LAFAYETTE — And then there were 10 ... or at least there will be in a few years.
The Sun Belt Conference announced Tuesday that it will move to a 10-team format for the 2018 football season. It will not renew the contracts of football-only members New Mexico State and Idaho when they expire following the 2017 season.
How that affects the conference from several standpoints — the appearance of future schedules, and the possibility of divisions and a conference championship game among them — remains to be determined.
The decision not to keep New Mexico State and Idaho as football-only members was based on several factors, including on-field performance, finance and eliminating lengthy travel to the conference’s most remote outposts, Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson said.