Next year they’ll be Sun Belt peers, but for now they’re bowl opponents that have zero history together.
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) and Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (7-5, 5-3 Conference USA) are slated to meet in the 2025 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA on Tuesday, Dec. 30.
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Louisiana Tech will play one last time with the CUSA patch on its jersey before transitioning to the Sun Belt in summer 2026. The Bulldogs produced their first winning season since 2019, finally getting over the hump under fourth-year head coach Sonny Cumbie. Speaking of 2019, that is the most recent year Louisiana Tech claimed a bowl victory, and the Bulldogs won six-straight bowls from 2014-19 under former head coach Skip Holtz.
Cumbie seeks his first bowl win as the frontman, and he received a unique opportunity to do so last year. Since Sun Belt champion Marshall opted out of the Independence Bowl due to a lack of available players, Louisiana Tech stepped in at 5-7, yet lost 27-6 to American champion Army. Thus, this marks the Bulldogs’ second-straight trip to the Independence Bowl — roughly a one-hour drive from Louisiana Tech’s campus.
Coastal Carolina is bowling for the sixth-consecutive year, and the Chanticleers produced a 2-3 bowl record in the past five years. The 9th-year FBS program recently fired head coach Tim Beck after three seasons, promoting defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson to interim head coach for this upcoming game. Coastal Carolina aims to snap its 3-game losing skid in Shreveport, and this marks the Chanticleers first trip to the Louisiana city.
The Independence Bowl offers one of the more diverse portfolios of college football postseason games, featuring the American, ACC, Big 12, CUSA, Pac-12, SEC, Sun Belt, and an Independent all in the last 10 years. The bowl has been operation since 1976, yet this is the first CUSA vs. Sun Belt matchup Shreveport has witnessed.
Coastal Carolina and Louisiana Tech kick off on ESPN at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 30 from Independence Stadium.
