The Conference USA Football Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the season champion of Conference USA (CUSA) since 2005.
History
The championship game from 2005 to 2021 showcased the CUSA East Division regular season champion against the West Division regular season champion. From the 2022 season, the game pits the number one (1) team in the season standings versus the number two (2) team. The game is typically played on the first Saturday of December. The 2018 edition of the game, sponsored by Globe Life, was played on December 1, 2018, and televised by CBSSN. Ryan LLC currently holds sponsorship rights to the game.[1]
Due partly to major conference realignment in the early 2010s and early 2020s, only five of the nine current CUSA members have played in the Conference USA Football Championship Game, with the most recent 2023 edition featuring two schools in their first season in the conference. The only current CUSA members to have won the championship game are Liberty and Western Kentucky. During the era of divisional play, the overall series between both divisions was led 10–8 by the East Division.
The CUSA Football Championship Game had been aired on ESPN or its affiliates since 2005, but since the 2018 edition has aired on CBSSN.[2]
800km 500miles
Sam Houston
Jacksonville State
New Mexico State
Liberty
Western Kentucky
UTEP
Middle Tennessee
Louisiana Tech
FIU
Results
Conference USA champions (1996–2004)
Before 2005, each member of the conference played in a round-robin scheduling to determine the champion of the conference. In this time period, Southern Miss won the most titles with four. During this time frame, the winner of the CUSA Championship customarily received a berth to play in the Liberty Bowl against a member of the SEC. If two teams tied for the best conference record, co-champions were declared.
Below are the results from all Conference USA Football Championship Games played. The winning team appears in bold font, on a background of its primary team color. Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.
Charlotte, Memphis, Old Dominion, and Tulane did not make an appearance in a Conference USA Championship Game while members of the conference.
Game location
The team with the best overall conference win percentage will be the team that hosts the championship game. Six venues have hosted two title games—Houston's Robertson Stadium (since demolished, with TDECU Stadium standing at its former site), UCF's FBC Mortgage Stadium (both under its former name of Bright House Networks Stadium), Tulsa's Chapman Stadium, Western Kentucky's Houchens Stadium, Florida Atlantic's FAU Stadium, and UTSA's Alamodome. Of these schools, the only one still a CUSA member is Western Kentucky.
In most recent years, Marshall and Rice both finished with 7–1 records in conference play in 2013, and did not play one another in the regular season; the site was chosen based on the BCS rankings at that time on December 1. Although only 25 teams were explicitly ranked, the ranking formula could be used to determine the relative rankings of any two teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Since 2014, when the BCS was replaced with the College Football Playoff rankings (CFP), national rankings have been removed from the tiebreaker process.
Following the 2024 contest, the home team is 15–5 overall in CUSA football championship games.
Game records
Team
Record, Team vs. Opponent
Year
Most points scored (one team)
58, Western Kentucky vs. Louisiana Tech
2016
Most points scored (losing team)
44, Louisiana Tech vs. Western Kentucky
2016
Fewest points scored (winning team)
17, UCF vs. SMU
2010
Fewest points scored
6, UAB vs. FAU
2019
Most points scored (both teams)
102, Western Kentucky (58) vs. Louisiana Tech (44)
2016
Fewest points scored (both teams)
24, UCF (17) vs. SMU (7)
2010
Most points scored in a half
38, Western Kentucky (1st half) vs. Louisiana Tech
2016
Most points scored in a half (both teams)
65, Western Kentucky vs. Louisiana Tech (1st half)
2016
Largest margin of victory
43, Florida Atlantic (49) vs. UAB (6)
2019
Smallest margin of victory
2, UAB (27) vs. Middle Tennessee (25)
2018
Total yards
656, Western Kentucky (421 passing, 235 rushing) vs. Louisiana Tech
2016
Rushing yards
386, Jacksonville State vs. Western Kentucky
2024
Passing yards
577, Western Kentucky vs. UTSA
2021
First downs
33, Houston vs. East Carolina
2009
Fewest yards allowed
223, Florida Atlantic vs. UAB (84 passing, 139 rushing)
Division standings are based on each team's overall conference record. Often, two or more teams tie for the best record in their division and each team is recognized as a divisional co-champion. However, tiebreakers are used to determine who will represent the division in the championship game.
