The 2025 Conference USA football season is the 30th season of college football play for Conference USA (CUSA). The season began on August 23, 2025, and concluded with the Conference Championship Game on December 5, 2025. Twelve member schools took part in the season, which was part of the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
Conference realignment For 2025, two teams — Delaware and Missouri State — joined the conference after moving up from Division I FCS. By NCAA rules, both teams were declared ineligible for post-season play while they finish their transition to the FBS level. However, because there were not enough six-win teams eligible for the 42 FBS bowl games, both teams will be participating in a bowl game.
The 2025 season is set to be the final season for UTEP in Conference USA. UTEP accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026.
This is potentially the final season for Louisiana Tech in CUSA. Louisiana Tech accepted an invitation to rejoin the Sun Belt Conference, which it had left in 2001, effective no later than 2027.
Preseason
The Conference USA decided not to conduct a preseason media poll this season, instead devising a "bowl confidence index," through which 24 voters — two from each Conference USA member school — would select which CUSA members they believed would or would not reach a bowl game at the conclusion of the 2025 regular season. The conference published the results of the vote on July 18, 2025.
2025 CUSA Bowl Confidence IndexLiberty 100%Western Kentucky 100%Jacksonville State 91.67%Louisiana Tech 75%Sam Houston 45.83%UTEP 41.67%FIU 37.5%Delaware 29.17%Middle Tennessee 25%New Mexico State 25%Kennesaw State 16.67%Missouri State 12.5%
Head coaches On November 10, 2024, Kennesaw State head coach Brian Bohannon announced that he was stepping down from the position, effective immediately. On December 1, 2024, Kennesaw State announced Jerry Mack as the new head coach. Mack had previously been the running backs coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL. On December 1, K. C. Keeler was announced as the new head coach of Temple in the American Athletic Conference. On December 18, 2024, Sam Houston announced Phil Longo as the new head coach for 2025. Longo had previously been the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin. On December 12, 2024, Rich Rodriguez was named as the new head coach of West Virginia in the Big 12 Conference. On December 21, 2024, Jacksonville State announced Charles Kelly as the new head coach for 2025. Kelly had previously been the co-defesnive coordinator at Auburn. On December 1, 2024, FIU announced they had fired head coach Mike MacIntyre. On December 7, 2024, FIU named Willie Simmons as their new head coach for the 2025 season. Simmons had previously been the running backs coach at Duke.
Note: All stats shown are before the start of the 2025 season. Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school CUSA recordDelaware Ryan Carty 4 26–11 26–11 0–0FIU Willie Simmons 1 66–24 0–0 0–0Jacksonville State Charles Kelly 1 0–0 0–0 0–0Kennesaw State Jerry Mack 1 31–15 0–0 0–0Liberty Jamey Chadwell 3 119–62 21–5 13–3Louisiana Tech Sonny Cumbie 4 13–29 11–26 8–16Middle Tennessee Derek Mason 2 30–64 3–9 2–6Missouri State Ryan Beard 3 12–11 12–11 0–0New Mexico State Tony Sanchez 2 23–49 3–9 2–6Sam Houston Phil Longo 1 7–14 0–0 0–0UTEP Scotty Walden 2 37–29 3–9 3–4Western Kentucky Tyson Helton 7 48–32 48–32 34–13
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Final Delaware AP C CFP Not released FIU AP C NR RV NR CFP Not released Jacksonville State AP C CFP Not released Kennesaw State AP RV C RV CFP Not released Liberty AP RV RV NR C CFP Not released Louisiana Tech AP C CFP Not released Middle Tennessee AP C CFP Not released Missouri State AP C CFP Not released New Mexico State AP C CFP Not released Sam Houston AP C CFP Not released UTEP AP C CFP Not released Western Kentucky AP C CFP Not released
+ Legend Improvement in ranking Drop in ranking Not ranked previous week No change in ranking from previous week RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
Schedule The 2025 schedule was released on February 6, 2025.
