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Let’s review.

In 1996, Conference USA began sponsoring football with a lineup of Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss and Tulane. It added East Carolina in 1997, then Army in 1998 and UAB in 1999. TCU, bailing on the WAC, joined in 2001. USF, which had been a non-football member, joined for football in 2003.

In 2005 came the first of three total regeneration efforts. Cincinnati, Louisville and USF left for the Big East, Army went back to being independent, and TCU bailed for the Mountain West; so aboard came Marshall, Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UCF and UTEP. The center actually held for a moment, but realignment never really stops for long. Houston, Memphis, SMU and UCF left for what would become the AAC in 2013, then ECU, Tulane and Tulsa followed in 2014.

It was time to reload once more: CUSA raided the Sun Belt for FAU, FIU, MTSU, North Texas and Western Kentucky. It took Louisiana Tech and UTSA from the WAC and brought in football startups ODU in 2014 and Charlotte in 2015. That brought membership to 14. UAB dropped football in 2015 in a nasty political game, then wised up and brought it back in 2017. Fourteen again.

That held until the next time the AAC got raided. It nabbed Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA in 2023. Searching for some semblance of stability (and geographic sense), Marshall, Old Dominion and Old Dominion also left for the Sun Belt. Regeneration No. 3! Indies Liberty and New Mexico State came aboard, and Jacksonville State and Sam Houston made the jump up from FCS. Kennesaw State is joining this year. Delaware and Missouri State will do the same in 2025.

Next year, FBS will feature 136 teams. Conference USA will have, at one point or another, housed 32 of them. It is the Ellis Island of FBS. Poor, tired, huddled masses, et cetera. It is a genuine conference for the USA.

It might not have much of a conference race in 2024, however. Liberty was far and away the class of the conference last year, winning seven of nine CUSA games by at least 13 points and rolling to a 49-35 win over NMSU in each team’s first CUSA Championship. The Flames were able to go unbeaten and skate around having a dreadful run defense, but that caught up to them in a 45-6 decimation at Oregon’s hands in the Fiesta Bowl. They had one of the weakest schedules in the country and one of the most delightful offenses … just as they probably will this year. And unless Western Kentucky or Jacksonville State springs a surprise, it’s hard to see someone toppling LU this time around either.

Every week through the summer, Bill Connelly will preview another FBS conference exclusively for ESPN+, ultimately including all 134 FBS teams. The previews will include 2023 breakdowns, 2024 previews and team-by-team capsules. Here is the MAC preview.

Jump to a section:
2024 projections | Best games
Title contenders | Who’s close?
Hoping for 6-6

2023 recap

CUSA might have only gotten four teams into bowls, and two of them (Liberty and NMSU) may have lost by a combined 82-16, but the other two bowls, both wins, were delightful. Thanks to a lack of bowl-eligible teams, Jacksonville State was able to score a bid to the New Orleans Bowl in its first FBS season, and the Gamecocks beat Louisiana in overtime.

Two days later, in the Famous Toastery Bowl in Charlotte, WKU, playing without starting quarterback Austin Reed, spotted Old Dominion a 28-0 lead just 17 minutes into the game before Caden Veltkamp hopped out of the transfer portal, threw five touchdown passes and led a shocking comeback.

This is what a 28-point, “don’t lead for a single play until you kick the game-winning field goal in overtime” comeback looks like on the ol’ win probability charts.

Veltkamp was ready to leave after he was told he would be moving to tight end. He decided to stick around after all.

It was a struggle for everyone else. Mike MacIntyre continued a rebuild at FIU, Sonny Cumbie kept looking for traction at Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston misplaced its offense in the move from FCS before winning three of four to end the year, and both Middle Tennessee and UTEP moved on from Rick Stockstill and Dana Dimel, respectively, after disappointing finishes.

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Canes reach 3-year, $9.5M extension with Hall

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Canes reach 3-year, .5M extension with Hall

The Carolina Hurricanes have reached a three-year, $9.5 million extension with forward Taylor Hall through the 2027-28 season.

The team announced the signing Wednesday, a day after the Hurricanes closed out the New Jersey Devils in their first-round playoff series. It marked the seventh straight year that Carolina has won at least one postseason series.

Hall, 33, acquired in a blockbuster January deal that included Mikko Rantanen‘s arrival, scored the first of Carolina’s four second-period goals that helped it erase a 3-0 deficit before winning in double overtime. He’s a 15-year veteran who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP in the 2017-18 season.

“Taylor has proven to be an outstanding fit for our team, and we are thrilled that he is excited to make Raleigh his home for another three seasons,” general manager Eric Tulsky said in a statement. “He’s been a solid veteran presence in the locker room and a difference maker on the ice.”

