The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are currently scheduled to play 20 American football games next year from Sept. 5 through Nov. 28. Twenty.
This won’t be the case when schedules are finalized, but Louisiana Tech finds itself in a heated custody battle between the Conference USA and Sun Belt. The Bulldogs have belonged to the CUSA since 2013, but on July 15, 2025, they were officially added to the Sun Belt — with a date of admission “no later than July 1, 2027,” per the conference’s press release.
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The lack of an additional date of admission only muddied up the waters for 2026. Without an official move, both the CUSA and Sun Belt claimed Louisiana Tech on their 2026 football schedules. The Sun Belt schedule was slated to release on Friday, March 13, and it did, but the CUSA published its schedule beforehand — with an unexpected 9:40 p.m. ET release on Thursday, March 12.
Now Louisiana Tech has conflicting schedules, and only one conference will win this custody battle.
This isn’t the first instance of this occurrence between the CUSA and Sun Belt. In 2022, the CUSA released its initial schedule including Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss — three Sun Belt-bound programs that didn’t have an official move-in date. However, the Sun Belt ultimately secured all three teams for the 2022 season, causing the CUSA to later unveil a revised edition of its 2022 schedule devoid of Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss.
Louisiana Tech is currently in a lawsuit with the CUSA. The Bulldogs intend to join the Sun Belt in 2026, but CUSA bylaws require a 14-month notice prior to departure. This lawsuit is similar to the legal action Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss took four years ago. As of March 13, the parties have not come to any official agreement or financial settlement.
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That creates a scheduling mess where Louisiana Tech is now on the CUSA and Sun Belt schedules, and whatever conference loses the custody battle must rerelease its schedule. Here are the Bulldogs’ dueling 2026 schedules:
|
Week |
Saturday Date |
CUSA Schedule |
Sun Belt Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Sept. 5 |
vs. Northwestern State (FCS)* |
vs. Northwestern State (FCS)* |
|
2 |
Sept. 12 |
at LSU* |
at LSU* |
|
3 |
Sept. 19 |
at Baylor* |
at Baylor* |
|
4 |
Sept. 26 |
vs. Middle Tennessee |
BYE |
|
5 |
Oct. 3 |
vs. Army* |
vs. Army* |
|
6 |
Oct. 10 |
at FIU [Thu] |
vs. Louisiana |
|
7 |
Oct. 17 |
vs. Missouri State [Wed] |
at ULM |
|
8 |
Oct. 24 |
at Liberty [Wed] |
vs. Old Dominion |
|
9 |
Oct. 31 |
vs. Kennesaw State [Wed] |
at South Alabama |
|
10 |
Nov. 7 |
at Jacksonville State |
at Troy |
|
11 |
Nov. 14 |
BYE |
vs. Southern Miss |
|
12 |
Nov. 21 |
vs. Delaware |
vs. Arkansas State [Thu or Fri or Sat] |
|
13 |
Nov. 28 |
at Sam Houston |
st Georgia Southern |
|
14 |
Dec. 5 |
CUSA Championship Game [Fri] |
Sun Belt Championship Game [Fri] |
* denotes non-conference game
Although it definitely will not happen, for visualization purposes, here is the full 20-game gauntlet Louisiana Tech is currently slated to face:
|
Date |
Opponent |
|---|---|
|
Saturday, Sept. 5 |
vs. Northwestern State (FCS) |
|
Saturday, Sept. 12 |
at LSU |
|
Saturday, Sept. 19 |
at Baylor |
|
Saturday, Sept. 26 |
vs. Middle Tennessee |
|
Saturday, Oct. 3 |
vs. Army |
|
Thursday, Oct. 8 |
at FIU |
|
Saturday, Oct. 10 |
vs. Louisiana |
|
Wednesday, Oct. 14 |
vs. Missouri State |
|
Saturday, Oct. 17 |
at ULM |
|
Wednesday, Oct. 21 |
at Liberty |
|
Saturday, Oct. 24 |
vs. Old Dominion |
|
Wednesday, Oct. 28 |
vs. Kennesaw State |
|
Saturday, Oct. 31 |
at South Alabama |
|
Saturday, Nov. 7 |
at Troy |
|
Saturday, Nov. 7 |
at Jacksonville State |
|
Saturday, Nov. 14 |
vs. Southern Miss |
|
Thursday, Nov. 19 or Friday, Nov. 20 or Saturday, Nov. 21 |
vs. Arkansas State |
|
Saturday, Nov. 21 |
vs. Delaware |
|
Saturday, Nov. 28 |
at Georgia Southern |
|
Saturday, Nov. 28 |
at Sam Houston |
When the dust settles, there won’t be any two-a-weeks in October nor two-a-days in November, and eight conference games will be wiped off this magnificent gauntlet. Either the CUSA or Sun Belt will eventually win out. But for now, we can bank on Louisiana Tech opening its season in Ruston, LA on Saturday, Sept. 5 vs. FCS opponent Northwestern State.
