Texas State notebook: Sun Belt grows as newcomers win in arbitration

Keff Ciardello
·3 min read
Texas State's Alyssa Wilson, a transfer from UCLA, won the women's hammer throw in last weekend's Texas Relays. She set school records in the hammer on consecutive days.
Texas State's Alyssa Wilson, a transfer from UCLA, won the women's hammer throw in last weekend's Texas Relays. She set school records in the hammer on consecutive days.

SAN MARCOS — The Sun Belt Conference will officially be the largest it has been in its 22 years of playing football after Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Mississippi won in arbitration against Conference USA to leave that league.

"We are delighted to welcome Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss as full members of the Sun Belt Conference on July 1, 2022,” Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill said in a statement. “With the addition of James Madison, the Sun Belt will increase to 14 member institutions with passionate fan bases. This expansion will produce even stronger regional rivalries – something we're very much looking forward to this fall. Our future is bright, and the 2022-23 academic year promises to be one of the most anticipated in Sun Belt history."

The three programs announced in December their intentions to join the Sun Belt as early as this fall, but Conference USA was firm in its stance that they should honor contractual obligations and not leave until 2023. Conference USA bylaws require a 14-month exit window before a program can depart.

Conference USA even released a 2022 football schedule in February featuring the three programs and demanded arbitration. The Sun Belt released its own schedule soon after, also featuring Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss, as well as James Madison University.

Marshall sued and was granted a temporary restraining order against Conference USA soon after the schedule release in February. After arbitration concluded last week, with a ruling in favor of the departing programs, Conference USA acknowledged the resolution in a joint statement with Marshall, ODU and Southern Miss.

“Conference USA, Marshall University, Old Dominion University, and the University of Southern Mississippi have reached a resolution that allows the schools to withdraw as members at the end of the academic year. Conference USA will move forward into the 2022-23 academic year with 11 members. The Universities will compete as members of the Sun Belt Conference,” the statement said.

Baseball: Texas State (20-6, 5-1) has been upset in consecutive midweek games, including a 12-9 loss at Sam Houston State on Tuesday. The Bobcats had an eight-game win streak snapped the previous week with a 4-2 loss to Incarnate Word. They’ll look to bounce back on the road this weekend in a three-game series with Appalachian State before a Tuesday matchup at Texas A&M.

Softball: The Bobcats have won four straight since losing to Texas 4-2. With a three-game sweep on the road over Coastal Carolina and a 5-3 win at UTSA on Wednesday, Texas State (18-13, 5-4) has moved to fourth in the conference standings. The Bobcats are back home this weekend with a three-game series against Louisiana.

Track and field: Alyssa Wilson was named the Sun Belt women’s field athlete of the week after four first-place finishes in two different meets, including setting a school record for the hammer throw — twice. She first set the record with a toss of 69.68 meters March 24 before topping that the next day with a toss at 71.36 meters. She also set the school record in the discus at 56.50 meters March 25. A UCLA transfer in her first year, Wilson has earned Sun Belt honors three times, once in January and twice over the past two weeks.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Arkansas State's Damphousse likely to be new Texas State president