Just 3 days ago, Pac-12 finally came back from the dead and found its eight members to maintain the NCAA’s eligibility requirements. It was a massive move by Texas State, but long overdue, with discussions going on for quite some time now. “Texas State has shown a commitment to competing and winning at the highest level,” proclaimed Teresa Gould, Pac-12 commissioner. But this move has created an imbalance in the Sun Belt conference, and the conference is now out to find its 14th member again to even the scale.

Several candidates are being considered by the Sun Belt Conference to join them. But the two colleges that are leading in the discussions are Western Kentucky and Louisiana Tech. But the Sun Belt isn’t like the ‘Power’ conferences; it’s divided into two divisions (East and West), and both divisions want just one of the two teams to join their conference, as per reports. That said, Louisiana Tech is still the favorite to join, as Ross Dellenger relayed the latest update on X.

“Sun Belt executives held meetings today over expansion, but no decision is imminent, sources tell @YahooSports. The league will continue discussions on adding a member or staying at 13 schools. Several possible expansion targets were discussed, most notably Louisiana Tech.” However, despite Louisiana Tech emerging as a strong contender, the SBC East teams are strongly opposing the move and want Western Kentucky to join, which would align with their geographical dynamics.

So, currently, teams like Marshall, James Madison, and Old Dominion are opposing the move, making it quite difficult for Louisiana Tech to get the majority of votes (8 votes) to join the Sun Belt. Moreover, according to Locked on Sun Belts’ Dave Schultz, the fiercest opponent is emerging to be Marshall among the other East teams. “Thundering Herd contingent, they don’t want any part of Louisiana Tech. All right, at all,” said Schultz. But why the opposition?

The East schools are saying that bringing in Western Kentucky would be better for the conference because they’ve been doing really well on the field lately. Just to give you some background, Western Kentucky has made it to a bowl game every year since 2014, except for one season. On the flip side, Louisiana Tech had a rough year last year with a 5-8 record and hasn’t had a winning season since 2019.

But adding Louisiana Tech could be useful because they’re close by, especially with ULM only being 35 miles away. It’s worth mentioning that no formal invitation has gone out yet, and the conference is still talkin about the expansion. A lot of folks are pushing to keep the current 13 members, which would mean more money coming in.

Louisiana Tech grabbed a golden opportunity last season from Marshall

Louisiana Tech finished with a 5-win season last year, with losses coming against teams like NC State, Tulsa, Florida International, New Mexico State, and several others. Still, they made their Bowl game last year without winning the standard six games, which are required for Bowl eligibility. This was only possible because of one of the same programs, which is now fiercely blocking their move to the Sun Belt.

Last year, Marshall finished with a 10-win season and went undefeated in 7 games following their victory against Georgia State. Still, they declined to participate in the Bowl game, citing player injuries. However, that’s when the Bulldogs came into the picture, who, although they weren’t eligible, were invited to the Bowl game against Army, where Louisiana Tech lost 6-27.

“There were no more 6-6 teams, so we had to move to 5-7 teams. We appreciate Tech athletic director Ryan Ivey, coach Sonny Cumbie, their players, and support staff for their willingness to step up and play in our bowl game,” said I Bowl’s Erik Everson after Louisiana Tech’s initiation to the Bowl game. Win or not, still, Louisiana Tech benefited from the Bowl game and reportedly would have made close to $800k in revenue as a sum awarded by conferences to Bowl teams.