Sun Belt Releases 2026 Schedule Amid Ongoing Issues with Louisiana Tech, Conference USA
Abdul Abusada • March 13, 2026
The Sun Belt Conference announced its "set" 2026 football schedule today, which includes the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
Normally, it does not take this long for the Sun Belt to release their annual football schedule. But ongoing issues between Louisiana Tech and Conference USA has complicated the process and delayed the schedule releases for both conferences.
That said, I would take this "set" schedule release with a grain of salt (with heavy emphasis on the quotation marks).
A few days ago, reports surfaced that the Sun Belt would indeed release its football schedule today and that it would include Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs have already accepted an invite to join the Sun Belt last July, and is pushing to make the move this summer, pending a court ruling next week.
Late Thursday night, however, Conference USA unexpectedly released its own "set" 2026 football schedule out of nowhere, which also includes Louisiana Tech as one of its member schools. The timing itself raised eyebrows, making it seem like the conference did it out of pettiness to release their version of the schedule with the Bulldogs included prior to the Sun Belt's scheduled Friday release, which was also set to include the Bulldogs.
As a result, Louisiana Tech is technically listed as a member of both conferences according to the newly released schedules. Of course, the Bulldogs cannot play in two conferences at once, which is why both schedule releases should be viewed as tentative for now.
A court ruling between the UL System (which oversees Louisiana Tech) and Conference USA is currently rumored to take place on Thursday next week (March 19th). The decision at this rumored hearing is expected to have a solution on whether Louisiana Tech can move to the Sun Belt in the summer or remain in the Conference USA for one more year before making the move in the summer of 2027.
Until then, it is a wait-and-see game for members of both the Sun Belt and Conference USA. Ultimately, one of these newly released schedules will be right, while the other will be forced to change. But it is in the best interest that both sides have their backup non-Louisiana Tech schedules ready to go in case the ruling swings one way over the other.
Here is the 2026 Sun Belt Football Schedule, per the Sun Belt Conference:
TEAM-BY-TEAM SCHEDULES
SUN BELT EAST DIVISION
APP STATE
9/5 Maine
9/12 at East Carolina
9/19 Charlotte
9/26 at North Carolina State
10/10 Old Dominion*
10/16 at Coastal Carolina*
10/22 James Madison*
10/31 at Georgia Southern*
11/7 Georgia State*
11/14 at Marshall*
11/21 ULM*
11/28 at South Alabama*
COASTAL CAROLINA
9/5 at West Virginia
9/12 Fordham
9/19 at Delaware
9/24 Liberty
10/3 Georgia Southern*
10/10 at Marshall*
10/16 App State*
10/31 at Georgia State*
11/7 Old Dominion*
11/14 Arkansas State*
11/21 at Louisiana*
11/28 at James Madison*
GEORGIA SOUTHERN
9/5 Charleston Southern
9/12 at Clemson
9/19 at Jacksonville State
