Louisiana Tech’s date of entry to the Sun Belt Conference remains up in the air, which commissioner Keith Gill said could be a “challenge” for the league.

The Bulldogs will depart Conference USA “by July 1, 2027,” which could leave the Sun Belt in limbo for the 2026 season after Texas State exits for the Pac-12. Scheduling logistics would be difficult, Gill said, and the Sun Belt would likely scrap its East-West divisional format in a 13-team league.

“If we end up with 13, I think that’ll be a big challenge,” Gill said. “Scheduling football when you’re odd is really difficult, and so that certainly means somebody will have to play 12 games in a row, just because of the way it sets up and the way the math works.

“I think we’d have to absolutely get out of divisions. … That means that the East — because the West would be losing a game — would have to give up some games against their rivals to play teams in the West. So 13 is really a challenge, and so we hope we don’t have to find out what that looks like. … hope we don’t have to implement that plan because I do think it’s a challenge in terms of the way the football schedule falls out.”

Gill said that the Sun Belt has a scheduling policy not to have one team play more than seven weeks in a row, but that would have to be altered with a 13-team league. Currently, every team plays its six division rivals every year, then two from the other division.

It’s still possible Louisiana Tech could join the Sun Belt for 2026, but the school still has to work out an exit plan with CUSA. The Bulldogs leaving a year early would cost the school significantly more money.

“It will be interesting to see when they actually join,” Gil said. “That’s an open question, and so Louisiana Tech will have some conversations with their conference to kind of figure that out. And so we’ll see how that progresses.”

Texas State announced its departure for the Pac-12 on June 30, and the Sun Belt officially added Louisiana Tech on July 15. Gill said the speed of that announcement “speaks to the strength of our conference.”

Louisiana Tech was a member of the Sun Belt from 1991-2001, but left the league before it began playing a full football schedule. The Bulldogs have struggled in football in recent years, but are a traditional power in women’s basketball and have been highly competitive in baseball of late. “I think being able to add a school like Louisiana Tech, they have great tradition, they have great success, and it allows us to keep our momentum,” Gill said. “It allows us also to double down on the things that we do really well — our regional rivalries, common sense geography, making sure that games and fans have interest. And they have a great tradition of success.”

Texas State joined the Sun Belt in 2013 after moving up from the FBS level, and has been among the league’s top programs in softball and men’s basketball in the last half-decade. The Bobcats’ football program has improved steadily, going 8-5 and playing in back-to-back bowl games in 2023 and 2024.

Gill said the Bobcats have been “a great partner” and will be missed in the Sun Belt.

“They’ve been great people to work with, so I think it’s really a personal loss, losing friends in some ways, although we’ll stay connected and stay in touch, but I also think for the conference, they’ve been great,” Gill said. “They’ve had two bowls over the last two years, and it’s been amazing in terms of seeing those crowds at (bowl games).

“… They’ve been a great contributor to our success, and so we thank them for everything that they’ve done. We thank them for what a great partner they’ve been, and we certainly wish them the best in the future endeavors.”