Louisiana Tech returns to Sun Belt, sources say

The Sun Belt's CEOs voted to invite Louisiana Tech as the league's 14th member Monday morning, sources told ESPN, giving the conference 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 was part of the league from 1991-2001 before departing for the WAC.

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, sources said. The Bulldogs also had been the focus on contingency conversations for the league in the fall of 2024.

Sources said 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 recent football history has been shaky, as the Bulldogs haven't had a winning record since Skip Holtz went 10-3 in 2019. But there has been a strong history of success, with Holtz reaching seven straight bowl games from 2014 to 2020, and Sonny Dykes authoring a pair of good seasons in 2011 and 2012.

The move is also a strong one for baseball and softball, key Sun Belt sports in which Tech has been successful 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 reached 10 Final Fours. The women's team hasn't reached the NCAA tournament since 2011.

This will mark Louisiana Tech's third different league in the past 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 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 Sun Belt's East teams, according to sources, but the league still achieved the required 10 votes out of 13 schools to approve the invitation. The other option discussed was the league staying at 13 teams.

The Sun Belt CEOs met virtually Thursday and set the table for the move, with the vote on Monday morning being more of a formality, sources said.