Louisiana Tech announces move to Sun Belt Conference
Published 1:07 pm Tuesday, July 15, 2025
RUSTON, La. — Louisiana Tech announced Tuesday that it has accepted an invitation to leave Conference USA and join the Sun Belt Conference.
The Sun Belt Board of Directors, which includes the presidents of the 13 conference member institutions, voted unanimously to invite Louisiana Tech to join no later than July 1, 2027.
Louisiana Tech and conference officials touted the move as a chance to renew regional rivalries with Sun Belt members like Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette and Southern Miss, reduce travel for its student-athletes, and strengthen regional recruiting and its alumni base.
Louisiana Tech will be the Sun Belt’s seventh member in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama. Conference USA currently sprawls across 11 states from New Mexico to Delaware following the past decade-plus of conference realignment.
“Through all the uncertainty surrounding college athletics, we are pleased that Louisiana Tech has found its rightful home as a member of the Sun Belt Conference,” Louisiana Tech Director of Athletics Ryan Ivey said in a statement. “The opportunity for more fan engagement, reduced travel burden, and the renewal of storied rivalries will allow our student-athletes to pursue excellence in sport and in the classroom.”
Louisiana Tech will become the Sun Belt’s 14th full-time member. It will replace Texas State, which is departing for the reformed Pac-12 in 2026.
The other Sun Belt members in 2027 will be App State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss and Troy.
Louisiana Tech sponsors 16 varsity sports. It participates in every sport sponsored by the Sun Belt except beach volleyball, men’s soccer, men’s tennis and women’s golf. The Sun Belt sponsors every sport in which the Bulldogs compete except women’s bowling.
Louisiana Tech was previously a member of the Sun Belt from 1991 to 2001. It joined the Western Athletic Conference from 2001-12, then joined Conference USA in 2013.
The Sun Belt last expanded by four teams in 2022, with Southern Miss, Marshall and Old Dominion leaving C-USA to join and James Madison moving from the Colonial Athletic Association. Louisiana Tech was left out then, but is being welcomed now as the college sports landscape continues to shift.
“The Sun Belt has remained steadfast in its commitment to regional rivalries, geographic alignment and competitive excellence,” said Georgia Southern and Sun Belt Board of Directors President Dr. Kyle Marrero. “When it came time to add a new member to the Sun Belt Conference, it became clear that Louisiana Tech was the right fit. This addition renews long-standing rivalries, enhances our divisional structure, strengthens the competitive profile of the league across multiple sports and eases travel for fans and teams.”
About Ernest Bowker
Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post’s sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post’s sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper’s 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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