{{Short description|American football game}} {{Infobox NCAA conference tournament | name = Conference USA Football Championship Game | optional_subheader = | defunct = | image = Conference USA Football Championship logo.png | caption = | sport = College football | conference = Conference USA | number_of_teams = | format = | current_stadium = Hosted at school site by team with best conference winning percentage | current_location = | years = 2005–present | most_recent = 2025 | current_champion = Kennesaw State | most_championships = East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Tulsa, UAB, UCF, UTSA, Western Kentucky (2) | television = CBSSN | website = [https://conferenceusa.com/index.aspx?path=football ConferenceUSA.com] | sponsors = Xbox 360 (2005)<br>Aéropostale (2006)<br>HotelPlanner.com (2010)<br>Dynacraft BSC (2016–2017)<br>Globe Life (2018)<br>Ryan LLC (2019–2022) | all_stadiums = <!-- A list of all stadiums in which the tournament has been played; likely not needed here since it rotates yearly --> | all_locations = <!-- A list of all locations in which the tournament has been played; likely not needed here since it rotates yearly --> }} 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://conferenceusa.com/news/2019/10/10/c-usa-announces-ryan-as-football-championship-title-sponsor.aspx|title=Ryan Named Football Championship Title Sponsor|work=Conference USA|date=October 10, 2019|access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref>
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.<ref>[https://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-sports-network/releases/view?id=50286 CBS SPORTS NETWORK ANNOUNCES 2018 COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FEATURING SERVICE ACADEMIES AND TOP SCHOOLS FROM NINE CONFERENCES]</ref>
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==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.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" |- ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"|Season ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"|Champion(s) ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Conference record ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Overall record ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Bowl result |- |rowspan=2|1996 || Houston || 4–1 || 7–5 || lost Liberty Bowl |- |Southern Miss || 4–1 || 8–3 || bgcolor=lightgrey| |- | 1997 || <small>19</small> Southern Miss || 6–0 || 9–3 || won Liberty Bowl |- | 1998 || <small>7</small> Tulane || 6–0 || 12–0 || won Liberty Bowl<!--ranked #10 going into the game--> |- | 1999 || <small>14</small> Southern Miss || 6–0 || 9–3 || won Liberty Bowl<!--ranked #16 going into the game--> |- | 2000 || Louisville || 6–1 || 9–3 || lost Liberty Bowl<!-- ranked #22 going into the game--> |- | 2001 || <small>17</small> Louisville || 6–1 || 11–2 || won Liberty Bowl<!-- ranked #23 going into the game--> |- |rowspan=2|2002 || <small>23</small> TCU || 6–2 || 11–2 || won Liberty Bowl <!--not ranked going into the game--> |- |Cincinnati || 6–2 || 7–7 || lost New Orleans Bowl |- | 2003 || Southern Miss || 8–0 || 9–4 || lost Liberty Bowl |- | 2004 || <small>6</small> Louisville || 8–0 || 11–1 || won Liberty Bowl<!-- ranked #7 going into the game--> |} <small>Final rankings from AP Poll shown.</small>
===Conference USA Championship Game (2005–present)=== 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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" width=100% ! style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|Year}} ! colspan="2" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|West Division}} ! colspan="2" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|East Division}} ! style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|Site}} ! style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|Attendance}} ! style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|MVP}} ! style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|Network}} |- |2005 |'''Tulsa''' |'''44''' |UCF |27 |Citrus Bowl • (Orlando, Florida) |51,978 |TE Garrett Mills, Tulsa |ESPN |- |2006 |'''Houston''' |'''34''' |Southern Miss |20 |Robertson Stadium • (Houston, Texas) |31,818 |WR Vincent Marshall, Houston |ESPN2 |- |2007 |Tulsa |25 |'''UCF''' |'''44''' |Bright House Networks Stadium • (Orlando, Florida) |44,128 |RB Kevin Smith, UCF |ESPN |- |2008 |Tulsa |24 |'''East Carolina''' |'''27''' |Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium • (Tulsa, Oklahoma) |22,740 |CB Travis Simmons, East Carolina |rowspan=3|ESPN2 |- |2009 |{{Small|18}} Houston | 32 |'''East Carolina''' |'''38''' |Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • (Greenville, North Carolina) |33,048 |WR Dwayne Harris, East Carolina |- |2010 |SMU | 7 |'''UCF''' |'''17''' |Bright House Networks Stadium • (Orlando, Florida) |41,045 |RB Latavius Murray, UCF |- |2011 |{{small|7}} Houston |28 |{{small|24}} '''Southern Miss''' |'''49''' |Robertson Stadium • (Houston, Texas) |32,413 |RB/WR Tracy Lampley, Southern Miss |ABC |- |2012 |'''Tulsa''' |'''33''' |UCF || 27 |Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium • (Tulsa, Oklahoma) |17,635 |RB/PR/KR Trey Watts, Tulsa |rowspan=4|ESPN2 |- |2013 |'''Rice''' |'''41''' |Marshall |24 |Rice Stadium • (Houston, Texas) |20,247 |RB Luke Turner, Rice |- |2014 |Louisiana Tech |23 |'''Marshall''' |'''26''' |Joan C. Edwards Stadium • (Huntington, West Virginia) |23,711 |K Justin Haig, Marshall |- |2015 |Southern Miss |28 |'''Western Kentucky''' |'''45''' |rowspan=2| Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • (Bowling Green, Kentucky) |16,823 |QB Brandon Doughty, Western Kentucky |- |2016 |Louisiana Tech |44 |'''Western Kentucky''' |'''58''' |13,213 |RB Anthony Wales, Western Kentucky |ESPN |- |2017 |North Texas |17 |'''Florida Atlantic''' |'''41''' |FAU Stadium • (Boca Raton, Florida) |14,258 |WR Kalib Woods, Florida Atlantic |ESPN2 |- |2018 |'''UAB''' |'''27''' |Middle Tennessee |25 |Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • (Murfreesboro, Tennessee) |15,806 |RB Spencer Brown, UAB |rowspan=4|CBSSN |- |2019 |UAB |6 |'''Florida Atlantic''' |'''49''' |FAU Stadium • (Boca Raton, Florida) |14,387 |WR Deangelo Antoine, Florida Atlantic |- |2020 |'''UAB''' |'''22''' |Marshall |13 |Joan C. Edwards Stadium • (Huntington, West Virginia) |8,324{{double dagger}} |RB Spencer Brown, UAB |- |2021 |'''UTSA''' |'''49''' |Western Kentucky |41 |Alamodome • (San Antonio, Texas) |41,148 |RB Sincere McCormick, UTSA |- ! style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|Year}} ! colspan="2" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|No. 1 seed}} ! colspan="2" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|No. 2 seed}} ! style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|Site}} ! style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|Attendance}} ! style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|MVP}} ! style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA}};"|{{Color|#FFFFFF|Network}} |- |2022 |{{small|23}} '''UTSA''' |'''48''' |North Texas |27 |Alamodome • (San Antonio, Texas) |41,412 |QB Frank Harris, UTSA |rowspan=4|CBSSN |- |2023 |{{small|24}} '''Liberty''' |'''49''' |New Mexico State |35 |Williams Stadium • (Lynchburg, Virginia) |20,077 |QB Kaidon Salter, Liberty |- |2024 |'''Jacksonville State''' |'''52''' |Western Kentucky |12 |rowspan=2|Burgess–Snow Field at AmFirst Stadium • (Jacksonville, Alabama) |15,628 |QB Tyler Huff, Jacksonville State |- |2025 |Jacksonville State |15 |'''Kennesaw State''' |'''19''' |18,142 |QB Amari Odom, Kennesaw State |}<!--USE PRE-GAME AP POLL RANKINGS (NOT CFP RANKINGS)--> {{small|{{double dagger}} 2020 game attendance limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.}}
===Results by team===
====Current members==== {| class="wikitable sortable" !Appearances !School !W !L !Pct !Titles !Runners-up |- | align=center | 4 !Western Kentucky |2 |2 |.500 |2015, 2016 |2021, 2024 |- |align=center| 2 !Louisiana Tech |0 |2 |.000 |bgcolor=lightgrey| |2014, 2016 |- | align=center | 2 !Jacksonville State | 1 | 1 | align=center|.500 | 2024 | 2025 |- | align=center | 1 !Kennesaw State | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2025 | bgcolor=lightgrey| |- | align=center | 1 ! Liberty | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2023 | bgcolor=lightgrey| |- | align=center | 1 ! Middle Tennessee | 0 | 1 | .000 | bgcolor=lightgrey| | 2018 |- | align=center | 1 ! New Mexico State | 0 | 1 |.000 | bgcolor=lightgrey| | 2023 |- | align=center | 0 ! Delaware | 0 | 0 | | bgcolor=lightgrey| | bgcolor=lightgrey| |- | align=center | 0 ! FIU | 0 | 0 | | bgcolor=lightgrey| | bgcolor=lightgrey| |- | align=center | 0 ! Missouri State | 0 | 0 | | bgcolor=lightgrey| | bgcolor=lightgrey| |- | align=center | 0 ! Sam Houston | 0 | 0 | | bgcolor=lightgrey| | bgcolor=lightgrey| |}
* Delaware, FIU, Missouri State, and Sam Houston have yet to make an appearance in a Conference USA Championship Game.
