The Cougars' most recent conference home was the Mountain West (1998-2010). A healthy portion of BYU's history can be traced back to the Western Athletic Conference (1962-98) and the defunct Skyline Conference (1938-61). BYU was treated to an appetizer of Big 12 play over the past two seasons, splitting a home-and-home series with Baylor. The Cougars were no stranger to Power Five competition during that stretch of independence, which should help them acclimate to their new home. Previous conference: FBS independent | New conference: Big 12īYU football hasn't been in a conference since 2010. Here's a look at every new FBS conference member. And others finally make a long-awaited jump to the Power Five ranks via invitations to the Big 12 Conference. Some are leaving behind an era of independence. Some programs are at last breaking into the FBS after spending years - decades, in some cases - at the lower levels of college football. From tradition-rich programs to Football Bowl Subdivision upstarts, this round of conference realignment features a little bit of everything. The 14 programs that are changing conference hands today come from all walks of life. Just ask San Diego State, which seemed primed to make a Power Five jump, but will remain in the Mountain West for the time being as uncertainty abounds with the Pac-12's murky media rights negotiations. Still, it's hard to overlook the significant turnover taking place in the college football landscape this time around as 14 programs officially swap league affiliation.Ĭhanging conferences with eyes on greener pastures can be a difficult ordeal. Yes, come July 2024, Big 12 flagships Oklahoma and Texas join the SEC, and Pac-12 staples USC and UCLA enter the Big Ten. The newly proposed conference doesn’t yet have a name - documentation refers to it as “ASUN-WAC Football,” Thamel wrote - and there have been no discussions about how the conference would fit within the College Football Playoff, which will expand to 12 teams in 2024 and include the highest ranked Group of Five champion.Ĭurrent NCAA rules mandate that there be a two-year transition for FCS programs moving to the FBS level, another wrinkle in the process that has yet to be sorted out.To some, this year's shift in conference membership is just the undercard to next year's realignment main event. The exact process of moving an entire conference to the FBS level is unknown, Thamel reported - there is a moratorium in Division 1 on single sport conferences - but ESPN sources expressed optimism that the move will work and be supported by the NCAA. UT Rio Grande Valley, which just started a football program, will join the newly formed conference in 2025 as the tenth member (the other nine schools are expected to form the new conference starting in 2024). Per Thamel, the founding documents for the league state the group means to move “from what is currently known as FCS football to what is currently known as FBS football at the earliest practicable date.” It will be a football-only conference, sources told Thamel, and would move to the FBS ranks as soon as it is viable. Sources: Ten schools have come to an agreement to form a new football-only conference with the stated goal of moving from FCS to FBS “at the earliest practicable date.” - Pete Thamel December 9, 2022
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