In just five years, the conversation has gone from “Who’d want to join the Sun Belt?” to “Who doesn’t want to join the Sun Belt?” The SBC, bearing an elegant footprint designed to make fans happy and an emerging growth in all the money sports, may be too good to decline. Commissioner Keith Gill, who opens Sun Belt Media Days on July 22nd, has more than one option.

Personally, I like them all – provided the conference doesn’t consider another FCS elevation. We’ve taken the best, and now it’s time to pick a few ready-to-go programs with the proper FBS mentality.

The SBC Turncoats: Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky

Middle Tennessee is a New Sun Belt Original Gangsta, joining in 2001 with Arkansas State, Idaho, ULM, Louisiana, North Texas and New Mexico State. The Blue Raiders won the very first Sun Belt football title – and never won another. Western Kentucky, an amusingly good basketball school, was added to the conference as a full member in 2009 by elevating it’s football program to FBS. The Hilltoppers men’s basketball team won three conference championships in their brief time as full members.

What happened? Conference USA sauntered onto the college landscape and convinced a number G5 programs that its marketshare was so valuable that it belonged in a conference who could leverage the numbers to its fullest. Middle Tennessee (along with FIU, FAU and North Texas) took the bait, and near the end of the 2012 football season, declared themselves the newest members of CUSA. Western Kentucky jumped ship a year later.

For the Sun Belt, this was a crises moment. The Hilltoppers and Blue Raiders were hot brands, and there weren’t obvious replacements waiting in the wings. (The Sun Belt would add Georgia State and, ironically, Texas State in 2013; Idaho and New Mexico in 2014.) To see these programs leave – right in the middle of a tight football race – was aggravating, and some SBC fans have yet to forgive.

Since then, CUSA has become a conference largely made of small-value FCS call ups with most of its valuable programs bailing for the AAC and the Sun Belt. Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky (along with the money bags of Liberty) are the only reliable buoys keeping the conference afloat.

Middle Tennessee isn’t quite the program it was in the early and mid zeros. Western Kentucky, however, has only grown as a football program – its men’s basketball program hasn’t quite achieved the glory it had gained as a Sun Belt member. The Hilltoppers are probably the better investment than the Blue Raider, with its far better branding that its contemporary in Tennessee. Who wouldn’t welcome the Big Blood Clot back to the Belt?

ACQUISTION RATING: B– (MTSU), A (WKU)

America’s Most Hated: Louisiana Tech

We’ve already discussed the merits of the Bulldogs. The proposition of Louisiana Tech rejoining the Sun Belt is divisive. The Bulldogs declined to join the New Sun Belt in 2001, opting to join the WAC, which they found to be a more stable football conference (see how insufferable Louisiana Tech can be?). Like the Sun Belt defectors of 2012, the Bulldogs became beguiled by CUSA’s PowerPoint pitch and became a member in 2013. Though Louisiana Tech never won a football conference championship in CUSA, they enjoyed tremendous seasons with Skip Holtz at the helm. Since his departure, the Bulldogs have been seeking a comeback.

While Louisiana Tech is hated by many in the Sun Belt solar system, their inclusion does add an instant heated rival to the Sun Belt West. However, adding Rustin to the mix doesn’t exactly open the Sun Belt to fresh markets.

ACQUISTION RATING: B

Getting Some MACtion: Ohio

Is this for real? Apparently, some important people connected to the Sun Belt and the University of Ohio are on speaking terms, and the concept of adding a new Bobcats to the recipe isn’t inconceivable. The Ohio Bobcats are a founding member of the Mid-American Conference, forming it in 1946 along with programs like Cincinnati, Butler and Wayne State. So why is this MAC OG willing to bail on its own creation?

Though the MAC has been the most unmolested conferences in college sports, foundational cracks have begun to form. Northern Illinois, perhaps the conference’s most consistent football member, left this season to join the conference that used to be the Mountain West. With the ACC soon to implode (thanks to incoming defections from Florida State and Clemson), the resulting domino effect could further weaken the MAC. Ohio may be thinking, why not leave on our own terms?