====Former members==== {| class="wikitable sortable" !Appearances !School !W !L !Pct !Titles !Runners-up |- |align=center|4 ! Tulsa |2 |2 |.500 |2005, 2012 |2007, 2008 |- |align=center|4 ! UCF |2 |2 |.500 |2007, 2010 |2005, 2012 |- |align=center|3 ! UAB | 2 | 1 | .666 | 2018, 2020 | 2019 |- |align=center|3 ! Houston |1 |2 |.333 |2006 |2009, 2011 |- |align=center|3 ! Marshall |1 |2 |.333 |2014 |2013, 2020 |- |align=center|3 ! Southern Miss |1 |2 |.333 |2011 |2006, 2015 |- |align=center|2 ! East Carolina |2 |0 |1.000 |2008, 2009 |bgcolor=lightgrey| |- |align=center| 2 !Florida Atlantic |2 |0 |1.000 |2017, 2019 |bgcolor=lightgrey| |- |align=center| 2 !UTSA |2 |0 |1.000 |2021, 2022 |bgcolor=lightgrey| |- | align=center| 2 !North Texas |0 |2 |.000 |bgcolor=lightgrey| |2017, 2022 |- | align=center| 1 !Rice |0 |1.000 |2013 |bgcolor=lightgrey| |- |align=center|1 !SMU |0 |1 |.000 |bgcolor=lightgrey| |2010 |}
===Rematches=== The Conference USA Football Championship game has featured a rematch of a regular-season game in eleven of the twenty-one times it's been played (2006, 2007, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025). The team which won the regular-season game is 6-5 in the rematches, winning in 2007, 2012, 2017, 2021, 2022, and 2023 but losing in 2006, 2016, 2018, 2024, 2025.
===No results by team=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" width=25% !School |- ! Charlotte |- ! Memphis |- ! Old Dominion |- ! Tulane |- ! UTEP |}
* Charlotte, Memphis, Old Dominion, Tulane, and UTEP 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 Acrisure Bounce House (both under its former name of Bright House Networks Stadium), Tulsa's Chapman Stadium, Western Kentucky's Houchens Stadium, Florida Atlantic's Flagler Credit Union Stadium (historically 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== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" |- ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Team ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Record, Team vs. Opponent ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| 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) |2019 |- |Fewest rushing yards allowed |−9, Western Kentucky vs. UTSA |2021 |- |Fewest passing yards allowed |72, Marshall vs. Louisiana Tech |2014 |- ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Individual ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Year |- |Total offense || 582, Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky vs. UTSA || 2021 |- |Touchdowns responsible for || 5, Case Keenum, Houston vs. East Carolina || 2009 |- |Rushing yards || 284, Kevin Smith, UCF vs. East Carolina || 2007 |- |Rushing touchdowns || 4, shared by:<br/>Kevin Smith, UCF vs. East Carolina<br/>Anthony Wales, Western Kentucky vs. Louisiana Tech || <br/>2007<br/>2016 |- |Passing yards || 577, Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky vs. UTSA || 2021 |- |Passing touchdowns || 5, Case Keenum, Houston vs. East Carolina || 2009 |- |Receiving yards || 241, James Cleveland, Houston vs. East Carolina || 2009 |- |Receiving touchdowns || 3, Zakhari Franklin, UTSA vs. North Texas || 2022 |- |Tackles || 15, shared by:<br/>Gerald McRath, Southern Miss vs. Houston<br/>C.J. Cavness, Houston vs. East Carolina || <br/>2006<br/>2009 |- |Sacks || 2, Bruce Miller, UCF vs. SMU || 2010 |- |Interceptions || 2, shared by 4 players, most recent:<br/>Jaylen Young, Florida Atlantic vs. North Texas || <br/>2017 |- ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Long Plays ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Year |- |Touchdown run || 74, Kevin Smith, UCF vs. Tulsa || 2007 |- |Touchdown pass || 75, Deangelo Antoine from Chris Robison, Florida Atlantic vs. UAB || 2019 |- |Kickoff return || 69, Dwayne Harris, East Carolina vs. Houston || 2009 |- |Punt return || 83, Joe Burnett, UCF vs. Tulsa || 2007 |- |Interception return || 72, Travis Simmons, East Carolina vs. Tulsa || 2008 |- |Fumble return || 40, Travis Simmons, East Carolina vs. Tulsa || 2008 |- |Punt || 73, Matt Dodge, East Carolina vs. Tulsa || 2008 |- |Field goal || 54, Lucas Carneiro, Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State || 2024 |- ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"|Miscellaneous ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"|Record, Team vs. Team ! width= px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Conference USA|border=1|color=#ffffff}}"| Year |- |Game attendance || 51,978, UCF vs. Tulsa || 2005 |- | colspan="3" |Source: Conference USA<ref>{{cite web |title=C-USA Records Master |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/conferenceusa.com/documents/2021/10/11/101121_C_USA_Records_Master.pdf |access-date=December 3, 2021 |website=conferenceusa.com |pages=35–36 |via=}}</ref> |}
==Selection criteria== 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.
==See also== * List of NCAA Division I FBS conference championship games
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Conference USA Football Championship Game navbox}} {{Conference USA football navbox}} {{Conference USA championships navbox}} {{NCAA Division I FBS conference championship game navbox}} {{ESPN College Football}}
Category:Conference USA Football Championship Game