From about mid-June, you kinda knew this would happen, but maybe not this quickly.

Even last summer, this would have been far-fetched. The most antagonistic, anti-Sun Belt school of the last 25 years is now joining the league.

LaTech brought out some old Sun Belt trophies for their Wednesday intro presser.

Louisiana Tech replaces Texas State, who will attempt to shed the “sleeping giant” status they have held for over a decade in the new Pac-12 Conference. Their closest Pac-12 rival will be Colorado State, who is just short of 1,000 miles away. Hope that TV money helps.

But enough about the Bobcats. This is about the folks in Ruston, who now can drive to the entire Sun Belt West for away games (Troy is 432 miles, the furthest, but still closer to Ruston than all but two CUSA schools)

For LaTech, it’s a coup. They get out of the fledgling Conference USA, join two fellow University of Louisiana System schools (LSU and Southern University each have their own public university system consisting of themselves and feeder school) and get their hate on.

I’m not qualified to talk about the LaTech hate. But there are others who are.

This is a 2021 message board post by Louisiana's SID about why the Sun Belt hated Louisiana Tech so much for so long.Since then, he has said since LaTech leadership changed, he's fine with them in the Sun Belt.

— TK from the Paper (@pipedreams.blog) 2025-07-11T23:18:13.687Z

go tech pls dont die has more details on its website.

Underdog Dynasty story on an Arkansas State [Indians] versus Louisiana Tech football game with a fight.

The LaTech president got the first punch at this past week’s intro presser.

But as being an App State fan, we must ask ourselves, how does this affect the Toronto Maple Leafs….er….App State Mountaineers.

Honestly? Very little. You’re not sending teams to the middle of Texas and can easily do a LaTech/ULM double-shot for Olympic sports, or even LaTech/Louisiana or LaTech/Arkansas State.

The way I look at it, the Sun Belt West gave their blessing for Coastal Carolina in 2016, then for Marshall, James Madison and Old Dominion in exchange for Southern Miss in 2021,. Not to mention jettisoning Little Rock and UT-Arlington. The center of the Sun Belt has moved east in the last decade to help this side of the league develop regional rivalries in this era of TV markets and airplane-only conferences.

When it became apparent Texas State wanted its teams to fly to Spokane, Fort Collins and Corvallis every few weeks, it made sense to let the Sun Belt West get in on the type of hatred where you only have to stop for gas once.

Western Kentucky? If they really wanted to, they would have. But they didn’t. If they want to be with MTSU, then so be it.

Ohio and Toledo? That was an old-fashioned tire kicking. The MAC TV deal is coming up soon. You always explore your options to see if there’s anything better. Maybe next time.

Liberty? Besides the ten thousand reasons why it would be a terrible idea, why would a conference of regional public schools invite a private school who has a completely different academic mission? The last part matters to university presidents and chancellors, even if the average college sportsball fan doesn’t care if the players play school.

ECU? Heck of a tire kicking, but again, the American Athletic has a sweetheart TV deal brought in on the backs of members who are no longer there. They can make sense at a later date cause that TV contract is ticking down and I think everyone admits they’re not going to get the same number as last time.

If you’re an App State fan and hate adding Louisiana Tech. Chill out. It’s fine. They’re good at many sports, they’re not going to drag down the league. And if you hate it because you secretly hope the Sun Belt blows up and Keith Gill falls into an East/West chasm so the Apps can be in a league with ECU (and maybe Charlotte), then you’re projecting. And this might happen in the next five years anyway!

Anyway, instead of just listening to my thought, I did a survey on this. Anonymous answers ahoy!

First, the biggie.

Honestly, I was expecting this to be more even, considering how these results would be skewed by App State fans by nature.

This would probably be the same divide for Old Dominion by itself in 2021. JMU, Marshall and Southern Miss, individually, likely would be in the >90% approval range.

Now we go to the answers that involved writing. The only editing done here to edit out some profanities, which I think you can decipher.

Let’s put on some mood music and read some opinions.

Generally, what are your thoughts of Louisiana Tech joining the Sun Belt Conference?

