Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The 12 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed primarily across the southern United States.

Sun Belt Conference
Established1976
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision I
SubdivisionFBS
Members12 (14 in 2022)
Sports fielded
  • 17 (18 in 2022)
    • men's: 8 [9 in 2022]
    • women's: 9
RegionSouthern United States
HeadquartersNew Orleans, Louisiana
CommissionerKeith Gill (since 2019)
Websitewww.sunbeltsports.org
Locations

History
Map of full member institutions of the Sun Belt Conference since 2016

The Sun Belt Conference was founded on August 4, 1976, with the University of New Orleans, the University of South Alabama, Georgia State University, Jacksonville University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the University of South Florida. Over the next ten years the conference would add Western Kentucky University, Old Dominion University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Virginia Commonwealth University. New Orleans was forced out of the league in 1980 due to its small on-campus gymnasium that the conference did not deem suitable for conference competition. New Orleans competed as an independent before joining the newly formed American South Conference in 1987.

After the 1990–91 basketball season, all members of the Sun Belt, except Western Kentucky, South Alabama, and Jacksonville, departed for other conferences. The Sun Belt, including incoming member in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, then merged with the American South Conference, made up of Arkansas State University, Louisiana Tech University, the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette), the University of Texas–Pan American (now merged into the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), New Orleans (re-joined), Lamar University, and the University of Central Florida. Although the American South was the larger conference, the merged league retained the Sun Belt name. In 1991, the league first began to explore the idea of sponsoring football.[1]

Central Florida left the league following the 1991–92 academic year due to a dispute over television rights, among other reasons.[2][3] Lamar, Texas–Pan American, and Jacksonville departed at the end of the 1997–98 academic year. Florida International University joined the Sun Belt in 1998, and the University of Denver was added in 1999. Louisiana Tech departed after the 2000–01 academic year.

The Sun Belt Conference headquarters are currently housed at the Caesars Superdome.

The conference did not sponsor football until 2001, when the league added former Big West Conference members New Mexico State University and the University of North Texas and former Ohio Valley Conference member (an FBS Independent on football) Middle Tennessee State University as full members (all three of them joined a year earlier for all sports in the 2000-01 school year) and added FBS Independent University of Louisiana at Monroe and Big West member University of Idaho as football-only members. These new members gave the Sun Belt seven football playing members in their first season, as Arkansas State and Louisiana–Lafayette were already full members which sponsored football. Another Big West school, Utah State University, was added as a football-only member in 2003, then departed in 2005 with Idaho and New Mexico State for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

In 2004, Troy University became a football-only member before joining for all sports in the 2005–06 academic year. In 2005, Florida Atlantic became a football-only member before joining for all sports in the 2006-07 academic year. In 2006, Louisiana–Monroe joined the conference as an all-sports full member when the Warhawks left their former home, the Southland Conference.

Longtime Sun Belt member Western Kentucky joined the Sun Belt's football conference in 2009 after its Board of Regents voted to upgrade the school's football program to Division I FBS.[4]

On November 11, 2009, New Orleans announced it was investigating a move from Division I to the NCAA's Division III. In order to maintain athletic scholarships, UNO instead opted for entry into Division II. On April 20, 2011, UNO officially received transition approval from the NCAA Division II Membership Committee.[5] (UNO later decided to remain in Division I, and joined the Southland Conference in 2013.)

Early 2010s realignment
Main article: 2010–2013 Sun Belt Conference realignment
See also: 2010–2013 Conference USA realignment and 2010–2013 Western Athletic Conference realignment
The former Sun Belt Conference logo used until its rebranding in 2013

On April 9, 2012, Georgia State, one of the founding members of the Sun Belt Conference, announced that it would be returning to the conference as a full member in 2013. As part of the move, the football program began a transition from FCS to FBS in the 2012 season; it played a full Sun Belt schedule as a "transitional" FBS member in 2013, and became a full FBS member, with bowl eligibility, in 2014.[6] On May 2, 2012, Texas State University announced it would leave the WAC after just one year and join the Sun Belt in July 2013 to begin play for the 2013–14 academic year. At the press conference to announce Texas State's addition, Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson also hinted that more changes could be on the way for the conference.[7] On May 25, 2012, the conference announced that the University of Texas at Arlington (a non-football member) had accepted an invitation to join the conference and would become a full member by 2013.[8]

