Ruston, La. (BuzzReport) — Louisiana Tech University has taken legal action in an escalating dispute with Conference USA as the school seeks to finalize its move to the Sun Belt Conference next year.
The Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System filed a lawsuit late Wednesday on behalf of Louisiana Tech against Conference USA. The case was submitted in the Third Judicial District Court in Lincoln Parish and seeks temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive relief, along with declaratory relief.
The filing spans 102 pages, including a 33-page complaint and 69 pages of supporting exhibits outlining the university’s claims and correspondence between the two sides.
Dispute Over Exit Timeline
Louisiana Tech officials say they notified Conference USA in July 2025 that the school intended to leave the league on July 1, 2026, after accepting an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference.
However, the university claims Conference USA attempted to change the effective departure date and imposed financial conditions that Tech believes are inconsistent with past conference exits.
In a statement released by the university, officials said the lawsuit was filed to protect the interests of student-athletes.
“Today, Louisiana Tech took a necessary step in the best interest of its student-athletes,” the statement read. “When we joined Conference USA in 2013, its membership, scheduling, and the overall landscape of college athletics were very different.”
The university said it had been working toward an amicable separation after providing seven months’ notice of its intent to leave but claims a recently proposed 2026 football schedule by Conference USA forced its hand.
Financial Disagreements
The lawsuit outlines months of negotiations between Louisiana Tech and conference officials.
After Tech announced its plans to leave, the two sides met in Dallas in July 2025. Conference officials reportedly invited the university to submit a financial proposal to resolve the exit terms.
Tech submitted an offer on August 1, 2025, saying it intended to meet its financial obligations under conference bylaws. Conference USA later issued a counteroffer that the university claims relied on financial calculations and variables that had never been disclosed to member schools.
One key point of contention involves NCAA-designated distributions. According to the lawsuit, Conference USA has attempted to withhold funds that Louisiana Tech argues are intended for student-athlete welfare.
Those distributions—estimated at roughly $1 million annually—include funding for academic enhancement programs, grant-in-aid, sport sponsorships, and other support for student-athletes.
The lawsuit argues that the conference does not have the authority to withhold those funds.
Comparisons to Past Departures
Louisiana Tech also points to previous departures from Conference USA, including exits by Marshall Thundering Herd, Southern Miss Golden Eagles, and Old Dominion Monarchs in 2022.
According to the filing, those schools were allowed to leave on shorter notice than Louisiana Tech has provided.
Conference USA responded in October 2025 by maintaining that the conference was entitled to two full years of withheld distributions as a condition for an early departure.
Louisiana Tech rejected that requirement and requested mediation, which the conference declined unless the university first agreed to those financial terms.
Escalation Over 2026 Schedule
The dispute intensified in February 2026 when Louisiana Tech sent what it described as a final attempt to resolve the matter. The university reiterated it would not compete in Conference USA during the 2026 football season and warned that placing the school on the league’s schedule would be misleading.
Conference USA responded days later, stating the league’s board “did not and cannot accept Louisiana Tech’s offer to withdraw early” and included the Bulldogs in its 2026 schedule.
That decision ultimately prompted the legal filing.
Return to a Familiar Conference
Louisiana Tech first joined Conference USA in 2013 when the league had 16 members. With several schools departing—including UTEP Miners heading to the Mountain West Conference—the conference landscape has shifted dramatically.
By the time Tech plans to depart in 2026, only one of the league’s original 16 members from 2013—FIU Panthers—will remain.
The move would bring Louisiana Tech back to the Sun Belt Conference, where the school competed from 1991 through 2001 before leaving for the now-defunct Western Athletic Conference.
Joining the Sun Belt would also reignite several regional rivalries, including matchups with the ULM Warhawks, Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, and Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
During a press conference announcing the Sun Belt invitation in July 2025, Louisiana Tech Athletic Director Ryan Ivey emphasized the importance of regional competition.
“Think of college athletics today and where it is, and it’s because of the fandom that has been created over the last 30 or 40 years,” Ivey said. “A lot of that has to do with the regional rivalries—what I like to call just good old-fashioned hate. We may love each other on Sundays, but on Saturdays, we hate each other. That’s what makes college athletics great.”
Conference USA has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit.