Birmingham, AL (WIAT) UAB's biggest rival in sports in recent years has been Memphis. They compete every year for the Battle of the Bones, a trophy of ribs made by an artist here in Birmingham. But that rivalry is in jeopardy according to Brett McMurphy at cbssports.com. Memphis, according to McMurphy, is under negotiations to be in the Big East conference as soon as 2013. They will be joining Houston, SMU, and UCF as the other teams bolting for the higher profile conference. 

Who's left for UAB to play in Conference USA? The teams left would be East Carolina, Marshall, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, and UTEP. The other possibility is that the conference would merge with the Mountain West Conference, according to reports.