NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Sun Belt Conference has formally approved a proposal to extend a membership invitation to Louisiana Tech, a person familiar with the situation said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Monday because the Sun Belt has not announced the membership offer, and Louisiana Tech has not announced its decision to accept it and leave Conference USA.

The person said it is not clear how soon the Bulldogs will join the Sun Belt, but that it could be as early as the 2026 football season if the university is able to negotiate a departure from Conference USA at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.

Another person familiar with the situation said Louisiana Tech had notified Conference USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod of its intent to move to the Sun Belt. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because MacLeod had not yet commented publicly on the matter, which was first reported by ESPN.

The Sun Belt has been exploring the possibility of adding a team since Texas State announced in late June that it would be leaving for the Pac-12.

The addition of Louisiana Tech would restore Sun Belt football to a 14-team league and also place Tech in same league as several current, former or new regional rivals, including Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette, Southern Mississippi, and South Alabama.

“The @SunBelt conference just got even more interesting!" Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry wrote in a social media post. “Congratulations, @LATech. Looking forward to some great in state rivalries going forward!”

Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech's move would mark the 10th departure from Conference USA since 2022 — a list that includes Southern Mississippi, Texas-San Antonio, Charlotte, Old Dominion, Rice, North Texas, Marshall, Florida Atlantic and Alabama-Birmingham leaving the league.

Of those, Southern Miss, Old Dominion and Marshall also moved to the Sun Belt.

Louisiana Tech, was part of the Sun Belt as a non-football member from 1991-2001. The Bulldogs were an independent Football Bowl Subdivision program before all of its teams joined the WAC in 2002.

Louisiana Tech moved to Conference USA in 2013.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football