CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>1996 NCAA conference realignment - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"f74b43fc-d77a-4829-876c-4adcd26ebdd2","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"1996_NCAA_conference_realignment","wgTitle":"1996 NCAA conference realignment","wgCurRevisionId":1159038355,"wgRevisionId":1159038355,"wgArticleId":27734804,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["NCAA conference realignments","College football controversies"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"1996_NCAA_conference_realignment","wgRelevantArticleId":27734804,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags" :{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":6000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q4591552","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles" :"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","jquery.tablesorter.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.tablesorter","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions", "wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cjquery.tablesorter.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.5"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/NCAA_logo.svg/1200px-NCAA_logo.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/NCAA_logo.svg/800px-NCAA_logo.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="800"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/NCAA_logo.svg/640px-NCAA_logo.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="640"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="1996 NCAA conference realignment - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_NCAA_conference_realignment"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_NCAA_conference_realignment"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-1996_NCAA_conference_realignment rootpage-1996_NCAA_conference_realignment skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=1996+NCAA+conference+realignment" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=1996+NCAA+conference+realignment" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=1996+NCAA+conference+realignment" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=1996+NCAA+conference+realignment" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Background" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Background"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Background</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Background-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Conference_changes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Conference_changes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Conference changes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Conference_changes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 NCAA conference realignment</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="This article exist only in this language. Add the article for other languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-0" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Add languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="uls-after-portlet-link"></span><span class="wb-langlinks-add wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q4591552#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Add interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Add links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/1996_NCAA_conference_realignment" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:1996_NCAA_conference_realignment" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/1996_NCAA_conference_realignment"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/1996_NCAA_conference_realignment"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/1996_NCAA_conference_realignment" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/1996_NCAA_conference_realignment" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&oldid=1159038355" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&id=1159038355&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F1996_NCAA_conference_realignment"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F1996_NCAA_conference_realignment"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q4591552" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:NCAA_logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/NCAA_logo.svg/200px-NCAA_logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="200" height="200" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/NCAA_logo.svg/300px-NCAA_logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/NCAA_logo.svg/400px-NCAA_logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="247" data-file-height="247" /></a><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <p>The <b>1996 NCAA conference realignment</b> was initiated by the dissolution of the <a href="/wiki/Southwest_Conference" title="Southwest Conference">Southwest Conference</a> (SWC), the formation of the <a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> and <a href="/wiki/Conference_USA" title="Conference USA">Conference USA</a> (C-USA), and the expansion of the <a href="/wiki/Western_Athletic_Conference" title="Western Athletic Conference">Western Athletic Conference</a> to 16 teams. This "new" WAC ultimately did not last long, as eight of its 16 members left the conference in 1999 and founded the <a href="/wiki/Mountain_West_Conference" title="Mountain West Conference">Mountain West Conference</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Background">Background</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>During the 1980s the SWC was plagued by 2/3 of its membership being on probation, at one time or another, for NCAA recruiting violations (only Arkansas, Baylor and Rice avoided NCAA sanctions). The most notable involved the "Pony Express" <a href="/wiki/Southern_Methodist_University_football_scandal" title="Southern Methodist University football scandal">scandals at SMU</a> resulting in the football team receiving the death penalty in 1987. At that time, the NCAA prohibited a program on probation from appearing on live television. </p><p>Arkansas' departure from the SWC for the <a href="/wiki/Southeastern_Conference" title="Southeastern Conference">Southeastern Conference</a> in 1990 left the conference with eight members all located in the state of Texas, and took away the one relatively strong sanction-free program (Baylor and Rice were also sanction-free but, both being small private schools, were among the conference's weakest athletic programs). The combination of the number of programs on sanctions and the concentration of schools in only one state (plus the conference's weak on-field performance; its last eight conference champions failed to win their respective bowl games) ultimately led to the SWC's demise. </p><p>In 1994, <a href="/wiki/University_of_Texas" class="mw-redirect" title="University of Texas">Texas</a>, <a href="/wiki/Texas_A%26M_University" title="Texas A&M University">Texas A&M</a>, <a href="/wiki/Baylor_University" title="Baylor University">Baylor</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Texas_Tech" class="mw-redirect" title="Texas Tech">Texas Tech</a> accepted invitations to join with the members of the <a href="/wiki/Big_Eight_Conference" title="Big Eight Conference">Big Eight Conference</a> to form the Big 12 Conference. For the 1996 season, <a href="/wiki/Southern_Methodist_University" title="Southern Methodist University">SMU</a>, <a href="/wiki/Texas_Christian_University" title="Texas Christian University">TCU</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Rice_University" title="Rice University">Rice</a> accepted invitations to join the WAC. </p><p>The C-USA was founded in 1995 by the merger of the <a href="/wiki/Metro_Conference" title="Metro Conference">Metro Conference</a> and <a href="/wiki/Great_Midwest_Conference" title="Great Midwest Conference">Great Midwest Conference</a>, two Division I conferences that did not sponsor football at the time. The <a href="/wiki/University_of_Houston" title="University of Houston">University of Houston</a> left the Southwest Conference for the newly formed C-USA the year after. