The Sun Belt's CEOs voted to invite Louisiana Tech as the league's 14th member Monday morning, giving the school a replacement for Texas State.
Louisiana Tech's entry date into the conference isn't certain; the earliest is 2026. The entry date is expected to be figured out over the next few weeks as Louisiana Tech works out its departure from Conference USA, which is expected to cost at least $5 million.
It marks a return to the Sun Belt for Louisiana Tech, which departed the league for the WAC in 2001.
The addition of Louisiana Tech has long been expected, as the school emerged as the strong favorite even before the Pac-12 officially added Texas State last month. The Bulldogs also had been the focus on contingency conversations for the league in the fall of 2024.
The momentum for the move came from the schools in the Sun Belt West, as Tech's location gave it natural synergy with Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, Southern Miss and South Alabama as geographic rivals.
The move meshes with Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill's stated philosophy of focusing on regional rivalries.
Louisiana Tech's immediate football history has been shaky, as the the Bulldogs haven't had a winning record since Skip Holtz went 10-3 in 2019. But there's been a strong history of success, with Holtz reaching seven straight bowl games from 2014 to 2020, and Sonny Dykes authoring a pair of strong seasons in 2011 and 2012.
The move is a strong one for both baseball and softball, key Sun Belt sports where Tech has been consistently strong for decades. Tech's men's basketball program has 11 20-win seasons since 2013, and the women's program won two national titles in the 1980s and has 10 Final Fours. The women's team hasn't reached the NCAA tournament since 2011.
This will mark Louisiana Tech's third different league the last two decades, as it transitioned from the WAC to Conference USA in 2013. Prior to Conference USA, Louisiana Tech was in the Sun Belt from 1991-2001.
When Texas State flirted with the Mountain West in the fall of 2024, Louisiana Tech emerged as the favorite to join the league. Sun Belt leaders began discussions in earnest then, and those carried over.
There was some pushback from the league's Eastern teams, but ultimately not much question about the league achieving the super-majority of 10 of 13 teams. The other option discussed was the league staying at 13 teams.
The Sun Belt CEOs met virtually last Thursday and set the table for this move, with the vote on Monday morning more of a formality than anything.
