Louisiana Tech last had an opportunity to play in the Independence Bowl in 2012 before an administrative fiasco left the 9-3 Bulldogs without a bowl game to play in.
With the 2015-16 bowl season around the corner and the Independence Bowl serving as a secondary agreement with Conference USA, could Tech possibly be headed to Shreveport for the fifth time in school history?
The chances seem slim, but there's still a possibility, according to Tech athletic director Tommy McClelland.
"At this point the Independence Bowl is probably becoming even less of a reality even more so than it was to start because it was a secondary bowl. I don’t think the door is closed," McClelland said Monday. "I think there is a potential opportunity for some swapping. Again, not knowing how the contract is written with each one of those bowls and what level of flexibility is provided for the conference given. I don’t know what will happen.
"Obviously being able to play geographically against a Power Five team would be something that would be interesting. I just don’t know if that is going to even be an option for us."
As it stands, Conference USA has seven primary agreements with Shreveport serving as a secondary agreement.
On Tuesday, a C-USA spokesperson said in an email that primary agreements need to be filled before any secondary agreements are filled, meaning that the primary agreements need to be filled by the five bowl-eligible teams before additional bowls are filled. But when asked if that meant the Independence Bowl wasn't an option for C-USA, The News-Star wasn't provided with an answer.
The contracts might be written one way, but swapping of bowls has occurred before and could occur again. It's just unclear if Tech would be in play.
The Independence Bowl has primary agreements with the Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference, but the SEC won't fill its spot. The I-Bowl has a secondary agreement with the American Athletic Conference, which has eight bowl eligible teams and just six primary agreements (Houston is likely to represent the Group of Five in an access bowl, leaving seven teams for six bowl lots).
Tech last played in the Independence Bowl in 2008 and has four appearances there in program history.
A trip back to Shreveport would be attractive to both sides for several reasons. Tech has an alumni base of more than 10,000 in Shreveport, which would make for an easy trip on Dec. 26. Tech also has an alumni base in nearby Dallas, and Tech's campus is only an hour away in Ruston.
And even if Shreveport was interested in a C-USA team to swap an AAC team with, there's always a chance Southern Miss is looked at first dude to the Golden Eagles' win over Tech this past weekend.