9/26 Houston
10/3 at Coastal Carolina*
10/10 James Madison*
10/15 at Old Dominion*
10/31 App State*
11/7 Marshall*
11/14 at Georgia State*
11/21 at Troy*
11/28 Louisiana Tech*
GEORGIA STATE
9/5 North Carolina A&T
9/12 at Kennesaw State
9/19 at UCF
9/26 Northern Illinois
10/3 Old Dominion*
10/17 at James Madison*
10/24 at Arkansas State*
10/31 Coastal Carolina*
11/7 at App State*
11/14 Georgia Southern*
11/21 at Marshall*
11/28 Louisiana*
JAMES MADISON
9/5 Liberty
9/12 Wagner
9/19 at San Diego State
9/26 at Old Dominion*
10/3 Marshall*
10/10 at Georgia Southern*
10/17 Georgia State*
10/22 at App State*
10/29 Troy*
11/5 at Southern Miss*
11/14 at UConn
11/28 Coastal Carolina*
MARSHALL
9/5 at Penn State
9/12 Middle Tennessee
9/19 at Missouri State
9/26 Gardner-Webb
10/3 at James Madison*
10/10 Coastal Carolina*
10/20 South Alabama*
10/31 at Old Dominion*
11/7 at Georgia Southern*
11/14 App State*
11/21 Georgia State*
11/28 at ULM*
OLD DOMINION
9/5 Norfolk State
9/12 at Virginia Tech
9/19 East Carolina
9/26 James Madison*
10/3 at Georgia State*
10/10 at App State*
10/15 Georgia Southern*
10/24 at Louisiana Tech*
10/31 Marshall*
11/7 at Coastal Carolina*
11/21 at UConn
11/28 Southern Miss*
SUN BELT WEST DIVISION
ARKANSAS STATE
9/5 at Memphis
9/12 West Georgia
9/19 at TCU
9/26 Kennesaw State
10/3 at Louisiana*
10/8 South Alabama*
10/17 at Southern Miss*
10/24 Georgia State*
11/7 ULM*
11/14 at Coastal Carolina*
TBA^ at Louisiana Tech*
11/28 Troy*
LOUISIANA
9/5 Lamar
9/12 at USC
9/19 UAB
9/26 at Charlotte
10/3 Arkansas State*
10/10 at Louisiana Tech*
10/17 Troy*
10/24 at Southern Miss*
11/7 South Alabama*
11/12 at ULM*
11/21 Coastal Carolina*
11/28 at Georgia State*
ULM
9/5 at Mississippi State
9/12 at UAB
9/19 Southeastern Louisiana
9/26 Florida Atlantic
10/3 at South Alabama*
10/17 Louisiana Tech*
10/24 at Troy*
10/31 Southern Miss*
11/7 at Arkansas State*
11/12 Louisiana*
11/21 at App State*
11/28 Marshall*
LOUISIANA TECH
9/5 Northwestern State
9/12 at LSU
9/19 at Baylor
10/3 Army
10/10 Louisiana*
10/17 at ULM*
10/24 Old Dominion*
10/31 at South Alabama*
11/7 at Troy*
11/14 Southern Miss*
TBA^ Arkansas State*
11/28 at Georgia Southern*
SOUTH ALABAMA
9/5 Southeastern Louisiana
9/12 at Tulane
9/19 Ohio
9/26 at Kentucky
10/3 ULM*
10/8 at Arkansas State*
10/20 at Marshall*
10/31 Louisiana Tech*
11/7 at Louisiana*
11/14 Troy*
11/21 at Southern Miss*
11/28 App State*
SOUTHERN MISS
9/5 Alcorn State
9/12 at Auburn
9/19 UConn
9/26 at Tulane
10/6 at Troy*
10/17 Arkansas State*
10/24 Louisiana*
10/31 at ULM*
11/5 James Madison*
11/14 at Louisiana Tech*
11/21 South Alabama*
11/28 at Old Dominion*
TROY
9/5 Sam Houston
9/12 Alabama State
9/19 at Missouri
9/26 at Utah State
10/6 Southern Miss*
10/17 at Louisiana*
10/24 ULM*
10/29 at James Madison*
11/7 Louisiana Tech*
11/14 at South Alabama*
11/21 Georgia Southern*
11/28 at Arkansas State*
* Sun Belt Conference Game
^ TBA as 11/19, 11/20 or 11/21
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The Black and Gold (which one?) will be looking to continue their winning streak across the pond, surrounded by political unrest.
