Conference USA follows Sun Belt, AAC with '8 plus 4' football schedule

Late Friday afternoon, the Conference USA Board of Directors announced via an official statement that the league has approved a football schedule that includes eight conference games and up to four nonconference matchups.

The first conference games kick off no sooner than Sept. 12, with non-league contests left up to each member school. The championship game is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 5 but could be postponed "depending on the need to potentially reschedule regular-season games."

The Sun Belt Conference and American Athletic Conference previously unveiled similar "eight plus four" calendars for a campaign scheduled to begin amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, the Division III and Division II fall championships were canceled because of the uncontrolled virus outbreak. Earlier Friday, it was announced that the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) won't hold playoffs this fall.

FCS conferences remain open to repositioning seasons to the spring.