It’s not official – yet. Although media outlet after media outlet reports that it is.
That certification may happen today, in a coordinated official announcement made jointly at opposite ends of the state, in Ruston and New Orleans.
We haven’t seen that. There’s nothing on the institutional websites or their social media platforms. There’s plenty bubbling up all around, just not there, yet.
It might even wait until Wednesday, when it seems Louisiana Tech is gearing up to host an event that might have some resemblance to a press conference, but will look more like a homecoming celebration.
It should. Tech getting invited to return to a much different Sun Belt Conference than it left in 2001 is at the very least, an escape from a rapidly declining Conference USA, not what the Bulldogs signed up for a dozen years ago. Not what it was not long ago.
There is no question. It is done. The Sun Belt’s invitation, and Tech’s “you had us at hello” acceptance, took place Monday morning, behind the curtain. There are probably contracts to sign, and apparently there’s $5 million of ransom to be paid by the Bulldogs to legally depart CUSA next summer.
The move was made when presidents or chancellors, choose your preferred title, of the 13 remaining SBC members convened on a conference call, heard a motion probably jointly offered by ULM’s brand-new president Carrie Castille and venerable UL Lafayette leader T-Joe Savoie, recommending the addition of Louisiana Tech.
And the crowd roared.
Not quite. Probably there were a few deep sighs, if not welps, from the CEOs of some schools in the Sun Belt’s East Division.
The reluctance to embrace Tech, which had the red and royal blue crowd antsy for the last couple weeks, was rooted in the Eastern time zone. Some schools wanted to stand pat as conference realignment unfolds, not today as volatile as the transfer portal. There is plenty of uncertain undercurrent rooted in TV broadcast rights deals running out and being renegotiated in the next few years, mostly before President Trump departs the White House.
The Division I conference landscape we see today may – no, will — look very different in 3-5 years. What exactly does Tech do to strengthen the Sun Belt in that regard? The future is all about football’s TV audience, and in that measurement, the Bulldogs are basically a placeholder. The I-20 corridor only has so many eyes to attract. No growth spurt is down the road, not in the red clay hills around Ruston.
So those eastern naysayers had to be persuaded adding Tech now was better for Sun Belt stability than hoping a better option magically pops up. Once that point was accepted by enough doubters, the vote was scheduled, and Bulldogs and Warhawks and Ragin’ Cajuns, if only for a fleeting few weeks, can now (unofficially, for the moment) celebrate together.
“The @SunBelt conference just got even more interesting!” Gov. Jeff Landry wrote in a social media post Monday. “Congratulations, @LATech. Looking forward to some great in state rivalries going forward!”
That is exactly why Tech is the right addition. Neighborhood rivalries matter now, as much as ever. Less travel expenses, more potential for gate revenue.
Texas State exits, leaving for the Pac-12. For now. Louisiana Tech easily plugs in, replacing the Bobcats in the SBC West, where many road trips won’t require a full tank of gas, let alone boarding an airplane.
It’s a marriage of convenience. And it’s long overdue.
If Gov. Landry took a long hard look at what expenses could be reduced while ticket sales and interest increased, the reunion of Tech, ULM and UL Lafayette could ultimately trigger a more sound, and less expansive, affiliation.
Imagine all of the state’s public Division I athletic programs (excluding the huge LSU Tiger in the room) in a league of their own. Long ago, they called it the Gulf States Conference. Didn’t include Grambling and Southern, and a half century later, this affiliation should.
May not sound appetizing now to those who cheer for teams in Ruston, Monroe and Acadiana, but if there’s as much a reformation of college sports on the horizon as some very smart people believe, something like the Bayou Conference might be just what the doctor orders in a few years.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com