Index to colors and formattingCUSA member wonCUSA member lostCUSA teams in bold
Week 0
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Conference Championship Game
Postseason
Bowl Games
Legend CUSA win CUSA loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (EST)CUSA teamOpponentScoreAttendance Salute to Veterans Bowl December 16 Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL ESPN 9:00 p.m. Jacksonville State Troy W 17–13 15,721 68 Ventures Bowl December 17 Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL ESPN 8:30 p.m. Delaware Louisiana W 20–13 17,234 Xbox Bowl December 18 Ford Center at The Star • Frisco, TX ESPN2 9:00 p.m. Missouri State Arkansas State L 28–34 7,782 Myrtle Beach Bowl December 19 Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC ESPN 11:00 a.m. Kennesaw State Western Michigan L 6–41 9,139 New Orleans Bowl December 23 Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, LA ESPN 5:30 p.m. Western Kentucky Southern Miss W 27–16 16,693 First Responder Bowl December 26 Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX ESPN 8:00 p.m. FIU UTSA L 20–57 8,671 Independence Bowl December 30 Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA ESPN 2:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Coastal Carolina W 23–14 30,298
Records vs. other conferences 2025–2026 records against non-conference foes:
Regular season Power Four ConferencesRecordACC0–3Big 120–2Big Ten0–4Notre Dame0–0SEC 0–5Power 5 Total0–14Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican 2–0Independents (Excluding Notre Dame) 1–1MAC 0–2Mountain West 2–4Pac-12 1–1Sun Belt 3–6Other FBS Total 9–14FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision 10–1Total Non-Conference Record 19–29
Conference USA vs Power 4 matchups This is a list of games Conference USA has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.
Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score August 28 Big 12 Jacksonville State UCF Acrisure Bounce House • Orlando, FL L 10–17 August 29 ACC Kennesaw State Wake Forest Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium • Winston-Salem, NC L 9–10 August 30 Big Ten Missouri State USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 13–73 September 6 Big 12 Delaware Colorado Folsom Field • Boulder, CO L 7–31 September 6 Big Ten FIU Penn State Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA L 0–34 September 6 Big Ten Kennesaw State Indiana Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN L 9–56 September 6 SEC Louisiana Tech LSU Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA L 7–23 September 6 Big Ten Middle Tennessee Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI L 10–42 September 13 ACC SMU Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO L 10–28 September 13 SEC UTEP Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX L 10–27 September 20 SEC Sam Houston Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX L 0–55 November 15 SEC New Mexico State Tennessee Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN L 9–42 November 22 ACC Delaware Wake Forest Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium • Winston-Salem, NC L 14–52 November 22 SEC Western Kentucky LSU Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA L 10–13
Conference USA vs other FBS matchups The following games include Conference USA teams competing against teams from the American, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12 or Sun Belt.
Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score August 29 Mountain West UNLV Sam Houston Shell Energy Stadium • Houston, TX L 21–38 August 30 Mountain West UTEP Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT L 16–28 September 6 Sun Belt Missouri State Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV W 21–20 September 6 American Tulsa New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM W 21–14 September 6 Mountain West Sam Houston Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI L 20–37 September 6 MAC Western Kentucky Toledo Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH L 21–45 September 13 American Florida Atlantic FIU Pitbull Stadium • Miami, FL W 38–28 September 13 Sun Belt Jacksonville State Georgia Southern Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 34–41 September 13 MAC Liberty Bowling Green Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH L 13–23 September 13 Mountain West Middle Tennessee Nevada Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV W 14–13 September 20 Sun Belt Arkansas State Kennesaw State Fifth Third Stadium • Kennesaw, GA W 28–21 September 20 Sun Belt James Madison Liberty Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA L 13–31 September 20 Sun Belt Southern Miss Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA W 30–20 September 20 Sun Belt Marshall Middle Tennessee ohnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN L 28–42 September 20 Sun Belt Louisiana–Monroe UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX L 25–31 September 20 Mountain West Nevada Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY W 31–16 September 27 Sun Belt Jacksonville State Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS L 25–42 September 27 Sun Belt Liberty Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA L 7–21 September 27 Mountain West New Mexico State New Mexico University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM L 20–38 November 8 Pac-12 Sam Houston Oregon State Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR W 21–17 November 15 Pac-12 Louisiana Tech Washington State Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA L 3–28
Conference USA vs FBS independents matchups The following games include Conference USA teams competing against FBS Independents, which only includes UConn for 2025.
Date Visitor Home Site Score September 13 UConn Delaware Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE W 44–41 (OT) October 4 FIU UConn Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT L 10–51
Conference USA vs. FCS matchups The following games include Conference USA teams competing against FCS schools.
Date Visitor Home Site Score August 28 Delaware State Delaware Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE W 35–17 August 29 Bethune–Cookman FIU Pitbull Stadium • Miami, FL W 42–9 August 30 Maine Liberty Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA W 28–7 August 30 Southeastern Louisiana Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA W 24–0 August 30 Austin Peay Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN L 14–34 August 30 Bryant New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM W 19–3 August 30 North Alabama Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY W 55–6 September 6 UT Martin UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX W 42–17 September 13 Merrimack Kennesaw State Fifth Third Stadium • Kennesaw, GA W 27–13 September 20 Murray State Jacksonville State AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, AL W 45–10 September 20 UT Martin Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO W 42–10
Awards and honors Player of the week honors