Other remaining members are Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, Louisiana Tech, San Jose State and Texas-El Paso.

In a statement, Rice president Malcolm Gillis said the school's board of trustees gave him permission to sign the membership agreement with Conference USA.

Tulsa president Bob Lawless said in a statement that the school's Board of Trustees "has authorized this proposed change in conference membership. We anticipate having a formal announcement with Conference USA regarding its membership realignment in the near future."

Gillis said in the league's new expected configuration, Rice, Southern Methodist and Tulsa would join current members Texas Christian, Houston and Tulane to form a western division of CUSA.

Officials from Rice and Tulsa have said that the travel burdens of the 10-team WAC, the nation's most geographic dispersed conference, and the potential for better revenues and rivalries prompted their interest in CUSA.

CUSA is repositioning itself as it braces for the expected departure of Big East-bound Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and DePaul.

SMU athletic director Brad Sutton had no immediate comment yesterday.

WAC commissioner Karl Benson said he was disappointed the schools were leaving but understood why.

"The central time zone division was important to Rice, SMU and Tulsa and it was something that I was hoping to be able to accomplish under the WAC banner," he told KRIV-TV in Houston. "Obviously the WAC was not successful in doing that."

Marshall officials said Wednesday they were expecting an invitation to join Conference USA, which loses Army as a football member after this season.

The other Conference USA members are Southern Mississippi, UAB, Memphis, South Florida and East Carolina.

UH athletic director Herman Frazier and UH-Manoa chancellor Peter Englert have been in contact with Benson and, "at this point, we are assessing the situation and keeping our options open in the best interests of the university," Frazier said upon arriving in Louisiana last night.

In the meantime, Benson said he has been contacted by "a couple" schools he declined to name about the possibility of WAC membership.

The schools are believed to be Utah State and New Mexico State.

A 10-team WAC expanded to 16 teams for the 1996-97 academic year, but half of the schools — Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah and Wyoming — left after the 1998-99 year to form the Mountain West Conference.

Texas Christian bolted after 2000-01 to join CUSA and SMU at the time was rebuffed in its attempts to follow in TCU's footsteps.