Missouri State, again, linked to Sun Belt Conference, according to report

It's been a few months since the last time Missouri State popped up in a report regarding conference realignment but you can now reset the clock until the next one.

Missouri State was named as a team that has an interest in joining the Sun Belt Conference which would include leaving the Missouri Valley Conference and going from FCS to FBS football. The report was made by Matt Brown, the writer behind the Extra Points newsletter, who has gained a large following in recent years by breaking major conference realignment news.

It's not the first time Brown has reported on Missouri State having an interest in the Sun Belt while he reported on the Bears exploring the move back in March. The university denied any contact with the conference and said that the report was false.

Tuesday's report comes after ESPN reported FCS Kennesaw State has emerged as a favorite to join Conference USA — another league the Bears have been linked to in the past. Kennesaw State is a member of the ASUN Conference and played its first season in 2015. The Owls program is an attractive one to Group of 5 leagues because it plays in the Atlanta market.

Brown wrote in Tuesday's report that he was told that "Missouri State remains focused on hoping to eventually join the Sun Belt, not Conference USA."

More:How Missouri State football is reacting to its midseason collapse after fourth straight loss

Remember, conference realignment doesn't always have to do with team success on the field as Missouri State football is on a bye week this week amid a four-game losing streak and is in grave danger of missing the postseason for the first time since Bobby Petrino became its head coach. A conference move would be more about how to bring in more money in the eyes of both the league and the school.

The Sun Belt currently sits at 14 teams which makes a move in the near future unlikely unless the Sun Belt wants to expand even further. The Big Ten will have 16 teams after it adds USC and UCLA by 2024 and the SEC will also have 16 when Texas and Oklahoma join the league by 2025.

Facility-wise, the Bears have attempted to upgrade their football facilities while they hope to construct a $20-plus million office building in the south endzone of Plaster Stadium in the near future. Great Southern Bank Arena and Hammons Field would be among the best basketball and baseball venues in every league it could join.

While leagues have aimed to add bigger markets to their footprints, the Springfield market could compete with a few at the Sun Belt level. According to the 2021 Nielsen Designated Market Area rankings, Springfield had the 74th biggest market in the country compared to Sun Belt programs Arkansas State (Jonesboro, Arkansas; 182), James Madison (Harrisonburg, Virginia; 176) and Marshall (Charleston and Huntington, West Virginia; 75).

More:Missouri State football vs. Southern Illinois: Takeaways from another disappointing loss

On Missouri State's side, it would be a money-driven decision as moving from the FCS to the FBS has the potential to bring in more dollars. While there are more expenses from traveling to play conference opponents on the east coast, an FBS move also opens the door for money generated through league television and streaming contracts along with bigger guarantee payments if Missouri State was to play a team like Arkansas, for an example, in the future.

When speaking in detail with Missouri State Athletics Director Kyle Moats in Oct. 2021 amid a different round of conference realignment news, he didn't shut the door completely on a move while expressing he was happy with where the Bears were at.

"I think we always keep our eyes open and our ears open as to what's going on," Moats said in October. "You have to understand what's going on in the marketplace and we've done that. The conferences today are not what they were 48 hours ago, they weren't what they were a week and a half ago and they're not what they were three weeks ago. This is a moving target.

"We kind of want to sit back and see what happens. We are in a great situation. We are in the SEC of FCS football which is great and we can compete. We are in a great basketball league and I think it is going to get better. I think we're in a great position."

These rumors have been going on for well over a year. Nothing is inevitable but it remains an item to continue to monitor.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State linked to Sun Belt Conference in new report