Proud to be in the American
The dawn of a new chapter in the 121-year history of Tulane University Athletics begins today with the Green Wave"s official entrance into the American Athletic Conference, marking the sixth conference for Tulane since 1895.
Tulane Athletics sets sail into a new era with one of the most anticipated milestone events in school history. Green Wave teams will now play in some of the university"s largest alumni cities, will receive an unprecedented amount of television exposure with the American"s partnership with both the ESPN and CBS networks, and will compete among some of the nation"s top teams in conference play.
Along with Tulane, East Carolina and Tulsa also became official members of the American on July 1. The American will now be comprised of 11 member institutions: UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, USF, SMU, Temple, Tulane and Tulsa in 2014-15. Navy will join as a 12th football member in 2015.
“This is beginning of a new era for Tulane Athletics as we move into an exciting and vibrant league which demonstrated smashing successes in its inaugural year,” said Rick Dickson, athletics director. “The exposure and visibility it will bring to Tulane and our programs is unprecedented. Tulanians around the country will be able to follow Tulane sports like never before. Our student-athletes, coaches and staff have worked tirelessly for this opportunity and join with our fans everywhere in launching this new day.”
The move marks the end of a 19-year run for the Green Wave in Conference USA, where it won 41 league titles. Since its first season of sponsoring intercollegiate athletics in 1893, Tulane has been a part of six conferences, beginning with the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1895â“1921.
The Wave also was a member of the Southern Conference (1922â“32) and was a charter member of the Southeastern Conference (1933â“65), the Metro Conference (1975â“85 and 1989â“95) and Conference USA (1995â“2013).
Roger Dunaway is assistant athletics director for Green Wave Athletics Communication.
