After losing 3 top hoop teams, CUSA invites new schools

CHICAGO -- Conference USA added five new schools on Tuesday, responding swiftly to the departure of three of its top basketball programs to the expanded Big East.\nRice, Southern Methodist and Tulsa agreed to leave the Western Athletic Conference for Conference USA. The league also added Marshall and Central Florida from the Mid-American Conference.\nThe schools will join Conference USA on July 1, 2005.\nThe announcement came shortly after the Big East officially extended invitations to Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette, DePaul and South Florida. The Big East acted after losing Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to the ACC.\n"While we clearly would have preferred that no Big East expansion occur, that expectation was unrealistic given the actions of the ACC," commissioner Britton Banowsky said. "We are excited about the opportunity to strengthen the conference and feel C-USA has the potential to be better in many ways."\nConference USA lost three of its strongest basketball programs in the reshuffling. Marquette made the Final Four last year, and Cincinnati and Louisville both made the NCAA tournament.\nThe change also leaves Saint Louis and Charlotte as the only non-football school in Conference USA -- and Banowsky said they could be the next to leave.\n"We hope this concludes the restructuring but realize that there may be more change," he said.