Does anyone have any idea what the backup plan was for CUSA if they would have lost Houston and Tulane to the WAC?

CUSA would have been left barebones with

Charlotte
St. Louis
ECU
Memphis
UAB
Southern Miss

Since ECU did not join until 2001 and the movement would have happened in 2005, they would have had to get a 1 year waver until ECU met the 5 year rule in 2006 or else they would have really been screwed.

That being said, Charlotte and St. Louis would not have been sent off to the A10. So, who would CUSA have rebuilt the conference with?

UCF and Marshall would have obviously still been added, but you need at least 3 more football schools? Anyone have any ideas about who would have been called up?

Here is what I would have done...but I have the benefit of hindsight.

After adding UCF and Marshall I would have added, Western Kentucky (who did not play football at the time but is a very solid basketball pickup), Middle Tennessee St., and both FAU and FIU. That would give you a much more geographic friendly conference and would have given a 9 football, 12 all sports split...which is not a bad setup. Football would be a round robin w/ no championship game and basketball would be split into east-west divisions.

East
Marshall
Charlotte
ECU
UCF
FIU
FAU

West
St. Louis
Memphis
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee St.
UAB
Southern Miss

This would also allow for WKU and Charlotte to have a place to start their football programs just like the real world.

Other football options (Alternate Universe Sunbelt Schools)
ULL
ULM
Ark. St
North Texas
Troy
Utah St.
New Mexico St.
Idaho

also Temple was out there but their program was in shambles at the time.

I almost like this better than how things turned out

The Sun Belt would have looked like this (*non football member):

*South Alabama (football member in 2013)
Troy (joined in 2005)
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
*New Orleans
Arkansas State
*Arkansas-Little Rock
North Texas
*Denver
^New Mexico State
^Utah State (football only)
^Idaho (football only)

^Since Houston and Tulane were presumed to have moved to the WAC, the real question would be whether Tulsa, SMU, Rice, and UTEP would choose the Sun Belt over the WAC. New Mexico State, Utah State, and Idaho would join the WAC in 2005, although that was the result of schools joining Conference USA.

I could see Tulsa in a football-only arrangement with the rest of their sports in the Missouri Valley (of which Tulsa was a former member) or the Mid-Continent (now the Summit), alongside Oral Roberts, Centenary, and UMKC. UTEP would probably pass. SMU and Rice would be the question marks.

If St. Louis eventually joined another conference, you'd have to figure that either Louisiana Tech, Troy, or South Alabama gets the last spot in Conference USA. Even if USA moves up the start of its football program nearly a decade, UAB and Southern Miss would probably block them. Louisiana Tech would now be on the western edge of the Conference USA footprint, and the Florida schools would probably move to block Troy since Troy recruits