Happy Realignment Day! Full breakdown of all conference realignment moves for 2023

July 1, 2023 is quite a consequential day for the sport of college football.

An astounding 14 teams relocate to new conferences in a single flip of the calendar — making it the busiest moving day of 21st century conference realignment. The FBS expands from 131 to 133 teams this season as two FCS programs received CUSA call-ups. Those call-ups and the rest of the realignment moves can all be traced to the trickle-down effect created by the SEC adding Oklahoma and Texas — a move which doesn’t officially transpire until July 1, 2024.

The ever-evolving hodgepodge that is the college football conference landscaping can be confusing with all the simultaneous changes. Below is a clarification of every move happening to kick off the month of July 2023.

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Big 12

The first domino of this new wave of conference realignment all started with two teams departing from the Big 12 — Oklahoma and Texas. Both programs remain a fixture of the league’s 2023 landscape, but they’ll transition to the SEC in 2024 in a move which was announced as early as July 2021. Rather than operate with a downsized 10-member league, the Big 12 opted for expansion and added three of the AAC’s most successful programs and BYU, which held independent status from 2011-22. The Big 12’s decision to add those four programs was officially stamped on Sept. 10, 2021 — roughly 22 months prior to the initiation date.

New additions:

• Cincinnati Bearcats (from AAC)
• Houston Cougars (from AAC)
• UCF Knights (from AAC)
• BYU Cougars (from Independent)

Returning members:

• Baylor Bears
• Iowa State Cyclones
• Kansas Jayhawks
• Kansas State Wildcats
• Oklahoma Sooners
• Oklahoma State Cowboys
• TCU Horned Frogs
• Texas Longhorns
• Texas Tech Red Raiders
• West Virginia Mountaineers

Departures:

• None — Oklahoma and Texas depart for the SEC on July 1, 2024

2023 structure:

• 14 teams (tied with AAC, ACC, Big Ten, SEC for largest FBS conference)
• No divisions
• Top two conference records compete for conference championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX on Saturday, Dec. 2
• Automatic New Year’s Six bowl bid

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American Athletic Conference

The AAC which formerly consisted of 12 institutions subtracted UConn after the 2019 season, reducing the number of teams in the conference to 11. Now with three of the conference’s premier football programs headed to Big 12 pastures, the AAC concocted a near 50-50 mixture combining eight incumbent members and six CUSA teams in major markets — which were officially added Oct. 21, 2021. For a decade and counting, the AAC has been somewhat of a feeder league for the top CUSA teams, as all members except for Navy and Temple formerly held CUSA status. No further renovations will be made in 2024, and this league is expected to stay pat at 14 for the foreseeable future — until stated otherwise.

New additions:

• Charlotte 49ers (from CUSA)
• Florida Atlantic Owls (from CUSA)
• North Texas Mean Green (from CUSA)
• Rice Owls (from CUSA)
• UAB Blazers (from CUSA)
• UTSA Roadrunners (from CUSA)

Returning members:

• East Carolina Pirates
• Memphis Tigers
• Navy Midshipmen
• SMU Mustangs
• South Florida Bulls
• Temple Owls
• Tulane Green Wave
• Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Departures:

• Cincinnati Bearcats (to Big 12)
• Houston Cougars (to Big 12)
• UCF Knights (to Big 12)

2023 structure:

• 14 teams (tied with ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC for largest FBS conference)
• No divisions
• Top two conference records compete for conference championship at the team with the superior record’s home stadium on Saturday, Dec. 2
• No automatic New Year’s Six bowl bid — one automatic bid shared between AAC, CUSA, MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt

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Conference USA

The CUSA (formerly known as the C-USA, before the conference eradicated the hyphen in June) has altered its appearance more than any other conference in the past two seasons. For the 2022 season, the league lost Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss to the Sun Belt after the initial schedule release — causing revisions to be made later in the offseason. But even last year’s iteration of the conference looks unrecognizable now, as the league lost six of its 11 teams from 2022. With only five remnants, CUSA expansion became mandatory. Two independents — located over 1,800 miles apart — were granted membership in the revamped league and two FCS programs received the call-up (a move which was ratified Nov. 5, 2021) to round out the 9-team assembly.

New additions:

• Liberty Flames (from Independent)
• New Mexico State Aggies (from Independent)
• Jacksonville State (from FCS)
• Sam Houston (from FCS)

Returning members:

• FIU Panthers
• Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
• Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
• UTEP Miners
• WKU Hilltoppers

Departures:

• Cincinnati Bearcats (to Big 12)
• Houston Cougars (to Big 12)
• UCF Knights (to Big 12)

2023 structure:

• 9 teams (smallest FBS conference)
• No divisions
• Top two conference records compete for conference championship at the team with the superior record’s home stadium on Friday, Dec. 1
• No automatic New Year’s Six bowl bid — one automatic bid shared between AAC, CUSA, MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt

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FBS Independents

The independents aren’t exactly a conference, but there is significant movement among this exclusive group on July 1. Three formerly independent teams join conferences, which leaves just four FBS programs not attached to a league in 2023.

New additions:

• None

Returning members:

• Army Black Knights
• Connecticut Huskies
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• UMass Minutemen

Departures:

• BYU Cougars (to Big 12)
• Liberty Flames (to CUSA)
• New Mexico State Aggies (to CUSA)

2023 structure:

• No automatic New Year’s Six bowl bid — at-large bids are possible