Everything about Metro Conference totally explained
The
Metropolitan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the
Metro Conference, was an
NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because all of its charter members were in
urban metropolitan areas in, or at least on the fringes of, the
Southern United States. The conference never sponsored
football, although most of its members throughout its history had Division I-A football programs. In
1995 it merged with the
Great Midwest Conference to form
Conference USA. The merger was driven mainly by football, as several Metro Conference members had been successfully lured to larger conferences that sponsored the sport.
The conference was popularly known as the "Metro 6" during its first season, then as the "Metro 7" during the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s. For most of its existence, it was considered a "major" conference.
In
1978, Georgia Tech left the Metro for the
Atlantic Coast Conference. In
1991, Florida State joined the ACC, and then South Carolina joined the
Southeastern Conference. However, South Carolina rejoined the Metro for 1993 and 1994 men's soccer seasons in that sport only, because the SEC doesn't offer the sport for men. Charter members Cincinnati and Memphis State also left the conference in 1991 to become charter members of the Great Midwest. To replace them, three of the stronger schools from the
Sun Belt Conference shifted to the Metro.
In
1993, the Metro and Great Midwest conferences began reunification talks that led to the creation of C-USA. The
Virginia schools, however, were not interested in the merger, and in fact filed a lawsuit in order to prevent the merger from happening. In 1995, Virginia Tech, banking on an invitation to join the
Big East Conference in all sports other than football (which didn't happen until 2000), were left behind by the reunification that led to Conference USA, and ended up in the
Atlantic 10 Conference (they are now in the
Atlantic Coast Conference). Meanwhile, VCU joined the
Colonial Athletic Association where it continues to be a member. Great Midwest member
Dayton, intrigued by the prospect of playing against
Xavier, also opted to join the Atlantic 10. South Carolina also wasn't permitted to participate in the reunified conference for men's soccer, although they were permitted to rejoin ten years later, after which they also brought Kentucky (the other men's soccer-playing SEC school) to C-USA.
Membership
Charter Members
Later Joined
Florida State (1976-91)
Virginia Tech (1979-95)
Southern Miss (1982-95)*
South Carolina (1983-91, 1993-94 men's soccer only) *MS
Joined after Conference Split
UNC Charlotte (1991-95)**
South Florida (1991-95)**
Virginia Commonwealth (1991-95)
* School remains in the reunified Conference USA.
** School was charter member of Conference USA, but has since left for another conference.
Championships
Metro Conference men's basketball tournament locationsFurther Information
Get more info on 'Metro Conference'.
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