Louisiana Voice

When I wrote a few years back that Louisiana Tech University had delusions of grandeur and should not attempt to play with the big boys, I apparently was wrong.

It’s not the first time for me to miscalculate how the winds blow but as a Tech alumnus and a native of Ruston, a decidedly small city, it just didn’t seem to be within Tech’s reach to be able to compete with the Alabamas, Auburns or Floridas. Those, after all, are serious programs that pay serious money to big-time coaches to put their teams in positions to win national championships, or at least compete for titles.

Tech simply did not belong in that rarified air. Or so I thought.

But now Tech, much like big brothers Michigan, LSU and Texas A&M, among others, has become embroiled in a sticky mess of a lawsuit, this one involving conference affiliation. As usual, when the lawyers get involved, the lines get a little blurred—which makes Tech no different than any other school.

You see, Tech once was a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). Then it joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), then Conference USA (CUSA) but now it wants to get back in the Sunbelt and that’s where it all gets a tad confusing.

Personally, I preferred it when Maxie Lambright’s Bulldogs, led by such players as Fred Dean, Terry Bradshaw, Kenny Lantrip, Denny Duron, Roger Carr and company were kicking butt in the old Southland Conference and competing for small college national titles (the 1984 playoff game with Archie “Gunslinger” Cooley’s Mississippi Valley Delta Devils, led by Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, was a classic).

But back to current events. It seems that both CUSA and the SBC are determined to have Tech as a member school for the 2026 football season. Each conference has released its respective football schedule for the coming year and (surprise!) Tech is included in both schedules.

Cue the state politicians.

This is too important to leave to the school and the two conferences to work out. So, accordingly, the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System has filed a LAWSUIT on behalf of Tech against CUSA. On March 13 (yep, Friday the 13^th), that petition was amended because on Thursday, the 12^th, CUSA, from whom Tech is seeking a divorce, released its fall schedule that included Tech and less than 18 hours later the SBC released its schedule which also includes Tech.

So, on paper, Bulldog fans appear to be in for some bonus football for the upcoming football season, what with Tech competing in two conferences simultaneously.

But in reality, that can’t happen. It’s gonna have to be an either or for Tech—obviously not both.

So, after the two conferences each claimed Tech as a member, an AMENDED PETITION was filed by the Board of Supervisors in 3^rd District Court in Ruston. But CUSA filed its own motion to move the case into federal court. That’s right: CUSA is making a federal case of it all. But the state will likely argue to move it back to state court, all of which drags the whole mess out perpetually and produces lucrative billable hours for the attorneys on both sides.

Talk about big time football…