On May 4, 2012, FIU and North Texas announced that they would be leaving the Sun Belt for Conference USA on July 1, 2013 as part of a Conference USA expansion effort involving four other schools.[9] On November 29, 2012, Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee State announced that they would also leave the Sun Belt for Conference USA.[10] The move for Florida Atlantic and MTSU was originally scheduled to take place in 2014, however, the two schools announced on January 28, 2013 that they would leave for Conference USA a year early, departing on July 1, 2013 with FIU and North Texas. Western Kentucky also accepted an invitation to join Conference USA on April 1, 2013, and departed from the Sun Belt on July 1, 2014.[11]

These moves depleted the Sun Belt and made the need to expand their membership more urgent than ever, as the Sun Belt was left with ten full members and only eight members that sponsor football (the minimum number required for a conference to sponsor football at the FBS level) for the 2013 season. Appalachian State University accepted an invitation on March 27, 2013 to join the Sun Belt effective July 1, 2014.[12] Georgia Southern University accepted a similar Sun Belt invitation at the same time as Appalachian State.[13] Appalachian State and Georgia Southern both joined for all sports from the Southern Conference on July 1, 2014. Both schools had been very successful within the Football Championship Subdivision, combining to win nine national championships since 1985. They upgraded to the Football Bowl Subdivision, and were eligible for Sun Belt conference championships in 2014, but were not postseason-eligible in football until 2015.

The Sun Belt also granted football-only invites to Idaho and New Mexico State on March 28, 2013.[14] Idaho and New Mexico State were both former Sun Belt members (Idaho for football only, New Mexico State for all sports) from 2001 to 2005. The large number of defections from the WAC forced that conference to drop football after the 2012 season. Idaho and New Mexico State were the only remaining WAC members that sponsored football, and competed as FBS independents for the 2013 season before competing in the Sun Belt in 2014. Idaho is located by far the farthest away from the other Sun Belt conference members, but it was rejected by the Mountain West Conference,[15] leaving it with no other choice.[16][17]

On September 1, 2015, Coastal Carolina University accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference. The university joined in all sports except for football starting July 1, 2016, with football joining in 2017.[18]

The conference announced on March 1, 2016, that the affiliation agreement with Idaho and New Mexico State would not be extended past the 2017 season.[19]

The conference announced that beginning in 2018, the conference (10 teams) would be divided into two divisions for football: East: Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and Troy; West: Arkansas State, Louisiana, Louisiana–Monroe, South Alabama, and Texas State. The winner of each division will meet in the Sun Belt Championship game.[20]

Early 2020s realignment
Sun Belt Member locations
– Full member
– Departing Full member, non-football
– Future member

Following the July 30, 2021 announcement of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Oklahoma both moving from the Big 12 Conference to the Southeastern Conference,[21] the world of college athletics faced the prospect of realignment once again. The Big 12 responded on September 10 by adding three schools from the American Athletic Conference (The American) and BYU, an FBS independent and otherwise a member of the non-football West Coast Conference, effective in 2023.[22] The American in turn responded on October 21 by adding six schools from Conference USA (C-USA), with 2023 as the most likely entry date.[23][24] Following this move, rumors began to circulate that the Sun Belt was planning to take on another three members (the University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM), Marshall University, and former Sun Belt member Old Dominion University) from C-USA, likely in response to that conference's remaining teams worried of the conference folding.[25] These moves would help to establish the market areas for the Sun Belt and The American, which cover similar geographic footprints. The American would now have most of its members in metropolitan areas, while the Sun Belt would instead have its members in smaller college towns.

