2011-12 Mens Basketball Guide

After marking its 15-year milestone dur- ing the 2009-10 season, Conference USA is still going strong. From the beginning, dedication to excellence has been the league’s guiding principle and remains today a common thread for a promising future. C-USA is home to 12 nationally prominent, tradition-rich members in East Carolina, Houston, Marshall, Memphis, Rice, SMU, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UCF and UTEP. This combination enhances men’s and women’s programs that are immersed in athletic success and academic prowess. Together, we are committed to excellence, integrity and leadership in athletics, academics and in our communities.

All C-USA institutions sponsor Division I-A football, along with several other men’s and women’s athletic programs, many of which compete regularly for NCAA Championships. C-USA sponsors competition in 20 sports - nine for men (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis and indoor and outdoor track and field) and 11 for women (basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, softball, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball).

The league sponsors numerous academic awards, including the Commissioner’s Honor Roll and the Commissioner’s Academic Medal, indicative of outstanding achievement in the classroom.

C-USA annually awards 12 postgraduate scholarships, along with the Sport Academic Award, Scholar Athletes of the Year and the Institutional Academic Excellence Award. Conference USA also added a Spirit of Service Award, recognizing student-athletes three times a year for a combination of significant community service efforts, good academic standing and participation in their elected sport.

Success On The Playing Field Football

Men’s Basketball

• Consistently rated as one of the top basket-
ball leagues in the country
• 97 postseason teams ( 47 NCAA, 39 NIT, 6
CBI, 5 CIT)

• One National Championship title game
appearance
• Three Final Four teams
• Seven Elite Eight NCAA Tournament teams
• One NIT Champion and four NIT semifi-
nalists
• Inaugural CBI Champion

Women’s Basketball

• 46 NCAA Tournament appearances • 36 WNIT appearances • One team in the NCAA Sweet 16

• Two WNIT semifinalists • One WBI Champion

Baseball

• 49 NCAA appearances
• Six College World Series appearances
(2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2001),
including five of the last six
• 13 Super Regional appearances
• Has produced at least four NCAA teams in
seven of the last nine seasons
In addition, 35 volleyball teams, 55 men’s
and women’s soccer teams and 25 softball
teams have earned NCAA Tournament bids.
C-USA has sent three men’s soccer teams to
the NCAA College Cup, five softball teams
to the Women’s College World Series and
three volleyball teams to the Sweet 16. The
league has also had six national champions
in NCAA track and field competition, one
national champion in diving and numerous
NCAA individual and team competitors in
cross country, golf, swimming, tennis and
track and field. Overall, Conference USA
teams and individuals have made more than
600 NCAA appearances.

Success Off The Field

C-USA institutions are among the nation’s best in academic performance among student-athletes, bolstered by the fact that student-athletes at league schools have a higher graduation rate than the general student population. Among C-USA’s 5,000 student-athletes, there are champions off the playing field as well. In 15 years, 153 student-athletes earned national ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors, while 541 were named All-District. In addition, more than 20,000 student-athletes have been named to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll or received the Commissioner’s Academic Medal, indicative of outstanding achievement in the classroom.

C-USA On TV

C-USA enjoys significant television exposure through a multi-tiered selection process that is rooted in partnerships with FOX Sports Media Group and CBS Sports Network. By partnering with FOX Sports Media Group and extending an existing partnership with CBS Sports Network, the league has substantially increased the num-