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Conference_changes">Conference changes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Conference changes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable sortable"> <tbody><tr> <th>School </th> <th>Former Conference </th> <th>New Conference </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Arkansas_State_Red_Wolves" title="Arkansas State Red Wolves">Arkansas State</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_West_Conference" title="Big West Conference">Big West Conference</a><sup id="cite_ref-BigWest_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BigWest-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>n 1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_FBS_independent_schools" title="NCAA Division I FBS independent schools">Division I-A Independent</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Baylor_Bears_and_Lady_Bears" class="mw-redirect" title="Baylor Bears and Lady Bears">Baylor</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Southwest_Conference" title="Southwest Conference">Southwest Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Boise_State_Broncos" title="Boise State Broncos">Boise State</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_Sky_Conference" title="Big Sky Conference">Big Sky Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_West_Conference" title="Big West Conference">Big West Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Cal_Poly_Mustangs" title="Cal Poly Mustangs">Cal Poly SLO</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/American_West_Conference" title="American West Conference">American West Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_West_Conference" title="Big West Conference">Big West Conference</a><sup id="cite_ref-BigWest_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BigWest-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>n 1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Colorado_Buffaloes" title="Colorado Buffaloes">Colorado</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_Eight_Conference" title="Big Eight Conference">Big Eight Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Houston_Cougars" title="Houston Cougars">Houston</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Southwest_Conference" title="Southwest Conference">Southwest Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Conference_USA" title="Conference USA">Conference USA</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Idaho_Vandals" title="Idaho Vandals">Idaho</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_Sky_Conference" title="Big Sky Conference">Big Sky Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_West_Conference" title="Big West Conference">Big West Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Iowa_State_Cyclones" title="Iowa State Cyclones">Iowa State</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_Eight_Conference" title="Big Eight Conference">Big Eight Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Kansas_Jayhawks" title="Kansas Jayhawks">Kansas</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_Eight_Conference" title="Big Eight Conference">Big Eight Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Kansas_State_Wildcats" title="Kansas State Wildcats">Kansas State</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_Eight_Conference" title="Big Eight Conference">Big Eight Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Louisiana_Tech_Bulldogs_and_Lady_Techsters" title="Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters">Louisiana Tech</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_West_Conference" title="Big West Conference">Big West Conference</a><sup id="cite_ref-BigWest_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BigWest-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>n 1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_FBS_independent_schools" title="NCAA Division I FBS independent schools">Division I-A Independent</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Missouri_Tigers" title="Missouri Tigers">Missouri</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_Eight_Conference" title="Big Eight Conference">Big Eight Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Nebraska_Cornhuskers" title="Nebraska Cornhuskers">Nebraska</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_Eight_Conference" title="Big Eight Conference">Big Eight Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/North_Texas_Mean_Green" title="North Texas Mean Green">North Texas</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_FBS_independent_schools" title="NCAA Division I FBS independent schools">Division I-A Independent</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_West_Conference" title="Big West Conference">Big West Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Northern_Illinois_Huskies" title="Northern Illinois Huskies">Northern Illinois</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_West_Conference" title="Big West Conference">Big West Conference</a><sup id="cite_ref-BigWest_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BigWest-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>n 1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_FBS_independent_schools" title="NCAA Division I FBS independent schools">Division I-A Independent</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Oklahoma_Sooners" title="Oklahoma Sooners">Oklahoma</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_Eight_Conference" title="Big Eight Conference">Big Eight Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Oklahoma_State_Cowboys_and_Cowgirls" title="Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls">Oklahoma State</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_Eight_Conference" title="Big Eight Conference">Big Eight Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Rice_Owls" title="Rice Owls">Rice</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Southwest_Conference" title="Southwest Conference">Southwest Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Western_Athletic_Conference" title="Western Athletic Conference">Western