After all the saber rattling and war of words, Louisiana Tech seems poised to join the Sun Belt as the 14th member, likely beginning in 2026.
For the West, it is a pretty obvious move. Despite the bad blood between Tech and other Louisiana schools from things said in the past, both Louisiana and ULM seemed to be on board and pushing for LA Tech to rejoin the Sun Belt. It will reignite those in state rivalries and makes for excellent travel partners as well. The same can be said for other Western teams on the whole.
As for teams in the East, at the end of the day the best selling point was likely that adding LA Tech would ensure that the conference kept up its divisional model. With the exception of Marshall and ODU, most Sun Belt East teams don’t have much history with LA Tech. Any sort of opposition from other schools was likely overturned by the aforementioned preserving of divisions and Eastern rivalries.
But, what does this mean overall?
Louisiana Tech since 2020 has consistently been one of the worst programs in FBS. That’s not to say they can’t improve, but recent history has not been kind in that regard. To be fair, outgoing Texas State has only recently seen an upward trajectory in terms of being a program of relative prominence. So on balance, perhaps the replacements won’t provide much of a drop off. To be honest, the only way for LA Tech to go is up, and hope that they can provide a rise in the overall profile of the conference.
As for other sports, men’s basketball will see a slight improvement. Louisiana Tech, JMU and ODU will make a trio of women’s basketball programs with histories that rival some of the power leagues. Only the Dukes have had consistent success recently though. Maybe we will see a resurgence from the other two.
As for the diamond sports, LA Tech provides an objective upgrade for baseball. The already strong Sun Belt baseball should now be a 3 plus bid league moving forward. Pretty much everyone thinks Troy was an obvious at large snub last year. As for softball, Louisiana Tech can’t replace Texas State, but is a more than serviceable program. And with Sun Belt East teams really stepping up their game in softball last year, the conference will likely be a multi bid mid major moving forward.
A brief mention for volleyball, as the Sun Belt has had multiple volleyball bids in the past. Sadly, LA Tech is a massive downgrade in this department from Texas State.
So, what does this mean moving forward for the conference? The move is a safe one. No one is going to run around saying this was a slam dunk or forward thinking move in terms of raising the profile of the conference. LA Tech provides continuity, even for teams in the East. What will be interesting to see is what will happen if any more realignment comes in the near future. What did Keith Gill have to say to Eastern schools to ensure a more aggressive approach in realignment down the road? How far off is the Sun Belt from being a 16 team league potentially?
Time will tell. But, as mentioned in a previous article, the Sun Belt can’t afford to sit around on its hands. Even with the 14th slot being filled, it would be foolish to think that the ground around conference realignment has completely settled.
