Middle Tennessee linebacker T.T. Barber (38) celebrates an interception during the first half of a college football game against South Alabama Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. Middle Tennessee joined Conference USA today along with 7 other member institutions. (Mike Kittrell/mkittrell@al.com)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Before midnight,

started sending farewell messages to its departing members. This morning, the conference is sending welcome messages to its new ones.

But at midnight, depending on what time zone you're in, Conference USA officially changed in a big way. Obviously this news has been well-known, and we'll have a similar shift on July 1, 2014.

Gone are Memphis, Houston, UCF and SMU to the American Athletic Conference. In are Florida Atlantic, Florida International, UTSA (Texas-San Antonio), Louisiana Tech, North Texas, Middle Tennessee State, Old Dominion and Charlotte.

ODU and Charlotte begin play in all sports except football this year.

***Middle Tennessee

was courted by Conference USA in November and accepted an invite then. Not long after the Blue Raiders went 8-4 but were left out of a bowl game, the process accelerated and instead of coming in 2014, MTSU and FAU were able to join now.

This is something that MTSU has been hoping for a long time,

. MTSU has won the Sun Belt's Bubas Cup the last five years and 9 of the last 13, and

should be very competitive

at least in football and men's and women's basketball.

***

for trips to, well, places like Hattiesburg, Huntington, El Paso and of course Birmingham. FAU Owl Access writes how the move gives fans a reason to believe the program is moving forward.

***

and breaks down new Conference USA for FIU fans.

***Louisiana Tech makes the jump from the WAC

***

on Old Dominion's move up from FBS, which started to take place in April 2012. ODU is playing an FBS schedule, but will not be eligible for Conference USA football until 2014.

***Charlotte rejoins Conference USA after a stretch in the Atlantic 10. Charlotte begins playing football in 2015.

***

.

What does it mean for UAB? Football-wise, it gets much easier this year. Trade out UCF, Houston and Memphis (0-3, outscored 134-50) for a schedule that includes a very new football program in UTSA plus Sun Belt bottom-dwellers FAU and FIU.

Basketball loses its power in Memphis, but brings in some new teams of quality. The hope is that enough conference teams show out well enough in non-conference play to get the league more than one bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Baseball keeps power Rice, adds regional teams UTSA and FAU and should remain a solid league.

Next year, Western Kentucky joins while East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa depart.