The university was a charter member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) , in which it competed until 1966 . Tulane , along with other academically-oriented , private schools had considered forming the Southern Ivy League ( a.k.a. Magnolia Conference ) in the 1950s . It joined the newly formed Conference USA in 1995 . In 2012 the university announced it would move to the Big East Conference ( later renamed the American Athletic Conference ) in all sports in July 2014
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Tulane Green Wave