On October 22, The Action Network reported that Southern Miss had been accepted as a new Sun Belt member, with 2023 as the likely entry date. The report also stated that the Sun Belt would add three more members—the aforementioned Marshall and Old Dominion, plus James Madison University, a member of the FCS Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).[26] Southern Miss[27] and Old Dominion[28] were respectively announced as incoming members on October 26 and 27. Both are to join no later than 2023. On October 29, the day after Marshall named its next president,[29] both the Sun Belt and Marshall issued tweets announcing that school's entry; a formal announcement followed the next day[30] and an introductory press conference was held on November 1.[31] As for James Madison, its board met on October 29 to discuss a potential Sun Belt invitation, but its timeline was also affected by a Virginia state law that requires legislative approval for a four-year public school to move upward in athletic classification, including FCS to FBS. The legislative committee that must review the move did not meet until November 5, after the state's gubernatorial election.[32] The committee unanimously approved JMU's move from FCS to FBS, and the Sun Belt move was officially announced on November 6.[33][34] The original Action Network report also stated that the two full non-football SBC members, Little Rock and UT Arlington, would no longer be members of the conference after the 2022–23 school year.[26]

Initial plans were for James Madison to compete as a de facto Sun Belt affiliate in sports other than football and men's soccer during the 2022–23 season.[35] However, those plans would eventually change, with JMU and the SBC jointly announcing on February 2, 2022 that JMU would become a full SBC member, including football, in 2022–23.[36]

By the end of January 2022, both non-football members would announce their departures for other conferences, effective that July. On December 8, 2021, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees voted to accept an invitation for Little Rock to join the Ohio Valley Conference,[37] and UT Arlington, which had been a Western Athletic Conference member in the 2012–13 school year, announced its return to that conference on January 21, 2022.[38]

Shortly thereafter, Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss announced that they planned to leave C-USA for the Sun Belt in July 2022. They claimed to have notified C-USA of their plans in December 2021, apparently seeking to negotiate a 2022 exit. C-USA had indicated in late January 2022 that it expected the three schools to remain in that league through the 2022–23 school year.[39] Marshall escalated the situation by filing suit against C-USA in its local court in an attempt to force a 2022 move.[40] On March 29, Conference USA agreed to let Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss move to the Sun Belt starting July 1, 2022.[41]

On April 6, the Sun Belt announced that men's soccer will be reinstated as a sponsored sport and that Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia will join as men's soccer affiliate members beginning fall 2022.[42]

Member schools

Current members

Departing members are highlighted in red.

InstitutionLocationFoundedJoinedTypeEnrollmentEndowment
(millions)		NicknameColors
Appalachian State University Boone, North Carolina 1899 2014 Public 20,023[43] $122 Mountaineers    
Arkansas State University Jonesboro, Arkansas 1909 1991 13,891[44] $84 Red Wolves    
Coastal Carolina University Conway, South Carolina 1954 2016 10,894[45] $51 Chanticleers      
Georgia Southern University Statesboro, Georgia 1906 2014 27,459[46][47] $56 Eagles    
Georgia State University Atlanta, Georgia 1913 1976[lower-alpha 1] 53,619[47] $179 Panthers    
University of Arkansas at Little Rock Little Rock, Arkansas 1927 1991 9,579[48] $80 Trojans      
University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana 1898 1991 19,188[49] $153 Ragin' Cajuns    
University of Louisiana at Monroe Monroe, Louisiana 1931 2006[lower-alpha 2] 9,060[50] $23 Warhawks    
University of South Alabama Mobile, Alabama 1963 1976 14,834[51] $576 Jaguars      
Texas State University San Marcos, Texas 1899 2013 38,231[52] $208 Bobcats    
University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, Texas 1895 2013 42,863[53] $159 Mavericks      
Troy University Troy, Alabama 1887 2005[lower-alpha 3] 17,494[54] $129 Trojans      
Notes
  1. Georgia State left after the 1980–81 school year, then rejoined effective the 2013–14 school year.
  2. Louisiana–Monroe was an affiliate member in football from the 2001 to 2005 fall seasons (2001-02 to 2005-06 school years).
  3. Troy was an affiliate member in football during the 2004 fall season (2004–05 school year).

