Editor’s note: Ohio University said July 11 that the report of them exploring joining the Sun Belt Conference is “inaccurate.” That story is here.
Ohio University is exploring the possibility of leaving the Mid-American Conference for the Sun Belt Conference, according to the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Officials from the school have held preliminary discussions with the Sun Belt Conference over the past few weeks after Texas State announced it was joining the reconfigured Pac-12 Conference, the report said.
The paper reported that nothing is immiment and that Ohio University may simply be reaching out to gauge interest, adding that discussions “may be more about establishing relationships for the future.”
The Sun Belt also has been linked with Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky, both members of Conference USA, and the league has yet to decide if it will stay at 13 members or add a 14th for the 2026 season.
Ohio University, the lone remaining charter member of the MAC, is not the first MAC school to test the waters of conference realignment. Northern Illinois dived into the drama in January when it announced it was leaving the MAC to become a football-only member of the Mountain West Conference, with NIU’s other sports competing in the Horizon League. Toledo also reportedly was linked to the Mountain West before opting to stay in the MAC.
This story was updated to add a video.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Report: Ohio University exploring move from Mid-American Conference to Sun Belt Conference
Reporting by Staff reports / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
