Getting a grip on the changes

The winds of change will be blowing heavily this fall all across the college athletic landscape.Nine of the major conferences will see several new faces, including the Big East and Conference USA, while seven others receive some minor tweaking. - College Football -
Although the fall semester is several weeks away, the conference changes officially took effect today.In what has been a much-anticipated move for more than a year, the University of Louisville joins the Big East to form a mega-powerhouse in men's basketball.Because of an upward swing in sports under the direction of athletics director Tom Jurich, the Cardinals can now boast of being a member of one of the top conferences in men's basketball.The switch in conferences will present a new and unprecedented challenge for Louisville, which advanced to the Final Four for the first time in the Rick Pitino era last spring.Joining the Cardinals as the newest members of the Big East from C-USA are Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette and South Florida.All five teams bring a dose of tradition to the league in men's basketball. - College Football -
The five former C-USA members have made 100 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, played in 19 Final Fours and have captured five national titles.In addition, the old Big East has won three of the last seven national titles, which should make for some exciting action on the hardwood.In women's basketball, Louisville will have to get traditional power Connecticut to have any kind of success in the league. - College Football -
Since Boston College is no longer the king of the conference in football, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Louisville likely will battle it out for the top spot.Boston College is the newest member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, giving it another strong football program.Former C-USA teams Charlotte and Saint Louis moved to the Atlantic 10 Conference, giving the league 14 teams.While the Big East will feature a new look, C-USA rolls out the red carpet for six new teams to replace the seven squads that left the league.Marshall, Central Florida, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas El-Paso and Tulsa joins a league that figures to a wide-open goose chase in every sport.The move is good for Marshall, which has boosted its stock on the gridiron since moving up to the I-A ranks more than a decade ago. - College Football -
The Western Athletic Conference will see three new teams in Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State to form a nine-team conference.The Atlantic Sun welcomes East Tennessee State, along with Kennesaw State and North Florida, both making the jump from NCAA Division II.Florida Atlantic and Troy State are now associated with the Sun Belt Conference.Got all of that?

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