Army will begin conference play in 1998, giving the league eight teams. Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Mississippi and Tulane are the current members, with East Carolina to begin play this fall.
"This is an exciting day," Army coach Bob Sutton said. "From a football aspect, we recognize that it will be a great challenge for us. We've played East Carolina before, we've played Louisville before, so we know the competition that we will be involved in. The challenge for us is to be able to do that week after week."
There is one caveat: Army can withdraw from the conference in case of a national emergency.
The change, effective immediately, comes after more than a year of discussions. But the final decision came easily.
"We chatted on Friday, and it took about 30 seconds to get the vote," said Dr. Joseph Steger, chairman of the board of directors for Conference USA. "You must understand that to get presidents to unanimously do anything is a miracle. All of the colleges and universities are looking forward to this. I think it's natural."
The move leaves Navy as the only service academy without a conference affiliation - Air Force is in the Western Athletic Conference. And it comes after one of Army's most memorable seasons. The Black Knights were 10-2 last year, losing only to Syracuse during the regular season and Auburn in the Independence Bowl.
It was the first postseason appearance for the Black Knights since they suffered a 29-28 loss to Alabama in the 1988 Sun Bowl.
The Army brass said it hoped that joining Conference USA would boost the university's exposure and its chances of playing in the postseason. The conference champion gets an automatic berth in the Liberty Bowl, and Conference USA commissioner Michael Slive said discussions were under way for the conference to participate in other bowls.
Lt. Gen. Daniel Christman, superintendent of the academy, said he realized the move is significant for West Point and many of its alumni. But he said that joining Conference USA would create enormous opportunity.
"It will allow us to take the Army team to the heartland of America's Army," Christman said. "We will play all of our games away from Michie Stadium within a half-day's drive of many of the major installations of this great Army.
Soldiers will have the chance to cheer, chant and maybe even chest-pump for the great old Army team."
Christman said the university sought feedback from its graduates and got plenty of it, most in favor of the move.