Conference USA

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364021594
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Dallas, TX, USA
Phone
2147741300
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$51,751,187
Expenses
$52,816,756
Assets
$22,131,810
Liabilities
$5,660,217

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JUDY MACLEOD (COMMISSIONER): $1,393,155 total reported compensation
  • DR KENNETH JESSELL (BOARD MEMBER): $1,211,945 total reported compensation
  • DR DONDI COSTIN (BOARD MEMBER): $1,127,660 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Conference USA is an NCAA Division I athletic conference that provides competitive intercollegiate sports opportunities for its member institutions and student-athletes.

What it reported doing in 2024

All conference USA (the conference) institutions sponsor fbs football, along with several other men's and women's athletic programs. The conference sponsors competition in 19 sports - eight for men (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis and indoor and outdoor track and field) and eleven for women (basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, softball, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, beach volleyball and volleyball).

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 75% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 81% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 32
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.3%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.6%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $51.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.4M · 17 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $708K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 19 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.