Two of Liberty’s greatest competitors for the vacant 12th football slot in the Sun Belt, James Madison and Missouri State, both appear to be out of the Sun Belt’s immediate plans for realignment.
Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson made the following statement regarding James Madison and realignment: “It appears they made a decision to stay FCS. We never offered an invitation and we never extended an invitation either formal or informal. They were under consideration.” Earlier in the day, JMU President Jonathan Alger also released an update on the Dukes and their “conference affiliation discussions.”
Missouri State’s president was also interviewed earlier this week and had this to say about the Sun Belt: “Let’s address the Sun Belt, I have had no interaction with anyone in the Sun Belt Conference about moving. We have not been invited to move to that conference. I have had no conversation with our Board, or any Board member, about moving there.” You can listen to his full interview here with the information about the Sun Belt starting at the 7:20 mark.
That leaves Liberty, UMass, and Eastern Kentucky as the only sensible options to join the Sun Belt prior to the June 1st deadline. UMass would be as a football only member; whereas, Liberty and Eastern Kentucky would be moving up from the FCS ranks.
