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C-USA Once Again in Transition
Published: 7/25/2012 3:57 PM
Last Modified: 7/25/2012 3:57 PM

Conference USA has only two experienced quarterbacks and five new coaches.
This is a transition season for Conference USA, a year ahead of a major transition, as C-USA figures to be more unsettled than ever this fall in football.
This is C-USA’s final year as a 12-team league. By next fall, SMU, Houston, Memphis and UCF will be gone to the Big East. C-USA plans to add North Texas, UTSA, Louisiana Tech, North Carolina-Charlotte, Florida International and Old Dominion over the next three years.
But, for one more season, Tulsa figures be a serious contender in a league that does not appear to have a clear cut favorite.
Tulsa is pretty much like the rest of the league. It does have one of the experienced coaches, Bill Blankenship is in his second season, but the Golden Hurricane has a new quarterback.
Southern Miss and Houston, the two teams that played in the championship game last year, have both new coaches and new quarterbacks.
This is the year that something unexpected could certainly happen.
It is a good year for a couple of former Tulsa high school stars, Garrick McGee (Booker T. Washington) and Justin Fuente (Union), who are making their head coach debuts in Conference USA.
McGee takes over at UAB, where the Blazers are still trying to build football in a state already dominated by two super powers - Alabama and Auburn - in college football.
Fuente will try to bring back Memphis football after three difficult season (five victories in three years).
McGee, the former offensive coordinator at Arkansas, has long been rumored on coach searches, including Tulsa just 18 months ago. Fuente was the successful offensive coordinator at TCU before being lured to Memphis.
Thus, the interest in Conference USA should spike this season as the Golden Hurricane, and a couple of rising coaching stars from Tulsa, try to grab the final C-USA title in the league’s final season with 12 teams.



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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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