Athletic Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/San_Jose_State_Spartans" title="San Jose State Spartans">San Jose State</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_West_Conference" title="Big West Conference">Big West Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Western_Athletic_Conference" title="Western Athletic Conference">Western Athletic Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/SMU_Mustangs" title="SMU Mustangs">SMU</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Southwest_Conference" title="Southwest Conference">Southwest Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Western_Athletic_Conference" title="Western Athletic Conference">Western Athletic Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Louisiana_Ragin%27_Cajuns" title="Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns">Southwestern Louisiana</a><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>n 2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_West_Conference" title="Big West Conference">Big West Conference</a><sup id="cite_ref-BigWest_1-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BigWest-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>n 1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_FBS_independent_schools" title="NCAA Division I FBS independent schools">Division I-A Independent</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/TCU_Horned_Frogs" title="TCU Horned Frogs">TCU</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Southwest_Conference" title="Southwest Conference">Southwest Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Western_Athletic_Conference" title="Western Athletic Conference">Western Athletic Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Texas_Longhorns" title="Texas Longhorns">Texas</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Southwest_Conference" title="Southwest Conference">Southwest Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Texas_A%26M_Aggies" title="Texas A&M Aggies">Texas A&M</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Southwest_Conference" title="Southwest Conference">Southwest Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Texas_Tech_Red_Raiders_and_Lady_Raiders" class="mw-redirect" title="Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders">Texas Tech</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Southwest_Conference" title="Southwest Conference">Southwest Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_12_Conference" title="Big 12 Conference">Big 12 Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Tulsa_Golden_Hurricane" title="Tulsa Golden Hurricane">Tulsa</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Missouri_Valley_Conference" title="Missouri Valley Conference">Missouri Valley Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Western_Athletic_Conference" title="Western Athletic Conference">Western Athletic Conference</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/UNLV_Rebels" title="UNLV Rebels">UNLV</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Big_West_Conference" title="Big West Conference">Big West Conference</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Western_Athletic_Conference" title="Western Athletic Conference">Western Athletic Conference</a> </td></tr></tbody></table> <dl><dt>Notes</dt></dl> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-BigWest-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-BigWest_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-BigWest_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-BigWest_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-BigWest_1-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-BigWest_1-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois and Southwestern Louisiana participated in the Big West for football only from 1993–95. In 1996, Cal Poly joined the Big West in basketball and other sports, but remained a I-AA independent in football.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Now known as Louisiana.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <ul><li><b>WAC:</b> In addition to the massive expansion of the league, two pre-expansion members, <a href="/wiki/Air_Force_Falcons" title="Air Force Falcons">Air Force</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hawaii_Rainbow_Warriors_and_Rainbow_Wahine" title="Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine">Hawaiʻi</a>, brought their women's sports into the conference. Air Force had previously housed its women's sports in the <a href="/wiki/NCAA_Division_II" title="NCAA Division II">Division II</a> Colorado Athletic Conference, while the Hawaiʻi women had been in the Big West.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/2005_NCAA_conference_realignment" title="2005 NCAA conference realignment">2005 NCAA conference realignment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2010%E2%80%932014_NCAA_conference_realignment" title="2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment">2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2021%E2%80%932024_NCAA_conference_realignment" class="mw-redirect" title="2021–2024 NCAA conference realignment">2021–2024 NCAA conference realignment</a></li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&useformat=desktop" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&oldid=1159038355">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&oldid=1159038355</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:NCAA_conference_realignments" title="Category:NCAA conference realignments">NCAA conference realignments</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:College_football_controversies" title="Category:College football controversies">College football controversies</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 7 June 2023, at 20:46<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1996_NCAA_conference_realignment&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-5c59558b9d-xrwgm","wgBackendResponseTime":138,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.057","walltime":"0.070","ppvisitednodes":{"value":349,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":1127,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":451,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":8,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":2879,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 38.903 1 -total"," 76.92% 29.926 1 Template:Reflist"," 21.80% 8.482 6 Template:Refn"," 5.22% 2.031 1 Template:Main_other"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.002","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":587562,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-api-int.codfw.main-7858d788f6-lkkpv","timestamp":"20241102115633","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"1996 NCAA conference realignment","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/1996_NCAA_conference_realignment","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q4591552","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q4591552","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2010-06-16T21:52:54Z","dateModified":"2023-06-07T20:46:09Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/d\/dd\/NCAA_logo.svg"}</script> </body> </html>