LaTech and conference realignment

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Would LaTech humble itself to accept a Sun Belt invite

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Backstory on why they avoided the Sun Belt? It’s been a better conference than the CUSA for a couple of years now.

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Back in the late 1990s or early 2000s they thought they were too good for the SBC and joined the WAC instead.

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Louisiana Tech hasn’t made a conference move that ULM or the Cajuns wouldn’t have made themselves in the last 20 years.


Both would have joined the WAC if offered, both would have joined CUSA if offered.

Things didn’t work out for Tech, but they made the right moves based on the data available at that time.

Now Tommy McClelland is an idiot but Tech has had two administrations since move bridges to try and make amends with regional Sun Belt schools since that infamous press conference. You’ve seen scheduling agreements with numerous Sun Belt schools.


The problem Louisiana Tech will have is the eastern Sun Belt schools. They want the conference to continue to shift east. They’ll want no part of Louisiana Tech. The western schools may have accidentally sold their souls when they invited the trio of Marshall, ODU and JMU.

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Backstory on why they avoided the Sun Belt?

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When the Sun Belt began playing football in the late 90's/early 2000's LTU was a member but was independent in football. LTU was far and away the best football program of the conference members with top 25 appearances, wins over SEC champ Alabama, Cal, Oklahoma St, they had several All-Americans, and was one of the anybody, anywhere, any time programs. The other members had little to no success at the D1A (at the time) level. The Sun Belt told LTU bring your football or get out. LTU decided to accept an invite to the WAC which at the time included SMU and Tulsa which would give LTU travel partners in that conference which was far and away a superior conference. Sun Belt stripped LTU of hosting events and made life difficult for them. LTU appeared the clear winner, up until the conference realignment game started rolling. LTU lost their travel partners in the East for the WAC, but still had Fresno, Nevada, Boise, and Hawaii which were top 25-30 programs and still steps above the SBC. Then the WAC began to fall apart as the PAC expanded and the MWC backfilled. Then LTU made the jump to CUSA, but the Big East fell apart and the AAC was formed and took a lot of the programs that made CUSA look promising. The top of the SBC (at the time) jumped ship to CUSA and by all appearances LTU was far and ahead in the game still. Then the SBC made good decisions on who they added. Those teams elevated the SBC and CUSA made market decisions and spurned ESPN. ESPN took it personal and helped market and promote the SBC over CUSA. In time that elevated the SBC to a better conference (in football). Last round of expansion talks began for CUSA and the SBC to have a scheduling alliance. DA AD for LTU at the time spoke down to the SBC, he gets fired later that year, and ironically that is the year it becomes apparent the SBC has pulled even or surpassed CUSA on the football field. SBC adds CUSA schools, LTU petitions to go with Southern Miss but Troy says No they want to be in the West not the East division, so they add three teams in the East to go along with Southern Miss who gives the SBC another state to their map. LTU and CUSA is thought to be left for dead, but has seemingly made some good moves with their backfill (at least much smarter than last round).

When the dust settles best case for both conferences (and what the Eastern based schools want anyway) is for these two to merge into more regional conferences.
Ideal would be SBC adds Sam Houston, LTU, Missouri St, Middle, WKU, and Jax St to go with ULM, ULL, USM, USA, Troy, and Ark St.
CUSA adds GA So, GA St, CCU, Marshall, JMU, App, ODU, to go with Liberty, Delaware, Kennesaw, and FIU.
UTEP and NMSU go MWC.
That would be cost effective for all and would create two conferences who were good at all sports.

To answer your question in a TL/DR fans still don't like each other on either side due to perceived slights, but the administrations at the schools get along just fine and if TX St leaves LTU is on the short list. A list that may just be LTU with the relationship LTU has with Lafayette, Hattiesburg, and Jonesboro.

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That is a long worded way of saying you let your pride convince you to make a poor decision.

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That doesn’t even make sense.

If someone in 1997 turned down a job at Amazon for $30,000 year in favor of a job at Compaq for $75,000 a year was it a bad decision? Amazon stock was 25 cents. Compaq was trading over $100 a share.

You are looking at decisions made 20 years ago with today’s information. It isn’t reasonable.

Texas State or any other Fun Belt school would be stupid to go to the MW. PAC-7 could work though.

Sun Belt may be the best non power conference ever. They play good football and make tons of bowl games.

Louisiana Tech would take the Sun Belt offer today if they got the phone call. What hurts them is their openly transparent disdain shown towards the conference over the last 2 decades. There's a reason why every Sun Belt school took Louisiana Tech off of the schedule around 2008 in just about every sport for a good 4-5 years. Then, you have that goofy AD open his mouth in 2020 only for it to backfire when 3 CUSA schools left to go to the Sun Belt.

I personally think it would it would be great on the field to add Louisiana Tech, but the higher-ups over there have said one too many things over the years that might have burned too many bridges for it to happen.

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Cajunese

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There is a difference between what fans feel and what administration feels. LTU would have had the votes a couple years ago to go with USM to the SBC had Troy been ok with being in the East.

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Sun Belt school took Louisiana Tech off of the schedule around 2008 in just about every sport for a good 4-5 years

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Scheduling is scheduling. LTU had multiple 5 home game seasons as they chased money games from the P5 to afford being an all sports member in the WAC after the other eastern schools left to CUSA 2.0. The only hardline school were the Cajuns who said no sports until football, which they made happen on both sides. ULM was always a disagreement on who would host the first game, because if it was ugly the gate for the second game would be crap. See the amount of blue in cajun field for game 1 of that series vs the amount of vermillion in ruston for the return game.

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Then, you have that goofy AD open his mouth in 2020 only for it to backfire when 3 CUSA schools left to go to the Sun Belt.

I personally think it would it would be great on the field to add Louisiana Tech, but the higher-ups over there have said one too many things over the years that might have burned too many bridges for it to happen.

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As I said earlier that's all fan speak and certainly warranted, but the administrations on both ends of 167 get along just fine and don't hold the other responsible for transgressions on either side that happened well before they got to their current role.

LaTech made the right move deciding to join the WAC when they did. The problem is that they spurned the SBC instead of politely rejecting, and their admin and fans were outwardly dickheaded about it.

Fun alternative history is that if they would have decided to stay in the Sun Belt (which they shouldn't have), ULM would have never moved up to FBS and would even likely remain named NLU. ULM moved football up to save the SBC from ceasing to exist, and also agreed to change their name so that USL could become UL Lafayette.

Maybe they would have moved up at a later time and have been more prepared, no one will know. But fun to think about.

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The Eastern schools are going to blow that conference up eventually. They want nothing to do with anyone west of Alabama.

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App State, Coastal, Georgia State and Georgia Southern all chose to join the Sun Belt when it was mostly West division teams and are historically more tied to former SoCon teams than former Colonial teams.

Even if they wanted to blow up the conference, they aren’t going to suddenly decide to do it because of Texas State leaving.

Any proposal to add a Mid-Atlantic team without adding a West team is probably DOA because the whole West division would oppose it, Georgia State would oppose it because they’d be the team moved to the West division, and Georgia Southern and Coastal probably would oppose it because they want a game in Atlanta for athlete and student recruitment.

I also know a lot JMU fans off the internet because my family is from that region. All of them like the Sun Belt. But I will say they do strongly support the division setup, so there is truth to them preferring the teams on the east coast.

I could see the East teams pushing for a program like MTSU because it’s closer but would still belong in the West division. MTSU isn’t a great culture fit for the Sun Belt, but neither is Georgia State. Unless a team east of Atlanta volunteers to play in the West division, I don’t think they’ll add that team.