July 1 marked a pivotal day for schools competing at the Division I level.
July 1 is a pivotal day for schools that compete at the Division I level. On Wednesday morning, five different conferences announced changes to their league sizes and affiliate memberships.
Let's take a deeper dive here:
Conference USA
For the fifth consecutive season, Conference USA has had changes. For 2026, UTEP and Louisiana Tech have left the conference, shrinking it by two.
MAC
Northern Illinois has left the conference, and Sacramento State has joined the conference. Sacramento State will be able to compete in postseason play as the NCAA eliminated a rule restricting teams transitioning to FBS or Division I to sit out postseason competitions. Fellow Empire State school Buffalo remains a part of the MAC as well.
Mountain West
Similar to Sacramento State, North Dakota State joins an FBS conference and is eligible for postseason play in year one. The Bison, along with Northern Illinois, are football-only members while UC Davis is a non-football member. All of UTEP's teams will now also compete as a new member of the Mountain West conference.
Pac-12
For the past few seasons, only Oregon State and Washington State have represented the Pac-12. Schools including UCLA, USC, Washington and others left for a variety of different conferences over the last few seasons, with the tree aforementioned schools joining the Big Ten. Oregon did as well. The Pac 12 will now feature eight teams, including college basketball power Gonzaga. The new Pac-12 is as follows:
Oregon State
Washington State
Gonzaga (non-football)
Boise State
Colorado State
Fresno State
San Diego State
Texas State
Utah State
Sun Belt
Fourteen teams will still represent the Sun Belt Conference. Louisiana Tech leaves while Texas State replaces them.
How does it all affect Syracuse athletics?
Although the changes to these leagues do not affect the ACC directly, Syracuse, along with others could see some residual affects.
For instance, are the schools who have moved up in league stature now viewed more favorably? If so, will Syracuse start scheduling some of these schools in non-conference showdowns? For instance, would a Syracuse basketball win over a new Pac-12 matter when it comes to NCAA Tournament selection time?
Only time will tell, but if these schools are viewed favorably because of their new affiliations, you could start to see Syracuse schedule some of them.
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