The anti-LaTech people could write War and Peace if you give them the right survey prompt.

ULM got mentioned a lot, by people thinking either this is a wake up call to them or flexing some kind of political muscle they might not deserve.

Have you been to Ruston? And if so, please share your experience.

(23 of the respondents said they’ve been to Ruston or their answer indicated they have, so here are their thoughts)

• Horrible college town
• I live in a small town that’s about the same distance to both Ruston and West Monroe/Monroe, so I’m there occasionally to run errands. It’s a nice little college town honestly
• I was there on training for the Army, I think Sunbelt conference would put some new life in that area
• It’s a typical college town. It’s not much different than Jacksonville, AL or Huntsville, TX.
• passed thru it driving to Dallas. Didn’t look interesting.
• Ruston has come leaps and bounds since I was a student there. Really has embraced being a college town, rather than a town with a college.
• “Ruston is a turd. There is nothing to do, and it’s unclear why Louisiana decided to put two fairly large school+s in this area. “
• Small city off the interstate; nothing remarkable or unique about it.
• Stayed there one night 30 years ago. It looked like every other basic town in Northern Louisiana.
• Yea, its a nice college town, facilities are nice. At lease on par with other Sunbelt schools. Better than some, worse than some.
• Yes the fans were great.
• Yes, friendly folks there, problem is not with average fan but the money folks or elites
• Yes, I was sent on a religious mission to help repair homes and patch holes in roofs. Not because of hurricane damage, because they’re so far north, but because of how [crappy] Ruston is.
• Yes, nice town. Monroe is larger and close by, but La Tech is the stronger brand thoughout the region.
• Yes, nothing memorable
• Yes. A true American college town with amenities. Lincoln parish is one of the wealthiest per capita in the state. Ruston is only growing with the introduction of things like a Buccees
• Yes. Drove through it. Wasn’t too impressed but found a couple of books at a Goodwill there for a couple of bucks that helped me get through a couple of classes in grad school.
• Yes. For football games and a baseball game. It was ok. Not the most attractive campus I’ve ever been on. Their fans are a bit condesending IMO.
• Yes. I only drove through campus but it’s…fine. The whole campus doesn’t look like O-block like that one tweet LT’s social media put out. But having a nice college town or campus really has very little to do with athletic competitiveness anyway.
• Yes. I think it’s a nice town that has been growing and transforming for 20 years now.
• Yes. I’ve been several times for football and baseball games. I had a good time in football and baseball.
• Yes. It was not a good experience as a professional journalist at the time.
• Yes. Nice enough place to visit, wouldn’t want to live there.

A lot more divisive. Ruston’s population is about 22,000. The adjacent city of Grambling, home of the famous HBCU Grambling State, has around 5,000 residents. LaTech is about 11,000 students and Grambling State is about 5,000 students.

Yes, there are three D1 universities, two of whom have FBS football, within one 40-mile stretch of Northern Louisiana. It’d be like if there was an 11,000-student university in Wilkesboro and then a historic and iconic 5,000-student university in Blowing Rock…and it was all flat and hot and everyone went duck hunting.

If you had a choice, who would you want to replace Texas State in the Sun Belt as the 14th member?

(edited out two joke answers saying the Texas Longhorns)

