central Florida, and three WAC schools, Rice, Tulsa and Southern Methodist. The schools will likely join the league in 2005.

(BULLET) Finally, former Sun Belt Conference members New Mexico State and Utah State announced they will join the WAC in 2005.

Here’s how the saga may drag out in the the future:

(BULLET) Army will leave Conference USA after the 2004 season and become independent again.

(BULLET) Texas Christian is considering leaving Conference USA for the Mountain West Conference, The Dallas Morning News reported yesterday.

‘I don’t think that’s a done deal at all,’ Houston Athletics Director Dave Maggard said.

Athletics directors from three other Conference USA schools – Memphis, East Carolina and Tulane – did not return calls seeking comment.

Maggard said yesterday’s moves were merely a formal finalization of a discussion that began between Conference USA presidents and athletics directors in the spring, when the ACC started courting Big East schools.

‘We sat down and said, ‘Look, when we’re together, let’s talk frankly and candidly,” he said. ‘It’s been a pretty orderly process.’

Said Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky: ‘This is not a divorce. It is a restructuring that, for the most part, is logical.’

To that end, Conference USA seems to aim to consolidate itself as a Southern conference with strong football teams. If TCU leaves, its predicted 12-football-school lineup includes just one school, Marshall, north of Virginia. Before the shake-out, there were three – DePaul, Marquette and Cincinnati .

‘Geographically, I think we’ll be a strong league,’ Southern Mississippi Athletics Director Richard Giannini said.

Conference USA will likely stick with 12 football schools rather than expanding, Giannini said. Banowsky said he hopes expansion is finished.

Still, non-football schools St. Louis and Charlotte may prefer to leave, though the conference will encourage them to stay, Banowsky said.

After all, the league seems to be jockeying for a better bargaining position in the Bowl Championship Series, which expires after the 2005 season. Conference USA lost two non-football schools, Marquette and DePaul, and gained five football schools, including two, Marshall and Central Florida, which traditionally field competitive teams.

‘At the end of the day, what’s critical is the access to the BCS,’ Giannini said. ‘Our football league is just as strong as any BCS football league.’

But for men’s basketball, Conference USA is clearly diluted by the moves.

In Marquette, Cincinnati and Louisville, the league loses teams that went a combined 69-25 last season. Marquette, the league’s regular-season champion, advanced to the Final Four. Louisville won the conference tournament title and lost in the NCAA Tournament’s second round.

Of the remaining Conference USA schools, just two, St. Louis and Memphis, finished better than .500 in the conference last year. Among the new teams, only Tulsa traditionally cracks the Top 25.

Conference USA seems to be sacrificing basketball prowess for a shot at a BCS bid.

While Conference USA officials lauded the changes, the MAC may have to seek schools to fill Marshall and UCF’s spots as strong football teams.

‘I’m not gonna comment specifically on Marshall or UCF,’ Chryst said. ‘I respect that each institution has to evaluate what’s best for them.

‘Our presidents have been meeting consistently since the start of the summer. Our presidents will continue to meet. Membership will continue to be on their agenda. Ultimately, you want a conference that people want to be in. So we’re going to keep talking, with cohesion as a major focus.’

Translation: Get ready for more movement. Judgement Day II appears on the horizon.

Published on November 4, 2003 at 12:00 pm