Louisiana Tech returns to Sun Belt, sources state
The Sun Belt’s CEOs voted to invite Louisiana Tech as the league’s 14th member Monday early morning, sources told ESPN, providing the conference a replacement for Texas State.Louisiana Tech’s
entry date into the conference isn’t specific; the earliest is 2026. The entry date is anticipated to be found out over the next couple of weeks as Louisiana Tech exercises its departure from Conference U.S.A., which is expected to cost a minimum of$5 million.It marks a go back to the Sun Belt for Louisiana Tech, which belonged to the league from 1991-2001 before departing for the WAC.The addition of Louisiana Tech has long been expected, as the school became the strong favorite even before the Pac-12 officially included Texas State last month, sources stated. The Bulldogs likewise had actually been the concentrate on contingency conversations for the league in the fall of 2024. Sources stated the momentum for the relocation came from the schools in the Sun Belt West,
as Tech’s place offered it natural synergy with Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, Southern Miss and South Alabama as geographic rivals.The relocation meshes with Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill’s specified viewpoint of concentrating on local rivalries.Louisiana Tech’s recent football history has been shaky, as the Bulldogs haven’t had a winning record since Avoid Holtz went 10-3 in 2019.
But there has actually been a strong history of success, with Holtz reaching seven straight championship game from 2014 to 2020, and Sonny Dykes authoring a pair of excellent seasons in 2011 and 2012. The move is also a strong one for baseball and softball, crucial Sun Belt sports in which Tech has achieved success for years. Tech’s men’s basketball program has 11 20-win seasons
because 2013, and the ladies’s program won 2 national titles in the 1980s and has actually reached 10 Final Fours. The ladies’s team hasn’t reached the NCAA competition because 2011. This will mark Louisiana Tech’s third various league in the previous two decades, as it transitioned from the WAC to Conference USA in 2013. When Texas State flirted with the Mountain West in the fall of 2024, Louisiana Tech became the preferred to sign up with the league. Sun Belt leaders started discussions in earnest then, and those brought over.There was some pushback from the
Sun Belt’s East teams, according to sources, but the league still achieved the required 10 votes out of 13 schools to approve the invite. The other option discussed was the league staying at 13 teams.The Sun Belt CEOs satisfied essentially Thursday and set the table for the move, with the vote on Monday early morning being more of a rule, sources said.