College basketball conference realignment: Top 10 moves in Men's basketball arena ahead of the 2023–24 season

July 1 marked the deadline for programs that are moving to different conferences. Conference realignment has become a familiar headline for fans of college sports and programs move for a myriad of reasons.

There will be a lot of movement next year between the Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC, and Big 12 with several elite programs moving around.

The American Athletic Conference (AAC) is reeling from the loss of four programs to the Big 12, including Houston, the UCF Knights, BYU, and the Cincinnati Bearcats. The loss of these programs will greatly diminish the luster of the league.

In response, the AAC has brought in UTSA, UAB, Rice, North Texas, and the FAU (Florida Atlantic) Owls to replace the outgoing teams.

An in-depth look at the teams affected by conference realignments

There are 20 programs in all divisions moving conferences but the following are the biggest movers in this year's realignments:

#10. Rice

The Rice Owls have officially left the Conference USA (now CUSA) as part of a six-team migration to join the depleted AAC.

#9. UTSA

UTSA will get bigger national coverage by joining the AAC and now help to make up the 15-team conference.

#8. UAB

The University of Alabama Blazers are joining the AAC from CUSA where they had a 29-10 record last season.

#7. North Texas

The Mean Green has a consistent record in CUSA of winning eighteen or more games for the past six years. They beat UAB to win their first-ever NIT title last season. On July 1, the UNT joined the AAC.

#6. Charlotte

The 49ers joined CUSA in 2013 and alongside their recent move to the AAC, they also got the good news that Dishon Jackson, a transfer from Washington State, withdrew from the transfer portal.

#5. FAU

The Florida Atlantic Owls were one of the fairytale stories of the NCAA tournament last season. They made it in after 21 years in the cold and reached the Final Four.

They left behind several famous wins including the ones against Tennessee and Kansas State. They have joined the AAC.

#4. UCF Knights

The Knights have been in the AAC since 2013 before this move to the Big 12. They were eliminated in the second round of last season's NIT.

#3. BYU Cougars

The Cougars have been independent since 2011 and under coach Mark Pope, hold an 87-41 record and he even led them to the NCAA tournament two years ago. They officially joined the Big 12.

#2. Cincinnati

The Bearcats are moving from the AAC to the Big 12 and they marked the occasion with a celebration at the Rhinegeist Brewery.

#1. Houston

Houston are probably the biggest program impacted by this realignment to the Big 12. They have had to deal with the loss of Marcus Sasser, who was chosen with the No. 25 pick by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Coach Kelvin Sampson has been active in the transfer portal, adding guard Damian Dunn from Temple and LJ Cryer from Baylor. The returns of J'Wan Roberts and Jamal Shead will also boost the roster.