Hot off the presses.........Dallas Morning News article.
<a href='http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/040904dnspocusalede.67f3e.html' target='_blank'>http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...lede.67f3e.html</a>
Addition back in the equation for C-USA athletic directors
With TCU leaving, UNT among those hoping to get in
09:04 PM CDT on Thursday, April 8, 2004
By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News
Adding another school to Conference USA will be discussed by conference athletic directors in Dallas on Monday and Tuesday.
C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said the conference has received many inquiries from schools looking to join for the 2005 athletic season. He said there is no timetable for determining which if any will be added.
"We're going to look at it with a little more detail," Banowsky said. "I won't talk about any specific schools or what we like. It's good news that we have a lot of interest."
Last year, C-USA added five schools, including SMU, after losing five to the Big East.
C-USA will lose TCU to the Mountain West next year.
North Texas and Louisiana Tech have expressed the most interest in joining the conference.
A move to C-USA would give UNT a rival in the Dallas area in SMU and in-state conference opponents in Rice and Houston.
UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said those rivalries would benefit the league.
Last month, SMU president Gerald Turner said his preference would be to add Louisiana Tech.
Turner said SMU's relationship with Louisiana Tech in the WAC and the support of other schools in C-USA are why he backs the Ruston, La., school.
"Tulane has been one of our major sponsors in Conference USA," Turner said. "Tulane feels good about having another Louisiana school that allows somebody close by for them."
Turner said he has no problem with North Texas joining C-USA.
The presidents of Rice and Tulsa, two schools leaving the WAC for C-USA, support adding Louisiana Tech.
"We are better than a good choice for Conference USA," UNT's Villarreal said. "If SMU says that it's going to back Louisiana Tech, that does not mean that it's going to be the school that is selected. There are 10 other schools in the league that are going to be involved. I think that they will take a look at what school provides them the best situation when it comes to travel, attendance and other factors that will make the conference better."
There are several other schools under consideration for C-USA: Ohio University, Temple, Toledo and UT-El Paso.
Staff writer Brett Vito of the Denton Record Chronicle contributed to this report
E-mail cwatkins@dallasnews.com
THE NEW C-USA
A look at the schools that will comprise Conference USA starting in 2005
School Enrollment
Houston 34,000
Rice 3,600
SMU 10,038
Tulane 11,300
Tulsa 4,500
Alabama-Birmingham 16,016
Central Florida 38,795
East Carolina 22,000
Marshall 16,000
Memphis 22,500
Southern Mississippi 14,500
WHO'S NEXT?
A look at the schools that potentially could move into Conference USA
School Enrollment
Temple 33,000
North Texas 31,112
Toledo 21,000
UT-El Paso 18,542
Ohio 15,000
Louisiana Tech 11,280