• None. Stay at 13.
• Louisiana Tech
• Pie in the sky: ECU. Realistic: WKU or Delaware
• WKU or MTSU
• out of the reasonable options Tech seems to make sense
• LA Tech
• WKU
• ECU or UNC Charlotte
• liberty
• Indifferent, as long as we keep division and guaranteed matchups with our division. Let the west division decide.
• EC
• Ohio
• Western Kentucky or Middle Tennessee
• Excluding non-geographic fits or major conferences, I would say South Florida. Not sure if that is a realistic option as of today but could be in future if American collapses.
• LA Tech
• ECU in perfect world, WKU if we are being realistic
• East Carolina
• WKU
• None. Stay at 13 and see what happens with the PAC12/AAC. If nothing moves go after WKU.
• I mean i would have preferred wku or Jax state
• ECU, UNCC, Memphis, someone else
• I would give a lot for ECU
• No
• Western Kentucky
• Tulane or UAB
• WKU
• East Carolina
• WKU, but I’d rather we just wait
• Liberty, WKU, or Ohio
• If just one, assuming CUSA & FCS were our pool to choose from then WKU
• East Carolina
• Western Kentucky
• East Carolina
• WKU
• No one. Wait.
• ECU or UAB
• I waivered on my top pick being La Tech or WKU.
• FIU.
• ECU for the east of UAB for the west.
• Louisiana Tech
• ECU
• Stay at 13. If a replacement must be chosen, I would have preferred WKU (out of available realistic options).
• ECU
• La Tech
• Liberty
• LaTech
• No one
• Yes
• My first choice is be patient at 13, but I prefer Western Kentucky of the available options.
• Louisiana Tech
• East Carolina
• WKU
• Western Kentucky
• WKU is the only other possible choice at this moment.
• La Tech
• Memphis. What? It makes as much sense as ECU. Realistically I felt we should add WKU and then wait for the AAC to implode to see what options open up. But that requires the conference to stay in its current configuration. That won’t happen. There are certain eastern schools whose fans have made it abundantly clear they’re not satisfied with the status quo.
• WKU, but recent reports say they weren’t interested.
• East Carolina, Ohio, WKU.

Most of the ECU responses came from Sun Belt East members, but there was one Southern Miss and one Troy fan who said ECU.

Bit surprised there was only one Delaware answer. Maybe it’s because they just joined FBS this month, but they’re a sleeper candidate in the future. Flagship state school, good fanbase, can drink, they would be worth a longer look one day. And yes, the Sun Belt did look at them before they declared for CUSA and FBS.

The 32.2% is App State. The 11.9% gold is JMU and the 11.9% purple is Southern Miss, funny enough. The 8.5% is Troy. The fifth largest block, the blue sliver on your right, is LaTech.

Had at least one fan from every Sun Belt school participate, even Texas State. Hooray somewhat diversity of results!

Do you think your school will be in the Sun Belt in 2030?

(I should have done this as a yes/no answer)

• 27 respondents said “Yes,” while one said “yep” and one “70/30 yes.” a WKU fan said “hope so.”
• Nine said “no” (one is a Texas State fan and another an MTSU fan), one said “No, I don’t,” and then there was a “Not sure, but a big chance no.” There is a “hope not,” but I will withhold which school they support.
• Four “probably” answers, with one “tough to say,” and a “I don’t know.”
• Two people invoked a higher power, with one saying “God I hope so” and another “God I hope not.” Both are fans of current Sun Belt members.
• One person simply responded “Sun Belt.”

Here’s some of the longer answers to this question, some of which counted above in case you’re trying to reach 59.

• As will most of the eastern teams who think they’re going somewhere. This avalanche has just begun to roll a few pebbles at this point.
• Who knows. Conference realignment for all the G5 should now focus on regional rivalries as they can’t compete with NIL money anymore.
• I think we will be in a version of the Sun Belt. Probably the East Division as a whole or part breaking away.
• I don’t know. Depends on whether or not the ACC is gutted, and if The American still thinks adding markets is better than big fanbases
• We more than deserve to take the next step out of this conference. This is purgatory. Apps brand has so much potential for better exposure with better games against NC schools. If the East were to break away and form an ACC replacement with ECU and others i would donate at a much heavier level and buy season tickets tomorrow.
• Before this move I thought so, but after this I think the SBC is showing that their priorities don’t align with the top SBC programs. Now I don’t think we will.
• until we know what the super conference is gonna look like it’s foolish to think any conference will look the same

Here’s the last question, and the fun one.

[Optional] What are your thoughts on Texas State leaving to join the Pac-12?

