Let's review.
In 1996, Conference USA began sponsoring football with a lineup of Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss and Tulane. It added East Carolina in 1997, then Army in 1998 and UAB in 1999. TCU, bailing on the WAC, joined in 2001. Non-football member USF picked up the sport in 2003.
In 2005 came the first of three total regeneration efforts. Cincinnati, Louisville and USF left for the Big East, Army went back to being independent, and TCU bailed for the Mountain West; so aboard came Marshall, Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UCF and UTEP. The center actually held for a moment, but realignment never really stops for long.