Hall had 18 goals and 24 assists in 77 regular-season games between Chicago and Carolina, and also had two assists in the five-game series win against New Jersey. He had missed most of the previous season due to knee surgery and was making $6 million this year with free agency looming, then led Carolina skaters with four power-play goals in the regular season after his arrival.

The Hurricanes acquired the 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick on Jan. 24 in the three-team deal that snagged Rantanen from Colorado, though they later sent Rantanen to Dallas with forward Logan Stankoven as the primary trade-deadline return when it became clear Rantanen was unlikely to sign long-term to stay with Carolina.

Hall and Tulsky are scheduled to address reporters by Zoom later Wednesday.

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Avs’ MacKinnon finalist for Ted Lindsay Award

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Avs' MacKinnon finalist for Ted Lindsay Award

Colorado Avalanche standout Nathan MacKinnon is in contention to repeat as the recipient of the Ted Lindsay Award.

MacKinnon was named a finalist for the award on Wednesday along with Avalanche teammate Cale Makar and Tampa Bay Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov.

The award is presented annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players’ Association.

MacKinnon, 29, tied Kucherov for the NHL assists lead with 84 and totaled 116 points this season. MacKinnon is the reigning Hart Trophy recipient as the league’s MVP.

Makar, 26, is a first-time finalist for this award and is also up for the Norris Trophy, which was announced Tuesday. He led all defensemen this season in goals (30), assists (62) and points (92).

Kucherov, 31, won his second straight Art Ross Trophy after leading the NHL in scoring with 121 points (37 goals, 84 assists).

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Mammoth gaffe? Utah mum on name after leak

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Mammoth gaffe? Utah mum on name after leak

Utah Hockey Club officials wouldn’t confirm whether “Mammoth” was their new name after it allegedly leaked on the team’s official YouTube channel Tuesday night.

Fans and media noticed that the channel’s handle was changed from “@UtahHockeyClub” to “@UtahMammoth,” on both its landing page and URL. The channel was soon deactivated and remained so on Wednesday morning, but not before screenshots of the name change went viral.

Utah Mammoth was one of three finalists featured in a fan vote at Delta Center to help determine the permanent name of the team, which played its inaugural season in 2024-25 after SEG purchased and relocated the former Arizona Coyotes franchise. Fans voted with iPads located at stations around the arena that featured the names, logos and potential branding for each option.

Originally, the three names voted on were Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club and Utah Wasatch, which was quickly swapped out for Utah Outlaws after the team saw early vote returns.

Mammoth made the final four in the initial fan vote last year.

Utah HC executives wouldn’t confirm or deny that Mammoth will be the team’s new nickname.

Mike Maughan, an executive with Utah HC owner Smith Entertainment Group, said on Wednesday that “progress continues on exploring all three of the name options that were chosen as finalists by our fans. We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season and look forward to sharing that with our fans when we do.”

When pressed for an explanation on the alleged YouTube leak, Maughan would only say, “We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season.”

One NHL source told ESPN that the revelation for the team’s new name and logo could come before the NHL draft in late June. This year’s draft is a “decentralized” event, meaning that teams will be making selections from their own sites rather than in one central location. That opens the door for Utah to have an event in Salt Lake City with team officials around the draft.

In other Utah HC news, the team announced Wednesday that Delta Center, home to Utah HC and the Utah Jazz, will be undergoing a renovation to optimize hockey sightlines while maintaining the proximity of basketball fans to the court using a state-of-the-art retractable seating system. It’s a multiyear project that will also create a new main entrance and outdoor plaza.

The first-of-its-kind seating system accommodates a nearly 12-foot variance in elevation between rink and court endlines to offer optimal sightlines for both the NBA and NHL. Every seat in the lower bowl will have a complete view of the ice at the start of next season — the team estimates that 400 seats currently can only see one goal net during games.

The new hockey configuration adds capacity behind the goals and above and around the event tunnels on the north and south side of the lower bowl and improves access to seating behind the boards.

When all renovations are complete, seating capacity for hockey will increase from 11,131 to approximately 17,000 — with every seat in the upper and lower bowls having full views of both goals — and capacity for basketball will increase from 18,206 to nearly 19,000 seats.

“Delta Center was built for basketball. When you come and put the size of an ice sheet in that venue with those sight lines, the geometry just doesn’t work. So that’s where you come up with the riser system configuration. You come up with raising the floor 2 feet,” said Jim Olson, president of the Jazz and executive representing SEG on all facilities projects.

“We are absolutely protecting the basketball experience, but then also creating a great hockey experience where all the seats can see all the ice,” he said.

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