Since moving to northeast Louisiana, I’ve managed to pick up a few things about my new surroundings.

I’ve learned winter is for killing deer and not basketball. I’ve learned crawfish go with any meal imaginable. Most important of all, I’ve learned ULM and Louisiana Tech really don’t like each other.

Separated by a mere 34 miles, both institutions prove that familiarity really does breed contempt. LA Tech views themselves as the superior school in the region—which is ironic considering they have “Tech” in their name. ULM considers the Techsters just a bit uppity and perhaps in need of a helpful shove off their high horse.

How could the Warhawks and Bulldogs settle their differences? The same way we settler every great regional dispute in America; with a football game.

Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson touched on the subject during the ULM Athletic Foundation’s kickoff event. According to Benson, there isn’t any doubt the two teams should play every year.

The esteemed commissioner may have been working the crowd, but he’s not wrong. This game needs to happen.

College football is built around dynamic rivalries. The kind of grudge matches where hating the other team is just as fun as cheering for your own. This series meets all the criteria. Regional intrigue, longstanding vitriol, pharmacists against engineers, Tim McGraw vs. Trace Adkins—ok maybe we can do without that.

So why haven’t these teams played since 2000?

Louisiana Tech claims to have nothing to gain from the matchup. Playing ULM isn’t befitting of a Conference USA program. After all, mighty C-USA did finish with a 2-5 record against the little old Sun Belt last season. Oh wait.

ULM and Tech have managed to keep the basketball series going, but who are we kidding? In a football-crazy state like Louisiana, a hoops game lacks the intensity needed to quench a fan’s thirst. This must be settled on the football field.

If LA Tech could look past their own short-sidedness, they’d see the potential windfall in this rivalry. A home-and-home series is a guaranteed sellout, providing both programs with an attendance boost and another much-needed asset; money.

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash. ULM is game. The balls in Tech’s court. All they have to do is send it east on I-20.