Arkansas State-Louisiana Tech rivalry renewed as Bulldogs officially rejoin Sun Belt
One of Arkansas State’s oldest football rivalries is officially back.
Louisiana Tech officially became a member of the Sun Belt Conference on Wednesday, returning to the league for the first time since 2001 and restoring an annual conference matchup with Arkansas State that dates back nearly seven decades.
While the Sun Belt celebrated the addition of its 14th football-playing member, Red Wolves fans gained something perhaps even more significant — the return of a familiar regional opponent that has shared conference affiliations, recruiting battles and memorable games with Arkansas State for generations.
“We are excited to officially welcome Louisiana Tech as a member of the Sun Belt Conference,” Commissioner Keith Gill said in a statement. “With a tradition of athletic success, a passionate fanbase and a geographic location situated within the current Sun Belt footprint, the addition of Louisiana Tech reunites a number of long-standing regional rivalries under the conference banner.”
Few rivalries fit that description better than Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech.
The schools first met on the football field in 1956 and have played 38 times, with Louisiana Tech holding a 26-12 advantage in the all-time series.
For decades, the programs were regular conference opponents, facing one another as members of the Southland Conference, Big West Conference and later the Sun Belt during the 1990s before Louisiana Tech departed for the Western Athletic Conference following the 2000 season.
Although the rivalry disappeared from the conference schedule, it never completely went away.
The two schools met in one of college football’s most memorable postseason matchups during the 2015 New Orleans Bowl. Arkansas State entered the game as the Sun Belt champion riding an eight-game winning streak, while Louisiana Tech countered with future NFL quarterback Jeff Driskel and record-setting running back Kenneth Dixon.
The Bulldogs pulled away in the second half for a 47-28 victory as Dixon accounted for four touchdowns and broke the NCAA career record for total touchdowns.
That bowl game remains the most recent meeting between the programs and served as a reminder of how competitive the rivalry had become despite no longer sharing conference membership.
Now, those games will once again carry conference championship implications.
With both programs expected to contend near the top of the Sun Belt’s West Division this season, the renewed Arkansas State-Louisiana Tech matchup immediately becomes one of the conference’s most anticipated annual games.
The rivalry extends beyond what happens on Saturdays.
Separated by less than 180 miles, Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech have long competed for many of the same recruits throughout Arkansas, Louisiana and East Texas. The schools also share similar identities as regional public universities that have consistently produced winning football programs despite operating outside the Power Four.
Louisiana Tech returns to the Sun Belt after spending the past 12 seasons in Conference USA. During its first stint in the league from 1991-2001, the Bulldogs enjoyed success across multiple sports, highlighted by the Lady Techsters’ nine consecutive Sun Belt women’s basketball regular-season championships from 1993-2001.
Founded in 1976, the Sun Belt now enters its 50th year with 14 football members: App State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Troy and ULM.