The University of Texas at San Antonio board of regents has officially given the university the power to seek admittance into other athletic conferences, and to accept an invite from Conference USA should that come. The BOR has been planning a major press conference for late next week, and the agenda for that press conference has been released. Here's a piece of that release:
"The Chancellor concurs in the recommendation of the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs ad interim, the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel, and President Romo that authorization be granted to The University of Texas at San Antonio to accept an invitation from Conference USA (CUSA) to become a member, and to negotiate and finalize terms for athletic conference membership. Approval of U. T. San Antonio’s entrance in CUSA also includes approval of admittance to the potential new conference."
Now, as far as I know, there has been no official invite, but one is widely thought to be in works. Conference USA will lose member schools SMU, Houston, UCF, and Memphis to the Big East after next year, so expansion is necessary. Along with an invite for UTSA, it is also believed that Florida International, Louisiana Tech, and North Texas, among others are candidates for C-USA expansion. That could open the door for UTEP to shift west and join the Mountain West Conference, along with other schools like Utah State and San Jose State. While nothing is set in stone, a mass expansion seems almost a certainty. More to come as it becomes available.