• Good riddance. We didn’t need them and they weren’t that much of a power to worry about losing.
• It seems like a good move. Travel expenses will go up dramatically. If the TV payout is $4M+, they will be ok. Not sure what they bring to the table for the PAC though.
• I mean you do you, I’d want app to jump to the AAC or ACC if they came knocking
• “One of several “sleeping giants” that successfully failed upward over the last few years. The PAC 2 needed warm bodies to survive and I don’t blame TxSt for leaving. I would have done the same. “
• Love it
• Great for them. They were fine member.
• Goodbye and good riddance
• Slightly disappointed. They got a good offer though so understandable just as if we got an offer to join a higher tier conference.
• Good for them. However, not losing sleep of it.
• Good move for them.
• No strong opinions one way or the other.
• I wish they stayed but I get it
• Good for them
• The move was a no brainer for Texas State, 100% the right thing to do for Texas State
• Wish them the best! Tech helped them transition from FCS to FBS, and now they’re in the PAC! Not a bad situation at all.
• I think it’s a good move for them but the PAC-12 isn’t anything special.
• [GTHO]
• Good luck to Texas State.
• Best of luck to them. I get it, my team would probably move too. But I would hate being on that big of an island and getting stuck with such late games with my team being in the Central Time Zone. I’ll miss them. They were good partners in this league and share a lot of similarities with my school. And we had the craziest games against each other.
• Helps Sun Belt with Travel. No real rivalries
• Not a big loss based on past performance, though future potential seems to be strong.
• Makes the Sun Belt better.
• Understand it. They always seemed like outsiders out on an island.
• I’m glad. Nothing against them, but they were on an island and they don’t move the needle for our fan base.
• Will miss their CSN board posters. Indifference otherwise.
• Potentially bad gamble, especially with only a partial share through 2031. But they were stagnant in the SBC (with the exception of the last two seasons), so I understand taking a chance with potentially better-known brands being an outlier in both conferences.
• It’s a move that’s more for Texas State’s ego than anything. The PAC-12 is a shell of what it once was, and is most definitely not a Power conference anymore. I also doubt that their travel will be any better in the new conference than what it was in the SBC. It’s a lateral move at best.
• It doesn’t affect me much. It makes sense for TXST. They were an outlier in the SBC with no prospects of the SBC ever adding another Texas school for them to partner with.
• Sad to see them go but it’s mutually beneficial.
• Well “BYE” good luck with that disaster of a conference you are going to, don’t blame you at all but my God, that assortment of schools….well good luck with that
• They never really fit the conference to begin with.
• Weird choice by the Pac-12 in my opinion. Uncertain if it will pan out for them. Time will tell
• Gotta go where the money is
• Like Idaho being a lonely outlier out west in the Sun Belt, Texas St is the lonely outlier out east in the PAC 1(?)
• Irrelevant school with inflated financials due to enrollment
• Smart move on their part and also to realize their leverage and get the whole bowl of soup presumably
• Indifferent. They were a geographical outlier and not very competitive in football or basketball to my knowledge. Good volleyball program though. We all know the PAC is not what is used to be, but if it works for them, that’s fine.
• I’m good with it
• Hate to see them go, but congrats and hope it works out for them.
• Happy for them. Happy for the Sun Belt.
• The want a fresh start.
• Seems like a lateral move for them.
• good get for tx state
• Stop fixing the Sunbelt, AAC, and CUSA. Start a new conference that is competitive with the PAC and ACC. Would not be hard.
• It’s fine.
• I’m happy for them
• Wish them the best and expect them to perform well
• Great move for us, the Belt will be fine.
• Have fun storming that castle.
• It’s a great move for them. Makes Texas State more money. Makes the Sun Belt more compact. Win-Win scenario for both.
• They won the lottery– the right time and place. PAC 12 needed an 8th team desperately. Texas State was all they could afford.
• Good for them. It was the right move.
• Them boys better get ready for some PAC-12 After Dark
• I wish we had an opportunity as good as this. We’ve earned it 10x more.
• I don’t mind. They certainly weren’t our best team and I understand why they left for the PAC. This could be a great opportunity to find a school that adds to the conference in a meaningful way, but LA Tech is not that. Rushing to fill there spot is an idiotic move.
• K, bye ✌️
• It’s good for the SBC and Texas State. Not a big loss.