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Conference USA Football Championship Wiki Information
The Conference USA Football Championship
game is an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of Conference USA. From 1996–2004, the champion of Conference USA was determined by regular season record. In 2005, following the division of the conference into East and West Divisions, the conference began holding a championship game between the two division winners. The team with the better regular season record serves as the host team. This makes C-USA the only current FBS conference not to have their championship game at a neutral site. The first such game was played on December 3, 2005, between Tulsa and UCF. Tulsa won the first C-USA championship game 44–27. It was held at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
Each year, the game has been televised live on ESPN College Football. For 2006, the game was moved from Saturday afternoon to Friday night.
The winner of the C-USA Championship traditionally receives a berth to play in the Liberty Bowl. However, the Liberty Bowl is not contractually obligated to choose the game's winner. If a C-USA team finished undefeated and ranked in the top 12 of the BCS, it could receive an at-large bid to a BCS bowl. The loser of the C-USA championship game receives a bid in one of C-USA's six other bowl berths, typically the GMAC or the Hawaiʻi Bowl. [1]
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CONFERENCE USA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS
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Past winners
Conference USA Champions (1996-2004)
- AP final rankings shown, following bowl games
Season
| Champion(s)
| Conf. record
| Overall record
| Bowl result
|
1996
| Houston
| 4-1
| 7-5
| lost Liberty Bowl
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Southern Miss
| 4-1
| 8-3
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1997
| #22 Southern Miss
| 6-0
| 9-3
| won Liberty Bowl
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1998
| #7 Tulane
| 6-0
| 12-0
| won Liberty Bowl
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1999
| #14 Southern Miss
| 6-0
| 9-3
| won Liberty Bowl
|
2000
| Louisville
| 6-1
| 9-3
| lost Liberty Bowl
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2001
| #17 Louisville
| 6-1
| 11-2
| won Liberty Bowl
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2002
| #23 TCU
| 6-2
| 11-2
| won Liberty Bowl
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Cincinnati
| 6-2
| 7-7
| lost New Orleans Bowl
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2003
| Southern Miss
| 8-0
| 9-4
| lost Liberty Bowl
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2004
| #6 Louisville
| 8-0
| 11-1
| won Liberty Bowl
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Conference USA Championship Game (Since 2005)
Season
| Date
| West
| Score
| East
| Site
| Attendance
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2005
| December 3, 2005
| Tulsa
| 44-27
| UCF
| Citrus Bowl (Orlando)
| 51,978
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2006
| December 1, 2006
| Houston
| 34-20
| Southern Miss
| Robertson Stadium (Houston)
| 31,818
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2007
| December 1, 2007
| Tulsa
| 25-44
| UCF
| Bright House Networks Stadium (Orlando)
| 44,128
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2008
| December 6, 2008
| Tulsa
| 24-27
| East Carolina
| Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium (Tulsa)
| 22,740
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Game Notes
- The 2005 game was advertised as Conference USA Championship Presented by Xbox 360
. Following the victory, Tulsa received 3 votes in the AP Poll, but did not reach the top 25. Following a victory in the Liberty Bowl, Tulsa received 34 votes in the AP Poll, but still did not reach the top 25, ranking 27th overall.
- The 2006 game was advertised as Conference USA Championship Presented by Aéropostale
. Following the victory, Houston received 21 votes in the AP Poll, but did not reach the top 25, ranking 29th. Houston did not receive any votes in the final poll.
- The 2007 game was advertised as the Bright House Networks Conference USA Championship
. UCF's Kevin Smith rushed for 284 yards, bringing his season total to 2,448, which stands as the second-most single season rushing yards in NCAA history. Following the victory, UCF received 35 votes in the AP Poll, but did not reach the top 25, ranking 27th.
- Through 2008, no team entered or left the game ranked in any major poll.
Results by team
Appearances
| School
| W
| L
| Pct
| Notes
|
3
| Tulsa
| 1
| 2
| .3333
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|
2
| UCF
| 1
| 1
| .5000
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1
| East Carolina
| 1
| 0
| 1.000
|
|
1
| Houston
| 1
| 0
| 1.000
|
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1
| Southern Mississippi
| 0
| 1
| .000
|
|
0
| Marshall
| 0
| 0
| N/A
|
|
0
| Memphis
| 0
| 0
| N/A
|
|
0
| Rice
| 0
| 0
| N/A
|
|
0
| SMU
| 0
| 0
| N/A
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|
0
| Tulane
| 0
| 0
| N/A
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|
0
| UAB
| 0
| 0
| N/A
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|
0
| UTEP
| 0
| 0
| N/A
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MVPs
Season
| MVP
| Team
| Position
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2005
| Garrett Mills
| Tulsa
| TE
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2006
| Vincent Marshall
| Houston
| WR
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2007
| Kevin Smith
| Central Florida
| RB
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2008
| Travis Simmons
| ECU
| CB
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