The Mustangs participate in the NCAA Division I ( FBS for football ) as a member of the American Athletic Conference . SMU was the only private school in the conference when it began operation as The American in 2013 , but it was joined by Tulane and Tulsa a year later . From 1918 to 1996 , the Mustangs were a member of the Southwest Conference , until it formally disbanded . The Mustangs subsequently joined the Western Athletic Conference and in 2005 , SMU accepted an invitation to the Western Division of Conference USA . They accepted an invitation to join the Big East Conference , which split along football lines in 2013 , with SMU and the other FBS schools reorganizing as the American Athletic Conference
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
SMU Mustangs