Conference USA will add Missouri State as a full conference member on July 1, 2025, the conference announced Friday.

The move will grow CUSA to 12 members in 2025, including the additions of Kennesaw State this summer and Delaware next year. It will also grow the Football Bowl Subdivision to 136 members.

“The institution boasts a great tradition in athletics and academics that will strengthen and further position our membership for long term success in the national landscape,” commissioner Judy MacLeod said in a statement. “We look forward to our partnership with President Clif Smart, incoming President Dr. Biff Williams, Director of Athletics Kyle Moats, and their entire leadership team.”

Missouri State has finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Trophy for three consecutive years. The football program is coming off a 4-7 season under first-year coach Ryan Beard, but the Bears reached the FCS playoffs with consecutive top-15 finishes under Bobby Petrino in 2020 and 2021. The men’s basketball team last reached the NCAA Tournament in 1999. The women’s basketball team reached two Final Fours in 1992 and 2001.

CUSA has been in expansion mode since late 2021, when the trickle-down effect of Texas and Oklahoma’s announced move to the SEC saw CUSA…

(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)

The past week in basketball has brought an ungodly amount of upsets, including the upheaval of the top 10 this past weekend. The Pac-12 is doing everything in its power to fight, claw and scrap and make the final season of play as memorable as possible. The ACC is about as predictable as a random number generator.

With the reveal of the latest Top 16 from the selection committee on Thursday, we continue to gain more clarity for the top tournament seeds, while simultaneously dropping the floor as we lower the ceiling.

The number of games to make a splash on your resume dwindles; some teams are done playing and awaiting their conference tournament. So much of this time of year is a waiting game, hoping the chips fall your way as another team runs into a 2-3 matchup zone it wasn’t ready for.

What teams stand out throughout our Bubble Watch, causing eyebrows to raise for their current exploits or questions that arise due to late-season lulls?

ACC

Locks:

Virginia Tech,

Syracuse,

Louisville,

North Carolina State,…