This topic had been on the agenda even before the recent announcement that C-USA charter member Memphis had accepted an invitation from the Big East.
[2] The two conferences then met on February 12, with media reporting the following day that an official announcement of a full merger was imminent.
[3] C-USA and the MW initially wished to dissolve and form a new association in order to negotiate new television deals.
[4] Conferences receive roughly $250,000 for each round that a member advances in the NCAA men's basketball tournament; the money is paid out after a rolling six-year period.
[5] With the option of a complete merger now likely off the table, the commissioners of both C-USA and the MW indicated that all 16 schools that had been committed to those conferences beyond 2013 (15 for all sports, and Hawaiʻi for football only) had entered into binding agreements to form a new alliance.
As of April 2012, the MW did not have enough schools committed to the conference beyond 2013 to sponsor championships in baseball and men's cross country.
In addition, Old Dominion, an all-sports member of the CAA, including football, was reportedly considering an invitation from C-USA, which would also require an FBS upgrade.
[18][19] Later on in November 28, 2012, rumors popped up that Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic of the Sun Belt would be invited to replace those schools.
[21] On January 18, 2013, CBS Sports reported that C-USA had reached an agreement for Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic to join in July 2013, a year earlier than originally planned.