Adding Ohio doesn’t necessarily crush the Sun Belt footprint: it’s only 80 miles from Marshall and a five hour bus ride to James Madison. By comparison, Texas State was a six hour drive to its nearest competitor, Louisiana. And there’s no doubt that Ohio fans love their Bobcats: the program boasted the second highest football attendance in the MAC, just behind Toledo.

However, the SBC East doesn’t need another member – the Sun Belt West does. Sure, the SBC could probably fold Georgia State into the West, and nearly everyone would be satisfied.

ACQUISTION RATING: A-

SBC East Object of Affection: East Carolina

Four years ago, I would have been much more excited about adding the Pirates. But the last two seasons, East Carolina as won six football games are are currently rebuilding under Blake Harrell. Pirates men’s basketball is, well, they play men’s basketball.

Baseball is a different story. The Pirates finished last in the CUSA in 2014, then finished first in the American the next year. Since then, ECU has treated its fanbase to consistent 40-win seasons and NCAA appearances with three straight super regional appearances from 2019 to 2022 (the 2020 season was canceled). The Pirates certainly fit the Sun Belt’s move to becoming an elite baseball conference.

But that’s not why Sun Belt East programs are squealing for East Carolina. Marshall and Appalachian State share some hot blood with ECU, and the distance between the Pirates and most SBC East rivals is Greyhound-approved. It helps that ECU has a solid fan base that brings 37,000 folks to every home football game.

Still, does the Sun Belt need another East Coast resident? Maybe! The prospect of the Sun Belt becoming a five-bid baseball conference has a way of gripping the mind.

ACQUISTION RATING: A

All American Rejects: UAB and Memphis

I’ve already made a lighthearted pitch to Memphis, as its inclusion into the Sun Belt just makes too much sense (plus it would spiritually destroy Memphis fans). The Tigers slide into the Sun Belt West footprint like a glass slipper, and the rivalry is baked in between Memphis and Arkansas State. The problem with Memphis is its wandering eye – the fan base (and maybe the administration) clearly views itself as P4 material, which is true at times for football and basketball. However, joining the Sun Belt would make Memphis a top cat in the conference while enhancing the appeal of the Sun Belt overall.

UAB, while a natural geographical fit, has some issues. For starters, Troy and South Alabama are likely as happy to see the Blazers join the conference as ULM and Louisiana are thrilled to have Louisiana Tech. Pushing border disputes aside, the Blazers do have a very solid basketball program, and if they ever fire Trent Dilfer, they may be competitive on the gridiron again, too.

Honestly, the biggest danger to UAB is the University of Alabama; who knows when the Board of Trustees is going to decide to liquidate the sports program again? Do we really need that uncertainty hanging over our heads?

ACQUISTION RATING: A+ [Memphis], C- [UAB]

Who Else, Y’all?

Names get bandied about all the time. There are a few voices for Missouri State and Sam Houston, who among the many FCS programs recently elevated by CUSA. Missouri and Texas are fine markets to expand the Sun Belt brand. If we’re considering old Sun Belt defectors, why not roll the dice on North Texas? They seem comfy in the American, but you never know until you make a phone call. Would the Sun Belt ever consider buying a condo in Florida again? Florida Atlantic seems like an odd fit for the American, and they’d certainly do much to improve the Sun Belt’s basketball competitiveness. Many SBC East pundits are saying Charlotte, so sure! If we’re serious about raiding the MAC, why not take the best property: Toledo?

There are no shortage of quality candidates to bring aboard, and that’s refreshing. In 2013 and 2014, our options were two FCS programs (I don’t want to hear it, Georgia State) and a pair of western misfits. Today, the shelves are full of options. Put enough coffee into me, and I’d make a case for Vanderbilt.

IMAGE: AI Monstrosity