Conference USA Launches Massive Rebranding Effort by Futurebrand

Conference USA’s (CUSA) positioning is topical because it was the largest reshaping of a conference since the Big East split in half and became the American Athletic Conference. As we are heading into the Fall season, college sports will be front and centre, and all eyes will be on the success of CUSA’s new era.

Among the wave of conference realignments Conference USA (CUSA) was arguably the most challenging. With teams leaving and new teams joining the league, CUSA was at a critical juncture. They needed to rebuild their image and reputation as much as they needed to bring in new schools. CUSA engaged IPG brand transformation company FutureBrand to lead the rebranding effort, along with fellow IPG agency Octagon, who negotiated the media rights for the 2023-24 season.

CUSA has been viewed as a random grouping of schools without a collective identity for years. There were 14 football-playing schools last year. It went to 11 after Marshall, Southern Miss and Old Dominion moved to leave early for the Sun Belt, leaving CUSA with only nine schools. Only five of those 14 will remain — Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, FIU and UTEP— and four new members will join next year: Liberty, New Mexico State, Sam Houston and Jacksonville State. 

FutureBrand led the rebranding, and fellow IPG agency Octagon handled the media rights for the 2023-24 season. This was no ordinary branding assignment, so they knew there had to be bold moves. One was moving the games to midweeks in October.  This was a drastic schedule change, but one that would maximise exposure and make it easier for loyal fans to find the games. This was part of an overall strategy for how CUSA will win back their reputation and allow the league to prove their value over time. Still getting everyone on board would be no easy task. FutureBrand needed to go deep and wide to engage the entire conference community—fans to alumni to coaches and others—to show how these moves would lead CUSA into a new era, called  “The Next Level.” A new tagline fuels a renewed spirit, “No limits on us.”