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The latest conference realignment move is the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs joining the Sun Belt Conference. The Bulldogs will leave Conference USA to join the Sun Belt and are expected to join their new conference by 2027.
The Bulldogs' joining the Sun Belt will bring the number of teams in the conference to 14, following the departure of the Texas State Bobcats to the revitalized Pac-12 Conference. According to an ESPN report, the Bulldogs will pay an exit fee of up to $5 million to CUSA to facilitate their move to the Sun Belt.
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College football fans on X had mixed reactions to the Bulldogs joining the Sun Belt Conference in the latest conference realignment and expansion move.
Some fans were not too enthusiastic about the move.
"Absolutely disgraceful to all current SBC Members. What Louisiana, Troy, South Alabama, Southern Miss and the SBC East have done to elevate this conference for this to happen is sick," one fan tweeted.
"Conference just got worse," another fan tweeted.
"No. Literally ZERO fans of current members want them here," one fan tweeted.
Louisiana Tech welcomed to the Sun Belt
In a statement released on Tuesday after the conference realignment move was confirmed, the Sun Belt commissioner, Keith Gill, welcomed the addition of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs to replace the Texas State Bobcats.
“We are thrilled to welcome Louisiana Tech University to the Sun Belt. Geographically situated within the current Sun Belt footprint, the addition of Louisiana Tech reunites a number of long-standing regional rivalries under the conference banner,” Keith Gill said. “I am grateful to President Dr. Jim Henderson and Athletic Director Ryan Ivey for their leadership during this process.
"I’d also like to thank the CEOs and athletic directors of our Sun Belt member institutions for their continued commitment to the premier FBS non-autonomy conference in the country. The Sun Belt Conference is RISING and our best days are ahead.”
The Bulldogs and Techsters were members of the Sun Belt Conference from 1991 to 2001, during which the women's basketball team won nine consecutive regular-season titles (1993-2001) and seven tournament titles. The men's basketball team also won two Sun Belt regular-season titles (1992 & 1999), and the women's track & field team won a Sun Belt championship.
The Bulldogs' football team remained independent during the 1990s after advancing to NCAA Division I-AA, although they were members of the Big West Conference from 1993 to 1995.
According to ESPN, the conference realignment move involving Louisiana Tech's joining of the Sun Belt Conference follows a template established by Commissioner Keith Gill to promote regional rivalries. Further, the move was fueled by the Bulldogs' location promoting rivalries with conference members like Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, and Southern Miss.
