Happy realignment day college football fans! Today is the day the most recent realignment changes are now official, with Louisville now a member of the ACC, Maryland and Rutgers in the Big Ten and two brand new FBS programs are opening a new era. It is a pretty cool day, but for many it may be a bit confusing when trying to remember which school is in which conference.
To make sure you are caught up to speed on the most recent changes, here is a look at the conference-by-conference realignment changes effective starting today.
American Athletic Conference: Tulane, Tulsa and East Carolina join the conference after leaving Conference USA. Louisville (ACC) and Rutgers (Big Ten) have left the conference. Navy will join for football in 2015.
ACC: Louisville joins the conference to fill a void left by Big Ten-bound Maryland.
Big 12: No changes.
Big Ten: Maryland and Rutgers join the conference. The divisions have been updated as well, with the newcomers joining Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State in the new East Division. All other Big Ten schools are in the West division.
Conference USA: Western Kentucky leaves the Sun Belt to join Conference USA. The conference maintains a membership of 14 schools despite losing Tulane, Tulsa and East Carolina to the AAC.
MAC: No changes, but this is the last year for UMass in the conference as a football member.
Mountain West Conference: No changes, but keep an eye on what happens with BYU, Idaho and New Mexico State.
Pac-12: No changes.
SEC: No changes.
Sun Belt Conference: Appalachian State and Georgia Southern are now FBS programs and new members of the Sun Belt. The conference also welcomes Idaho and New Mexico State, both as football-only members left behind in the rubble of the WAC implosion. The conference continues to look for more expansion options, so changes could come in 2015 for the 11-member conference.
