2017 Conference USA Football Championship Game
The 2017 Conference USA Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 2, 2017, at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, and determined the 2017 football champion of Conference USA. The game was played between Florida Atlantic Owls football team|Florida Atlantic], the East Division champion, and North Texas [Mean Green">2017 North Texas Mean Green football team">North Texas [Mean Green football team|North Texas], the West Division champion. The title sponsor was Dynacraft BSC.
In the 2016 [Conference USA Football Championship Game|2016 championship game], hosted by WKU, the Hilltoppers had defeated Louisiana Tech 58–44. The 2017 championship game was the 13th game in the championship series and was won by Florida Atlantic, 41–17.
Teams
North Texas Mean Green
North Texas secured its spot in the title game on November 11 with a decisive 45–10 victory over UTEP.Florida Atlantic Owls
Florida Atlantic clinched the East division on November 18 after defeating rivals FIU 52-24 in the Shula Bowl. The win also guaranteed that the Owls would host the championship game. At the time, FAU held a 7–0 record in Conference USA play, while North Texas stood at 6–1, with both teams having one conference game remaining. Even if FAU lost and North Texas won, resulting in a tie, the Owls held the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to their regular-season victory over the Mean Green.Aftermath
North Texas advanced to the 2017 New Orleans Bowl, where they were defeated by Troy. Florida Atlantic participated in the Boca Raton Bowl">Boca Raton, Florida">Boca Raton Bowl, securing a victory over Akron.If the winner of the C-USA Championship Game was one of the highest in the rankings of the "Group of Five" conferences, the team could have been placed in the College Football Playoff or a "New Year's Six" bowl. Otherwise, the conference champion would supposedly choose which game to attend, from those with ties to the conference. However, FAU athletic director Pat Chun said that FAU did not choose the Boca Raton Bowl, but that FAU was told where to go by the conference.