July 19, 2013
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico Men’s Soccer program is doing more than just preparing for a new season. They are also preparing for year one as an affiliate member of Conference USA after nearly two decades in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The move to C-USA means a lot to Lobo Soccer. It means bigger teams coming to the UNM Soccer Complex. It means a bigger impact on RPI, which affects NCAA Tournament seeding. It also means there’s a whole conference full of new opponents for Lobo fans to get acquainted with.
New Mexico is one of four new members to Conference USA Men’s Soccer, which also added Old Dominion (formerly of the Colonial Athletic Association) and Charlotte (formerly of the Atlantic 10). Those members, and the rest of Conference USA, are joined by two soccer-only schools whose full-time homes are located in the SEC in Kentucky and South Carolina.
School: Charlotte
Mascot: 49ers
Previous Conference: Atlantic-10 (Joined C-USA Soccer July 1, 2013)
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Enrollment: 25,280
Last Time They Faced The Lobos: N/A
Notes: The 49ers made their most recent splash by advancing to the championship of the 2011 NCAA Tournament where they lost to North Carolina. The 49ers lost to VCU in the semifinals of last year’s A-10 Tournament but still earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. There they defeated UAB before losing to eventual national champion runner-up Georgetown.
School: Florida Atlantic
Mascot: Owls
Previous Conference: MAC (Joined C-USA Soccer July 1, 2013)
Location: Boca Raton, Florida
Enrollment: 27,850
Last Time They Faced The Lobos: N/A
Notes: FAU is also beginning their first year as a Conference USA soccer member. The Owls had been playing their soccer in the Mid-American Conference since 2008, which has been dominated by national power Akron. Prior to the MAC, the Owls were a member of the Atlantic Sun conference where they won a conference championship. They are coached by Kos Donev who enters his 26th season at the helm of the program.
School: Florida International
Mascot: Panthers
Previous Conference: Sun Belt (Joined C-USA Soccer July 1, 2005)
Location: Miami, Florida
Enrollment: 50,400
Last Time They Faced The Lobos: 2001 NCAA Tournament (Lobos won 1-0)
Notes: Like New Mexico, FIU has a national championship appearance in their history. The Panthers went to the 1996 national championship, which they eventually lost to Saint John’s. Florida International has more recently made a slew of NCAA Tournament appearances from 2001 to 2004.
School: Kentucky
Mascot: Wildcats
Full-Time Conference: SEC (Joined C-USA Soccer July 1, 2005)
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
Enrollment: 28,100
Last Time They Faced The Lobos: N/A
Notes: Kentucky Soccer is a program on the rise. Head Coach Johan Cedergren took the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament last season in his first year as the head man. Their tournament appearance was UK’s first in nearly a decade. Like Marshall, Kentucky will also spend the 2013 season in a brand new stadium. The soccer program received a $7 million dollar renovation to the UK Soccer Complex.
School: Marshall
Mascot: Thundering Herd
Previous Conference: MAC (Joined C-USA Soccer July 1, 2005)
Location: Huntington, West Virginia
Enrollment: 13,450
Last Time They Faced The Lobos: 2002 Season (Lobos won 3-0)
Notes: The Herd are coached by Bob Gray who is third in the NCAA among active coaches in wins with 422. Marshall has never made a NCAA Tournament before, but they are historically a tough out. 2013 will mark the inaugural season for the Thundering Herd in their brand-new $5.4 million dollar soccer facility.
School: Old Dominion
Mascot: Monarchs
Previous Conference: Colonial Athletic Association (Joined C-USA Soccer July 1, 2013)
Location: Norfolk, Virginia
Enrollment: 24,750
Last Time They Faced The Lobos: N/A
Notes: ODU is rich in history and has been a serious power in the CAA for years. Head Coach Alan Dawson, whose entering his 17th season with Old Dominion, has guided the Monarchs to nine NCAA Tournaments in the past eleven seasons. Dawson was the Colonial’s Coach of the Year four times and coached Old Dominion to a pair of Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
School: South Carolina
Mascot: Gamecocks
Full-Time Conference: SEC (Joined C-USA Soccer July 1, 2005)
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Enrollment: 46,275
Last Time They Faced The Lobos: N/A
Notes: USC Soccer just celebrated their 35th season of existence in 2012 and Head Coach Mark Berson is still the only coach in the program’s history. Berson is the winnigest active coach in college soccer with 455 wins. In his 35 years in Columbia, Berson has 32 winning seasons, which includes 19 NCAA Tournament appearances.
School: Tulsa
Mascot: Golden Hurricane
Previous Conference: WAC (Joined C-USA Soccer July 1, 2005)
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Enrollment: 4,352
Last Time They Faced The Lobos: 2012 Season (Lobos Tulsa won 2-1)
Notes: Tulsa is UNM’s most commonly-faced opponent in Conference USA (13 all-time meetings). The last time the two faced, Tulsa snapped the Lobos’ 23-match unbeaten streak in the second match of the 2012 season. The Golden Hurricane finished the season with 14 overall wins, which was the most in the conference last year. Tulsa has gone to the NCAA Tournament seven times since 2003 and advanced to the Sweet 16 last season.
School: UAB
Mascot: Blazers
Previous Conference: UAB is an original member of Conference USA since its creation in 1995.
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Enrollment: 17,575
Last Time They Faced The Lobos: 2012 Season (Lobos won 2-0)
Notes: UAB, alongside Tulane and Southern Miss (neither of which are soccer members) are the only original C-USA schools still in the conference. While their history with their conference is long, their history with New Mexico is short. The Blazers were UNM’s home opener last season, which marked the first time the two programs ever met. UAB has been a power in Conference USA with six NCAA Tournament appearances to show for it.
Head Coach Jeremy Fishbein and the Lobos begin their season with a home exhibition on August 17th at 7 p.m. versus Grand Canyon. Their regular season opener is also at the UNM Soccer Complex with Villanova coming to town on Friday, August 30 at 7 p.m.