Future members
InstitutionLocationFoundedJoiningTypeEnrollmentEndowment
(millions)		NicknameColorsCurrent
conference
James Madison University Harrisonburg, Virginia 1908 2022 [55][56] Public 21,496[57] $116.7[58] Dukes     CAA
Marshall University Huntington, West Virginia 1837 11,962[59] $134.9[58] Thundering Herd     C-USA
Old Dominion University Norfolk, Virginia 1930 24,286[60] $265.8[58] Monarchs      
University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, Mississippi 1910 14,606[61] $136.3[62] Golden Eagles    

Future affiliate members
Institution Location Founded Joining Type Enrollment Nickname Colors Sport Primary
conference
University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky 1865 2022 Public 26,054 Wildcats     Soccer (m) SEC
University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina 1801 35,364 Gamecocks    
West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia 1867 26,269 Mountaineers     Big 12

Former members
Institution Location Founded Joined Left Type Nickname Colors Subsequent
conference		 Current
conference
University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama 1969 1979 1991 Public Blazers     Great Midwest C-USA
(The American in 2023)
University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida 1963 1991 1992 Knights     ASUN The American
(Big 12 in 2023)
University of Denver Denver, Colorado 1864 1999 2012 Private Pioneers     WAC Summit
Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida 1961 2006[lower-alpha 1] 2013 Public Owls     C-USA
(The American in 2023)
Florida International University Miami, Florida 1965 1998 Panthers     C-USA
Jacksonville University Jacksonville, Florida 1934 1976 1998 Private Dolphins     ASUN
Lamar University Beaumont, Texas 1923 1991 Public Cardinals     Southland WAC
Louisiana Tech University Ruston, Louisiana 1894 2001 Bulldogs & Lady Techsters     WAC C-USA
Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, Tennessee 1911 2000 2013 Blue Raiders     C-USA
New Mexico State University Las Cruces, New Mexico 1888 2005[lower-alpha 2] Aggies     WAC
(C-USA in 2023)
University of New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana 1958 1976 1980 Privateers       D-I Independent Southland
1991 2010 D-I Independent
University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina 1946 1976 1991 49ers     Metro C-USA
(The American in 2023)
University of North Texas Denton, Texas 1890 2000 2013 Mean Green     C-USA
(The American in 2023)
Old Dominion University Norfolk, Virginia 1930 1982 1991 Monarchs       Colonial C-USA
(re-joining Sun Belt in 2022)
University of South Florida Tampa, Florida 1956 1976 Bulls     Metro The American
University of Texas–Pan American[lower-alpha 3] Edinburg, Texas 1927 1991 1998 Broncs     Independent WAC
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia 1838 1979 1991 Rams     Metro Atlantic 10
Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, Kentucky 1906 1982 2014 Hilltoppers & Lady Toppers     C-USA
Notes
  1. Florida Atlantic was an affiliate member for football during the 2005 fall season (2005–06 school year).
  2. New Mexico State was a full member from 2000–01 to 2004–05 and an affiliate member for football from the 2014 to 2017 fall seasons (2014–15 to 2017–18 school years).
  3. Texas–Pan American was merged into UTRGV in 2015; the merged school inherited UTPA's athletic program, with the new nickname of Vaqueros, and membership in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

Former affiliate members
Institution Location Founded Joined Left Type Nickname Colors Sport Conference
in former
Sun Belt sport[lower-alpha 1]
University of Central Arkansas Conway, Arkansas 1907 2019 2021 Public Bears[lower-alpha 2]     soccer (m) ASUN
Hartwick College Oneonta, New York 1797 2014 2018 Private Hawks     soccer (m) Empire 8
(NCAA D-III)
Howard University Washington, D.C. 1867 2021[lower-alpha 3] Bison     Northeast
University of Idaho Moscow, Idaho 1889 2001 2005 Public Vandals     football Big Sky
2014 2018
New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, New Jersey 1881 2016 Highlanders     soccer (m) America East
New Mexico State University Las Cruces, New Mexico 1888 2018 Aggies     football FBS independent
(C-USA in 2023)
Utah State University Logan, Utah 2003 2005 Aggies       Mountain West
Notes
  1. In all cases except those of Howard and New Mexico State, this matches the school's primary conference affiliation. Howard is a full member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, including FCS football. New Mexico State is a full member of the Western Athletic Conference, which added FCS football in fall 2021; however, NMSU continues to play as an FBS independent and is joining Conference USA in other sports alongside football by 2023.
  2. Central Arkansas uses "Bears" only for men's teams, with women's teams known as "Sugar Bears". Men's soccer was the school's only Sun Belt sport.
  3. Due to COVID-19 concerns, Howard chose not to play soccer in the 2020–21 school year, although the Sun Belt chose to hold a men's soccer season, with the four remaining men's soccer members playing a fall conference schedule and spring non-conference games to accommodate the NCAA's move of the Division I tournament from fall 2020 to spring 2021.

