Conference USA released its 2022 football schedule on Monday, a matrix that included Southern Miss, Marshall and Old Dominion even though the three institutions announced Friday their intention of leaving the conference this summer.
The trio reached an agreement to join the Sun Belt Conference before July 1, 2023. They issued nearly identical statements Friday claiming that C-USA had shown an “unwillingness” to negotiate an earlier exit.
The conference fired back Monday.
“Conference USA intends to conduct the 2022-23 athletic year with the full 14 institution membership intact,” the conference said in a statement. “The C-USA Board of Directors will exhaust all necessary legal actions to ensure all members meet their contractual obligations as defined by and agreed to in the Conference USA Bylaws.”
Marshall interim athletic director Jeff O’Malley tweeted Monday that his department stood by its previous statement despite C-USA including the Thundering Herd on its football schedule.
C-USA’s football schedule includes 14 schools split into divisions of seven. It would be down to 11 teams should the trio depart early, with the West Division losing Marshall and Old Dominion and the East losing Southern Miss.
Six other current member institutions — Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA — will eventually join the American Athletic Conference, but have not expressed intention to make the move in 2022. Liberty, New Mexico State, Jacksonville State and Sam Houston will eventually join C-USA.
Sports Illustrated reported that the Sun Belt also had crafted its yet-to-be-released 2022 football schedule with Southern Miss, Marshall and Old Dominion included.
