Delaware and Missouri State officially joined Conference USA on Tuesday, giving the league 11 long-term members. With the additions, the FBS ballooned to 136 teams, the most in history. Five members of Conference USA have moved to the FBS level since 2023.
Both programs were competitive at the FCS level and earned playoff appearances multiple times in the past five years. Now, the focus moves to trying to reach the FBS level before a proverbial door closes.
As first-year FBS teams, both programs will be ineligible for the postseason in 2025 as they undergo a transitional season. In 2022, FCS transitioner James Madison similarly faced the barrier, which made them unable to win the Sun Belt or compete for a New Year’s Six bowl. After some initial threats of legal action, JMU ultimately accepted its station.
Texas State to join Pac-12: Why the Bobcats are a perfect fit, even 1,100 miles from the Pacific Ocean
Shehan Jeyarajah
Both Delaware and Missouri State have high expectations entering Conference USA in 2025, but here’s what you need to know about each school on their first day among the FBS ranks.
Delaware Blue Hens
Head coach: Ryan Carty (26-11 in four seasons, all at Delaware)
2024 results: 9-2, 6-2 Coastal Athletic Association
Program resume: 739-485-44 record, 6 national championships (5 D-II, 1 FCS), 24 playoff appearances, 26-18 record, 17 conference titles, 3 College Football Hall of Famers
Notable alumni: Joe and Jill Biden, Joe Flacco, Chris Christie, Elena Delle Donne, Rich Gannon, Jeff Pearlman
Delaware has established itself as one of the great programs in the Northeast at the sub-FBS level. Legendary coach Tubby Raymond defined the program for decades, coaching from 1966-2001 and winning 300 career games with three Division-II equivalent national titles.
However, the program proved they were capable of even more in Division I when K.C. Keeler took over in 2002. One year later, Keeler led the program to its lone FCS national title and later brought them back to the title game twice.
Recently, Delaware decided to go back to the Keeler tree and bring in a bright young offensive coach. Carty played quarterback at Delaware and was a backup on separate occasions to both Joe Flacco and on the 2003 national championship team. Carty was offensive coordinator on Keeler’s Sam Houston title team before earning the head coaching job at his alma mater in 2022.
Carty led Delaware to playoff wins each of his first two seasons before Delaware became ineligible for the FCS postseason in 2024. The Blue Hens split time between three quarterbacks, and two are back. More importantly, Delaware ranks No. 4 nationally in returning defensive production, setting up a potential quick flip.
“Joining Conference USA gives us the opportunity to broaden our exposure, create visibility and let everyone know how special UD is as a flagship institution in the state,” Delaware athletic director Jordan Skolnick said. “Now is the right moment for a lot of reasons. This step up in competition for us is so exciting to our coaches and our student-athletes.”
Delaware quickly becomes one of the most Northeastern programs in FBS. Located between Baltimore and Philadelphia, it passes Liberty for the most northern program in Conference USA. Securing recruiting grounds will be a top priority for the program as it moves up, but the legacy and tradition of the program should help carry them into a new era.
Missouri State Bears
Head coach: Ryan Beard (12-11 in two seasons, all at Missouri State)
2024 results: 8-4, 6-2 Missouri Valley Conference
Program resume: 492-532-39 record, 10 conference championships, 5 playoff appearances, 1-4 record
Notable alumni: John Goodman, Ryan Howard, Jackie Stiles, Clay Harbor, David Glass
Located in the center of Springfield, Missouri, the university was known as Southwest Missouri State until 2005. Like Delaware, the Bears played much of their formative history at the Division II level before moving up to I-AA in 1981 and later helping to found the predecessor to the powerhouse Missouri Valley Conference.
Missouri State has struggled to compete consistently at the highest level and has captured just one outright conference title since moving to FCS (1989). However, the institutional commitment has remained as the state demands a competitive program. The program has invested serious money into elevating facilities for this moment.
“This is an opportunity that our fanbase has been clamoring for for some time,” Missouri State athletic director Patrick Ransdell said. “There’s been so much build up for today. Everyone around campus is excited. I hope this is a good platform for the overall university to grow. More than anything, I hope this allows the institution to achieve its full potential as a nationally relevant university. This is the first step in that.”
In 2020, Missouri State famously hired Bobby Petrino as its head coach. Petrino had modest success, reaching two FCS Playoff appearances in three years before leaving to take the offensive coordinator job at Texas A&M. In his place, Missouri State promoted Beard, who is notably Petrino’s son-in-law. Beard coached all over the country as a secondary and special teams coach before getting his shot at Missouri State.
Star quarterback Jacob Clark is back after throwing for 3,604 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2024, and he has several of his top weapons. In their lone game against FBS competition, Missouri State gave Ball State a scare in a 42-34 loss. Returning wide receiver Jmariyae Robinson posted a 100-yard game in the performance.
Missouri State faces College Football Playoff contenders USC and SMU this season, and has a road trip to Marshall, likely setting up an 0-3 start. Surviving the early onslaught will be key or Missouri State could go off the rails.
Read the full article here