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Conference USA football: Destinations for remaining teams after realignment

By Jacob Ellerbee

WKU could be on the move if Conference USA football dissolves. (Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports)
WKU could be on the move if Conference USA football dissolves. (Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports) /
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Conference USA football appears to be left with just five teams after losing teams to the American and Sun Belt Conferences — with more reportedly heading for the exits, according to multiple reports.

First, it was the American Athletic Conference taking Alabama-Birmingham, North Texas, Rice, Texas-San Antonio, Florida Atlantic, and Charlotte to join their brand of “Power 6 football.”

Then, the Sun Belt came along to invite Southern Miss, Old Dominion, and Marshall to join their league.

This leaves just a handful of teams remaining as members of Conference USA football: Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Texas-El Paso, Middle Tennessee State, and Western Kentucky.

And if a report from The Athletic is accurate, that’s exactly what is about to happen.

What will happen to the remaining Conference USA football teams after college football realignment?

We’re taking a look at the most ideal fits for these remaining teams in CUSA, assuming the conference dissolves and the new teams will have to find new homes—a fantasy draft of sorts.

There are a ton of options and the soon-to-be-named Group of Four college football conferences will no doubt be courting the teams to bolster their memberships.

Let’s take a look at one of the most attractive teams left from the high school football hotbed of Texas.

1. UTEP to the Mountain West

The best fit for UTEP should be to join the Mountain West Conference. This almost makes too much sense.

The MWC would surely love to break into the Texas market and El Paso is, geographically speaking, the closest of the remaining teams to their footprint.

It’s only a 3.5-hour drive from current MWC member New Mexico to El Paso. UTEP is a program that’s on the up-and-up.

This season they are 6-1 and one of the best teams in Conference USA football. If not for UTSA, they’d likely be the biggest and most talked about success story among Group of Five college football teams this season.

Current Miners head coach Dana Dimel is familiar with the MWC landscape, serving as head coach of Wyoming from 1997-1999.

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