Tulane qualified for its first-ever College Football Playoff in 2025 after winning the American Athletic Conference and finishing the season with an 11–2 record.
Tulane was the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion in the 12-team playoff and earned the No. 11 seed. The Green Wave became the third non-power-conference team to make the field in the 12-team playoff era, joining 2024’s Boise State and 2025’s James Madison.
A school with a prominent culture and a strong academic reputation, Tulane often punches well above its weight class from an athletics standpoint.
With that in mind, let’s take a deeper look at Tulane University as a school, including the location of its campus.
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Where is Tulane located?
Tulane is located in New Orleans, La. It was founded in 1834 as Medical College of Louisiana, but became private under the endowments of Paul Tulane and Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1884 and 1887. It became known as Tulane University in 1884.
The school remains a private research university, with a total enrollment of 14,378 students, as of Fall 2025.
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What conference is Tulane in?
Tulane has been a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) since 2014. Previously, it was a member of the Conference-USA from 1996-2013, previously playing as an independent.
From 1933-1965, the Green Wave actually played in the Southeastern Conference.
The Green Wave have won the AAC twice in recent years—in 2022 under former head coach Willie Fritz and this season under Sumrall.
Tulane name origin
Tulane is named after Paul Tulane, who is originally from Princeton, N.J. Here's more on Paul's connection to the university, dating back to 1884 via the school:
By 1847, the Medical College of Louisiana was a newly established public institution, the University of Louisiana. But in 1884, wealthy merchant Paul Tulane, a native of Princeton, N.J., wanted to express his appreciation for the city that made him his fortune. He donated more than $1 million in land, cash and securities. His generous gift transformed the University of Louisiana into Tulane University. In 1886, the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College was established as Tulane’s co-ordinate college for women.
More than 180 years later, Tulane University has become one of the most respected educational and research institutions in the country. Tulane is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, a select group of the 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada with “preeminent programs of graduate and professional education and scholarly research.”
Tulane also is ranked by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a university with “very high research activity.” Of more than 4,300 higher educational institutions rated by the foundation, Tulane remains in a prestigious category that includes only two percent of universities nationwide.
Tulane College Football Playoff history
2025 marked Tulane's first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. But the Green Wave are no stranger to being ranked by the CFP.
Tulane ranked as high as 16th to close out the 2022 season, and ranked 17th in late November last season. Although Tulane finished 2025 ranked 20th, but the Green Wave ultimately earned the No. 12 seed as one of the highest-ranked conference champions.
The Green Wave are 7-10 all-time in bowl appearances, but have a couple of major bowl victories like winning the Sugar Bowl over Temple in 1934, and Tulane's Cotton Bowl win over USC in 2022.