In 1993 , the Metro and Great Midwest conferences began reunification talks that led to the creation of C-USA . However , the Virginia schools filed a lawsuit in order to prevent the merger from happening , which ultimately failed . VCU joined the Colonial Athletic Association . Virginia Tech ( who was banking on an invitation to join the Big East Conference ) was left out of Conference USA , and joined the Atlantic 10 Conference ( it later joined the Big East in 2000 and is now in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 2004 ) . It was joined by Great Midwest member Dayton , who was intrigued by the prospect of playing against regional rival Xavier
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Metro Conference