Louisiana Tech Settles Schedule After Lawsuit
Louisiana Tech will officially join the Sun Belt Conference this summer after settling a legal dispute with Conference USA. The university paid over $8 million to exit their previous conference agreement, and avoid a forced 20 game schedule. This payment guarantees the football program can move forward with a standard season schedule, instead of the twenty game schedule they were facing after being placed on both the Conference USA and Sun Belt schedules.
The dispute started when the school accepted an invitation to the Sun Belt Conference last year. Conference USA officials attempted to enforce contract penalties that would have created an impossible scenario for the student athletes...forcing them into an insane amount of matchups.
Complete Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 2026 Football Schedule
The upcoming season now features a traditional 12 game format following the legal settlement. The team will face a mix of great non-conference opponents and new (old) Sun Belt rivals. Here's what the new schedule will look like:
Sept 5 - Northwestern State - Home
Sept 12 - LSU - Road
Sept 19 - Baylor - Road
Oct 3 - Army - Home
Oct 10 - Louisiana-Lafayette - Home
Oct 17 - ULM - Road
Oct 24 - Old Dominion - Home
Oct 31 - South Alabama - Road
Nov 7 - Troy - Road
Nov 14 - Southern Miss - Home
Nov 19 - Arkansas State - Home
Nov 28 - Georgia Southern - Road
The updated schedule presents a more logical path this fall. Fans can now lock in travel plans without worrying about midweek contract dispute games...bringing stability back to the program.
Multiple In State Matchups Highlight The New Conference Era
Moving to the Sun Belt Conference increases local matchups for the program. The new schedule includes four games against teams from Louisiana, which has fans across the state excited for the return of classic matchups.
The team will host Northwestern State and Louisiana-Lafayette at home in Ruston. They will also travel to Baton Rouge to play LSU, and will visit Monroe to take on ULM in a neighborhood faceoff.