 Cincinnati's decision was based on a new requirement that at least 5 conference football games would have to be scheduled each season, University President Raymond Walters saying they "...regretfully resign...as the university could not continue under the present setup..." 

The membership was steady for the next two decades except for the addition of Marshall University in 1954 and the departure of Western Reserve in 1955.Marshall was expelled from the conference in 1969 due to NCAA violations.The first major expansion since the 1950s took place in the mid-1970s with the addition of Central Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University in 1972 and Ball State University and Northern Illinois University in 1973.