Monday February 09, 2004
OPTIMISM STILL REIGNS IN C-USA
Departures, arrivals have league in flux
By Ted Lewis
Staff writer
Depending on who's talking, Conference USA's glass is half full or half empty.
But one thing's for sure -- the league lineup in 2005 will be radically different than 2004.
The defection of Texas Christian to the Mountain West Conference brings to eight the number of C-USA schools moving to other conferences at the end of the next school year -- nine counting football-only member Army, which is opting to become an independent.
That leaves six holdovers, including Tulane.
And while five new members are on board for 2005, there is no consensus on what the league should do about adding more.
"We had a good plan from the time all of this started, and until this past week it has been executed to a T," said Tulane athletic director Rick Dickson. "So, TCU's leaving is somewhat disappointing because otherwise we're 11/12ths of the way there.
"Now we've got to step back and make sure we're not burying our heads so deep we can't see the possibilities. To me there are a lot of scenarios out there."
The plan was for C-USA to be a 12-school league with all members playing football, a change from the mixed-bag lineup of schools, some playing football, some not, since C-USA's debut in 1996.
The all-football scenario still is preferred, but it's not a certainty. And at the least, no decision is expected for 45-60 days.
TIMES PICAYUNE: Optimism still reigns in Conference USA