Tiger-on-Tiger/Plainsmen/War Eagle action today as LSU renews its battle with Auburn! This game is a favorite for both fan bases, as it usually involves big plays, superstar heroics, and even some interesting home-field advantages. LSU and Auburn have not played each other since 2023, when the Tigers of Baton Rouge defeated Auburn 48-18. That game was one of the rare blowouts in this series. Unfortunately, with the new nine-game SEC schedule, these two programs will no longer play each other every season. Now, both programs have a lot of hope surrounding them. Lane Kiffin was once courted by the Auburn Tigers, and it was widely believed that, at the end of the 2022 season, Kiffin would make the jump from Oxford to Auburn. However, he decided to stay with the Rebels for three more years. That's when THE Tigers came calling, and this time around, Lane Kiffin decided that Baton Rouge was the better fit for himself and his family. Auburn, on the other hand, has made a few coaching changes since the Kiffin courtship fell through, and now first-year head coach Alex Golesh has this Auburn program feeling very confident about itself. Auburn is coming off one of its biggest victories in the past decade after upsetting No. 1 Georgia on the road last week in Athens. Golesh has Auburn playing a QB-run-heavy offense, as transfer quarterback Byrum Brown leads the team in both rushing and passing. The dual-threat quarterback currently has over 400 rushing yards and more than 1,200 yards through the air. Brown has also added five touchdowns on the ground and another eight through the air. If LSU is going to win this game, the Tigers will have to deal with Brown. The Tigers cannot allow Brown to run downhill. It will be important for Blake Baker to have his defense operate with controlled aggression. The pass rush must maintain lane integrity, avoid rushing past the quarterback's depth, and prevent him from having a free lane to escape. It's important to note that Princewill Umanmielen left last week's game with an apparent head injury but will be a full go for today's matchup. Having one of the nation's sack leaders available will be a major boost, especially considering that true freshman five-star defensive tackle Richard Anderson will be out. Anderson underwent some type of surgery yesterday. However, after speaking with sources close to the situation, it does not appear that this will cause Anderson to miss the remainder of the season. There is currently no official timeline for his return. The defense needs to confuse Brown with its coverage and take away his first read, allowing the pass rush to collapse the pocket. Force him to escape toward one side of the field rather than stepping straight up through the middle, and have a defender available at every level to limit his mobility. Gang tackling is also a must against this monster. Brown is a 6-foot-4, 235-pound quarterback, and so far, he is the biggest quarterback the Tigers will face. On offense, LSU will have to account for rising star linebacker Elijah Melendez. Melendez's emergence as a defensive star is significant for Auburn, especially after the program removed All-SEC linebacker and former LSU Tiger Xavier Atkins from the team this week. Having Melendez step up and provide that caliber of play in Atkins' absence is a major positive for Auburn. The Auburn defense is not one that overwhelms opposing offenses. Instead, it is very opportunistic. If you make a mistake, the Tigers will capitalize on it, but they can be caught making mistakes themselves. Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin runs an aggressive, multiple defensive scheme. He will blitz from different levels of the field and stress the offensive line's blocking assignments. However, if the blitz is correctly identified, his defense can find itself in trouble. Auburn has struggled with missed tackles and blown coverages so far this season. Kiffin is very familiar with Durkin and his defense, as Durkin served as the co-defensive coordinator at Ole Miss in 2020 and 2021. LSU should look to establish the running game early, force Durkin to show his hand, and dictate the matchups it wants in the passing game. Matchups will be vital in this game, especially with the Tigers getting back a major offensive weapon in Trey'Dez Green. Having Green back, even in a limited capacity, will help LSU create and dictate the matchups it wants to exploit against Auburn's defense. LSU enters this game as a 7.5-point road favorite, and on paper, it's understandable why. LSU has more talent and should have the coaching advantage. But this is also LSU vs. Auburn, and both fan bases are well aware that this game has historically been tightly contested, regardless of who is coaching or playing quarterback for either program. The 2019 LSU team was held in check by Auburn, which limited that historic Tigers offense to its lowest point total and smallest margin of victory of the season. That year, Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Justin Jefferson were only able to put up 23 points against a stingy Auburn defense, narrowly escaping with a 23-20 victory at home in Death Valley. This will definitely be a fun game to watch. I'm taking the Tigers from Baton Rouge in a 34-26 victory. LSU has to end this two-year road losing streak, and that should happen today.