8:36 p.m. ET
Pete Thamel ESPN
The acrimonious departure of Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Miss from Conference USA to the Sun Belt is complete, the league said Tuesday in a joint statement with the three schools.
Schools are officially headed into the sunbelt for the 2022 football season, ending a spate of litigation that included court injunctions delaying arbitration.
The terms of the separation agreement were not made public. By retiring at the end of that academic year, Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Miss violated Conference USA bylaws, which require 14 months’ notice before leaving the league.
That caused the legal issues that came into focus after the Sunbelt already put the three schools on the league’s 2022 football schedule when it was published on March 1.
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That means Conference USA will be playing with 11 members next season. A schedule reflecting the new structure of the league is expected to be released soon.
Sources told ESPN that the odd number of programs prompted the league to apply to the NCAA for two football games in Week 0 in 2022 due to health and safety concerns. Due to the odd number of teams, there is a fear that too many in the league would have to play without a bye for more than two months in a row. Playing in week 0 would help balance that out.
“Conference USA looks forward to the future with our 11 institutions in the 2022-23 academic year and is committed to the long-term growth of the league as we induct new members in the years to come,” Conference USA said in a statement.
There are more changes ahead for Conference USA, although the timing is uncertain. Six other schools are traveling to the American Athletic Conference – North Texas, Rice, UTSA, Charlotte, FAU and UAB. Conference USA has previously announced plans to add Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State and Sam Houston.
The Sun Belt will be a 14-man league next season with the addition of James Madison in recent months.