For the third time in four seasons the Troy Trojans will be going bowling.

As everyone knows, thanks to last week’s win over Florida Atlantic, the Trojans clinched its fourth-straight Sun Belt championship.

What everyone doesn’t know is where exactly Troy will play come bowl season.

The winner of the Sun Belt Conference is always represented in New Orleans Bowl for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, however, despite clinching the conference – the Trojans have yet to accept the offer to the bowl.

Why?

Since the Sun Belt has a team with seven plus victories, Middle Tennessee State, and two more that could reach that mark in Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette, the New Orleans Bowl could take one of them, if another bowl should open for the league champion, Troy.

What might be those other bowls you ask?

The Sun Belt has tie-ins with both the Papajohns.com Bowl, in Birmingham, the St. Petersburg Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla., and the GMAC Bowl in Mobile.

All are possible destinations for the Trojans should all the pieces fall into place.

Sure, accepting an invitation to somewhere other than New Orleans would provide new scenery for both the team and its fans, however, would it be worth it?

By all accounts, both sides of the party, team and fans, seem to have really enjoyed their respective visits to the Big Easy.

It seems whenever the question is brought up, the players would prefer to go back and take another crack at getting another New Orleans Bowl championship.

Head coach Larry Blakeney, while not saying directly, believes the Super Dome is where his team will end up in the end.

This is where the team should go after the regular season has come to an end.

People might talk about how the team could get more money going to a different bowl, yet the money received is distributed all throughout the league as part of revenue sharing.

People may also bring up better quality of opponents in other bowls.

There has been some talk about the Trojans taking on Auburn in the Papajohns.com Bowl – with that being said, I highly doubt Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs and the Tiger football team would welcome that match up.

The point is, for better or for worse, New Orleans is the way to go for Troy.

It does the same thing any other bowl game does – offer national exposure and provides a fun and exciting atmosphere for all that travel to the game.

Regardless of where it is the Trojans end up, there is a lot to be thankful for.

This team is on the verge of doing something yet to be done in Sun Belt history – go undefeated in conference play as well as become he first Troy team in Division 1 to win nine games in a season and will the opportunity to win 10.

What started off disappointing has now blossomed into potential history in the making and that is something everyone can appreciate and enjoy.

Greg Rossino is the sports editor for The Messenger and he can be reached at greg.rossino@Troymessenger.com and on Twitter at Messneger_Greg.