Tech to the Belt, 2026

[CAJUNSby90]

Take a guess who doesn’t care if you can take a bus to play your games? If they east wants to break off, they can, if they can get a new conference approved. They will each pay the $10 million in exit fees. South Alabama is an original SBC member from 1976, Cajuns and ULM are original football members. The east can’t take the SBC for basically the same reason ULM isn’t getting kicked out. Why would they go through all that to avoid 1 road game vs the west a year?

because Ragin Pagin says so.

[HoustonCajun]

To some extent you are correct. But ULM has the law behind them, they are a founding member in football and the SBC Bylaws protects all of us including UL. They would need and almost unanimous vote to be removed. I'm not sure ASU and UL would vote against them.

Now if the UL System Board comes back and forces them to make the decision because of audits and lack of funds, that is possible scenario. But be careful what you ask for when it comes to state politics.

Couldn't the SBC create a by-law that teams must have a minimal budget of say $30M to be a competitive, viable member of the conference? That would not have to be led by UL but by Eastern schools who have higher budgets than all Western schools (now that Texas State is moving to the PAC). ULM has a $20M budget while the closest team to that is USM with a $28M budget. Perhaps the minimal budget should be $30M and force Ark State and USM to increase theirs. The below budgets are for the 2023-24 year as posted on CSNBBS. I don't know what they were for 2024-25 or going forward for 2025-26. Maybe Ark State & USM have surpassed the $30M level. Not sure how ULM can continue to compete with that low a budget. And, talk is that the only advantage to adding LA Tech is to help subsidize ULM with lower travel costs while doing nothing to strengthen the conference, which the Eastern schools do not want to do.

Sun Belt Conference
James Madison...............$66,110,281
Old Dominion.................$51,827,948
Texas State......................$46,310,998
Marshall..........................$45,966,327
Coastal Carolina..............$43,509,290
Appalachian State............$43,110,256
Louisiana.........................$42,952,287
Georgia State...................$39,204,432
Georgia Southern.............$36,967,213
Troy.............................,,,$36,937,664
South Alabama.................$30,591,632
Arkansas State..................$28,162,528
Southern Mississippi..........$28,107,301
Louisiana-Monroe..............$20,253,458

Western Kentucky............$36,875,120
Louisiana Tech................$30,305,928

[MarlinMan3]

ODU was in the Belt in the 80s?

Hosted sunbelt tourny that year beating UAB and western Kentucky....
You will never guess who they beat in the ncaa final.four semifinal................

[MarlinMan3]

Original 1976 sunbelt members:
USA
Ga State
Jax
UNO
UNC-Charlotte
USF
Joined in 1979:
UAB
VCU
Joined in 1982:
ODU
Western Kentucky
Joined in 1991
UL
LA Tech
Lamar
Ark St
UALR
UTPA
......Monroe joined in 2001

[CAJUNSby90]

Original 1976 sunbelt members:
USA
Ga State
Jax
UNO
UNC-Charlotte
USF
Joined in 1979:
UAB
VCU
Joined in 1982:
ODU
Western Kentucky
Joined in 1991
UL
LA Tech
Lamar
Ark St
UALR
UTPA
......Monroe joined in 2001

did u ask ChatGPT for that?

[LouisianaB]

To some extent you are correct. But ULM has the law behind them, they are a founding member in football and the SBC Bylaws protects all of us including UL. They would need and almost unanimous vote to be removed. I'm not sure ASU and UL would vote against them.

Now if the UL System Board comes back and forces them to make the decision because of audits and lack of funds, that is possible scenario. But be careful what you ask for when it comes to state politics.

Not cheering for removal, but the publicly available constitution and by laws on the internet (from 2022) does not differentiate between founding members and non founding members. It takes a 3/4ths vote. School being removed can’t vote. Texas state lost its vote when it withdrew. It’ll rake 9 of 12 to vote someone out

[HoustonCajun]

Take a guess who doesn’t care if you can take a bus to play your games? If they east wants to break off, they can, if they can get a new conference approved. They will each pay the $10 million in exit fees. South Alabama is an original SBC member from 1976, Cajuns and ULM are original football members. The east can’t take the SBC for basically the same reason ULM isn’t getting kicked out. Why would they go through all that to avoid 1 road game vs the west a year?

Just speculating, but IF the East teams could break away and form a new conference, it could look like this:

App State
Marshall
JMU
ODU
Coastal
GA State
GA Southern

Add 3 MAC teams for a pretty strong 10 team regional conference:

Ohio
Toledo
Miami Ohio

Where would that leave UL in the SBC? Only 6 remaining teams and we're back to the ULM scenario. Only option would be to add CUSA teams. Pretty crappy situation to be in. Let's hope this doesn't happen.

Louisiana
S. Miss
Ark State
Troy
S. Alabama
ULM

[CrazyCajun]

Just speculating, but IF the East teams could break away and form a new conference, it could look like this:

App State
Marshall
JMU
ODU
Coastal
GA State
GA Southern

Add 3 MAC teams for a pretty strong 10 team regional conference:

Ohio
Toledo
Miami Ohio

Where would that leave UL in the SBC? Only 6 remaining teams and we're back to the ULM scenario. Only option would be to add CUSA teams. Pretty crappy situation to be in. Let's hope this doesn't happen.

Louisiana
S. Miss
Ark State
Troy
S. Alabama
ULM

Again, we are talking about 1 road game in football and 2 road series in spring sports and 7 basketball games. As long as we keep divisions its really not an issue. georgia southern is the same distance to usm as it is to jmu. Im just not buying them wanted to break away just because of travel.

[MarlinMan3]

did u ask ChatGPT for that?

Nope

[CajunT]

Not cheering for removal, but the publicly available constitution and by laws on the internet (from 2022) does not differentiate between founding members and non founding members. It takes a 3/4ths vote. School being removed can’t vote. Texas state lost its vote when it withdrew. It’ll rake 9 of 12 to vote someone out

I don't believe ASU or UL would vote against them. I have no evidence, but the history of corporation between the 3 programs. Since the SBC asked them for projections and plans to raise revenue going forward, they would have to respond at some point.