The Sun Belt Conference will not renew the football-only membership of New Mexico State and Idaho, the league announced Tuesday. New Mexico State’s other sports play in the Western Athletic Conference.
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The move will go into effect after the 2017-18 college football season.
Idaho, a former Big Sky football power which is still a member in other sports, has a standing offer from the conference to rejoin it, which would drop the Vandals back to the FCS level.
Idaho President Chuck Staben says he is disappointed by the Sun Belt’s decision. “We will also now have serious conversations with our football coaches and athletics directors about conducting a football championship game”.
Benson added that in order to be considered for the College Football Playoff, the conference realized it would have to hold a title game, which he said was made easier by the championship game deregulation vote.
“This will bring it to a head…”, Benson said of the championship game decision. UI made a presentation to the Sun Belt in mid-February, at the conference’s request, to outline UI’s value to the conference.
Long is already the leading rebounder in school and Sun Belt history (1,393), the 4th leading scorer in school and Sun Belt history (2,224), and needs only 3 more blocks to add to his current total of 264 to become the 2nd leading shot blocker in conference history. “But we are optimistic about the options before us and we are continuing to diligently consider our future affiliation as an opportunity to find the stability and full participation we have not experienced in the Sun Belt. We recognize that [NMSU] and Idaho need to move down the road, so we decided now was the time to make the announcement.” ~Dr. The conference presented both schools with a list of eight factors that would determine the future of their affiliation in December 2015. Idaho and New Mexico State were a combined 10-37 overall and 8-24 in the Sun Belt over the past two seasons.
Idaho and New Mexico State were the western-most members of the conference.
Beginning with the 2018 football season the Sun Belt Conference will be a 10-team football league.
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Idaho and New Mexico State, both orphaned by the dissolution of the WAC football sponsorship only a few years ago, were independent programs until joining the Sun Belt in 2014 as affiliate members.
