The Sun Belt Conference announced the official decision to decline a contract extension to Idaho and New Mexico State as football-only conference members.
“This was a strategic decision that was reached following a thorough and complete review of our options,” said Sun Belt President Denise Trauth. “The Sun Belt’s Presidents and Chancellors strongly believe that it is in the best interest of the conference to have a core membership of 10 football teams that are geographically located within the ‘footprint’ of the conference and that these 10 members also compete in conference sports.”
Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson said there was no official vote from conference presidents on the topic. Instead, Sun Belt officials exchanged information following presentations from Idaho and New Mexico State.
“There were no votes taken, it was a matter of being able to share information and compare notes,” Benson said. “And that’s not uncommon.”
The Sun Belt commissioner said geographical location played a key role in the decision, but bowl game appearances would have outweighed other considerations.
“I think that it would have absolutely been a factor, had then been greater on-field success by either university,” Benson said. “But it didn’t happen and the decision we had to make was not based on what might happen in the future.”
The Argonaut and Vandal Nation will continue to cover the story.
