Conference USA has expanded to 12 members with the additions of Delaware and Missouri State, who bring tradition with them to the FBS.
Conference USA is getting ready for another of its membership shuffles, as the University of Delaware and Missouri State became official members on July 1, briefly giving the league 12 members.
It will be 10 members perhaps next year when UTEP and possibly Louisiana Tech leave, though CUSA is now well-established as a league where schools go as they transition from FCS to FBS. Both Delaware and Missouri State fit that profile.
Delaware, in particular, has been a long-time FCS football power, while Missouri State brings women's basketball tradition with it.
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
Where is it: Newark, Del.
About Newark: Population 30,601, a suburb of Wilmington. Wilmington has a commercial airport. The American's Revolution's Battle of Cooch's Bridge took place in 1977 and may have been the first time the Stars and Stripes flew in battle. The skirmish was inconclusive and part of the Philadelphia campaign, won by the British.
Enrollment: 24,221
Motto: Scientia Sol Mentis Est (Knowledge is the light of the mind)
History: Presbyterian minister Francis Alison opened a "Free School" in his home in New London, Pennsylvania in 1743. After several name and location changes, it relocated to Newark in 1765 as the Academy of Newark. It was officially chartered in 1769 and became Delaware College in 1843. In 1914, the Women's College of Delaware opened, and in 1921, it became the University of Delaware.
Interesting fact: As it looked to make the transition from Academy of Newark to Delaware College, in 1918 the Delaware legislature authorized the trustees of the Newark Academy to operate a lottery in order to raise funds to establish a college. That lottery did not come about until 1925 because of the opposition of some trustees who were Presbyterian ministers and objected to a lottery on religious grounds.
Famous alums: Joe Biden, 46th President of the United States; Jill Biden, former First Lady; Chris Christie, former New Jersey Governor; David Plouffe, campaign director for Barack Obama in 2008; Joe Flacco, Super Bowl XLVII MVP for the Baltimore Ravens; Rich Gannon, 2002 NFL MVP; Elena Della Donne, two-time WNBA MVP; Henry C. Brinton, director of research division at NASA
Colors: Royal Blue and Gold
Mascot: YoUDee (elected to the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2006)
Coming from: Colonial Athletic Association (2001-2025)
Sports fielded: 22. Six men's (baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer, soccer, swimming and diving), 14 women's (basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, indoor and outdoor track, tennis, swimming and diving)
History: Delaware traces its start of sports teams in 1899. They moved to Division I from Division II in 1980.
Interesting fact: For Title IX reasons, Delaware decided to add a women's sport for 2025-26. They announced it would be ice hockey and compete in the Atlantic Hockey Conference.
Notable athletic moments: Delaware won the national championship in women's field hockey in 2016, defeating North Carolina 3-2. … Delaware has won six national championships in football, including 2003 FCS national title. Their other five were in Division II. … Former head football coaches Bill Murray, Dave Nelson and Harold "Tubby" Raymond, who served consecutively, are College Football Hall of Fame inductees. Delaware is one of two schools to have three straight coaches make that hall of fame (Georgia Tech is the other). … The Blue Hens won 22 championships across all sports in the CAA from 2001 through last season. … Won a women's NCAA tournament game in 2013 behind Della Donne and finished ranked No. 15 in the AP poll.
What are they good at now: Football, which was 9-2 last year and runners-up of the CAA. They won the CAA regular season last year in volleyball.
Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears
Where is it: Springfield, Mo.
About Springfield: Population 169,176. The Queen City of the Ozarks, in the southwest corner of the state (Missouri State was formerly Southwest Missouri State), has a metropolitan area of 487,061 and a commercial airport. It is the headquarters for Bass Pro Shop.
Enrollment: 23,418
Motto: Our Passion for Excellence
History: Missouri State was founded as Fourth District Normal School in 1905, a school to produce teachers. The first permanent building was completed in 1910. It became Southwest Missouri State Teachers College in 1919. Approval from the Missouri state legislature to change the name to Missouri State came in 2005.
Interesting fact: In June 2020, Missouri State University entered into an agreement with Liaoning Normal University in China to open the LNU-MSU College of International Business in Dalian, China (pop. 7.5 million). So Missouri State has a campus extension in China.
Famous alums: John Goodman, actor; Kathleen Turner, actress; Jackie Stiles, former WNBA star; Horton Smith (the Joplin Ghost), winner of the first Masters in 1934; Brad Ziegler, former MLB player; David Glass, former owner of the Kansas City Royals and CEO of Wal-Mart; Crystal Methyd, former runner-up on Rue Paul's Drag Race.
Colors: Maroon and White
Mascot: Boomer
Coming from: Missouri Valley Conference (1984-2025)
Sports fielded: 19. Six men's (baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer, swimming and diving), 13 women's (acrobatics and tumbling, basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, stunt, swimming and diving; tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball)
History: Missouri State started playing football in 1909. They were a founding member of what is now known as the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 1923 and remained there until 1980. It started women's athletics with the basketball team that became the school's trademark program in 1969-70 and also won a women's NCAA Division II lacrosse title that year.
Interesting fact: The school added acrobatics and tumbling, and stunt, both included in the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, in 2024–25.
Notable athletic moments: From 1991-2006, the Lady Bears basketball team, competing as Southwest Missouri State, made the NCAA tournament 13 of 15 years. They made the Final Four in 2001 behind Stiles. Stiles graduated as the NCAA's leading all-time scorer and now sits fifth on that list. … The school claims five national championships at various levels, most recently a Division II women's field hockey title from the AIAW in 1979.
What are they good at now: Football, which was 8-4 last year. Men's and women's soccer won their conference titles with unbeaten league seasons. Women's basketball went 26-9 and advanced to the second round of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament, the women's equivalent of the NIT.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at [email protected]; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Conference USA expands with Delaware, Missouri State: School facts
Category: General Sports
