Conference USA sets football media days for July 20-21 in Arlington

Conference USA announced its 2026 football kickoff and media days will be held July 20-21 in Arlington, Texas. The event splits between Texas Live! Arena — the $250 million entertainment complex between AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field — and the Loews Arlington Hotel & Convention Center.

July 20 features a live ESPN+ kickoff show hosted by ESPN’s Mike Corey at Texas Live!. Traditional press conferences and media availability follow July 21 at the Loews. Commissioner Judy MacLeod and head coaches and player representatives from all 10 programs will attend.

What’s changed

Conference USA enters 2026 two members lighter. UTEP departed for the Mountain West, paying an exit fee of roughly $8 million per The Athletic. Louisiana Tech left for the Sun Belt after a protracted legal battle that produced a settlement in April 2026 at a cost exceeding $8 million.

The departures drop C-USA from 12 to 10 football members. The conference added Kennesaw State in 2024 and both Delaware and Missouri State in 2025, but the net loss of two established programs narrows the league’s footprint.

The 10-team membership for 2026: Delaware, FIU, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Middle Tennessee, Missouri State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston and Western Kentucky.

Casey Woods at Missouri State is the only new head coach in C-USA for 2026, entering the Bears’ first Conference USA season. Jacksonville State’s Charles Kelly enters his second year. Several programs made staff changes below the head coach level — Liberty’s Jamey Chadwell hired a new defensive coordinator after undergoing surgery, and Western Kentucky’s Tyson Helton brought in Bodie Reeder from MTSU as his seventh offensive coordinator in eight seasons.

TV and broadcast

C-USA operates under a five-year media rights deal with ESPN and CBS Sports running from 2023-24 through 2027-28. CBS Sports Network holds tier-one rights, including first pick of preferred games and the conference championship. CBSSN carries 18 football games annually. ESPN’s family of networks — ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU — carries additional linear broadcasts, with ESPN+ and ESPN3 handling the rest.

One scheduling feature worth noting: all October conference football games are designated as midweek matchups on CBSSN or ESPN platforms.

Per-school media revenue is approximately $800,000 annually, per The Action Network.

Commissioner

Judy MacLeod — the first woman to lead an NCAA Division I FBS conference when she was appointed in 2015 — enters her 11th year leading the league.

2026 coaching lineup

Delaware: Ryan Carty

FIU: Willie Simmons

Jacksonville State: Charles Kelly

Kennesaw State: Jerry Mack

Liberty: Jamey Chadwell

Middle Tennessee: Derek Mason

Missouri State: Casey Woods

New Mexico State: Tony Sanchez

Sam Houston: Phil Longo

Western Kentucky: Tyson Helton