Membership timeline

 Full members (all sports)   Full members (non-football)   Associate members (football-only)   Associate members (other) 

Commissioners

In addition to the five Sun Belt commissioners, three future league leaders served on the Sun Belt staff prior to becoming conference commissioners, including Doug Elgin (Missouri Valley), John Iamarino (Northeast, Southern), and Tom Burnett (Southland).

On October 12, 2011, ESPN reported that Wright Waters would retire, effective July 1, 2012.[63] On February 15, 2012, Karl Benson was hired as the new commissioner of the Sun Belt, after having been the commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference for 17 years. Waters would later move his departure date to March 15, allowing Benson to take over at that time.[6]

Keith Gill was named the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference on March 18, 2019. He is the first African American to lead any FBS conference.[64][65]

Sports

As of the current 2021–22 school year, the Sun Belt Conference sponsors championship competition in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[66] The most recent change to sports sponsorship was the dropping of men's soccer after the 2020–21 school year.

However, when Marshall was formally introduced as an incoming Sun Belt member, SBC commissioner Keith Gill also announced that the conference would reinstate men's soccer once all new members joined. The conference ultimately reinstated the sport starting in 2022–23 with six full members joined by three associates.

Teams in Sun Belt competition[lower-alpha 1]
SportMen'sWomen's
Baseball12–
Basketball1212
Cross Country1012
Football10–
Golf1211
Soccer9[lower-alpha 2]11
Softball–10
Tennis711
Track & Field Indoor712
Track & Field Outdoor1012
Volleyball–12
  1. Numbers of teams are as of the 2021–22 school year.
  2. Reinstated starting with the 2022–23 school year.

Men's sponsored sports by school

Member-by-member sponsorship of the nine men's SBC sports for the 2022–23 academic year. Departing members in pink.

SchoolBaseballBasketballCross
Country		FootballGolfSoccerTennisTrack
& Field
Indoor		Track
& Field
Outdoor		Total
Sun Belt
Sports
Appalachian StateYYYYYNNNY 6
Arkansas StateYYYYYNNYY 7
Coastal CarolinaYYYYYYYNY 8
Georgia SouthernYYNYYYYNN 6
Georgia StateYYNYYYYNN 6
Little RockYYYNYNNYY 6
LouisianaYYYYYNYYY 8
Louisiana–MonroeYYYYYNNYY 7
South AlabamaYYYYYNYYY 8
Texas StateYYYYYNNYY 7
UT ArlingtonYYYNYNYYY 7
TroyYYYYYNYNY 7
Totals12121010123771080
Future members
James MadisonYYNYYYYNN 6
MarshallYYYYYYNNN 6
Old DominionYYNYYYYNN 6
Southern MissYYNYYNYYY 7
Future affiliate members
KentuckyNNNNNYNNN 1
South CarolinaNNNNNYNNN 1
West VirginiaNNNNNYNNN 1

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt

Departing members in pink; future members in gray.

SchoolSailing[lower-alpha 1]Swimming &
Diving		Wrestling
Appalachian StateSoCon
Little RockPac-12
Old DominionIndependentCCSA
  1. Sailing is a coeducational sport not governed by the NCAA, but instead by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association.

Women's sponsored sports by school

Member-by-member sponsorship of the nine women's SBC sports for the 2021–22 academic year. Departing members in pink.

SchoolBasketballCross
Country		GolfSoccerSoftballTennisTrack
& Field
Indoor		Track
& Field
Outdoor		VolleyballTotal
Sun Belt
Sports
Appalachian StateYYYYYYYYY 9
Arkansas StateYYYYNYYYY 8
Coastal CarolinaYYYYYYYYY 9
Georgia SouthernYYYYYYYYY 9
Georgia StateYYYYYYYYY 9
Little RockYYYYNNYYY 7
LouisianaYYNYYYYYY 8
Louisiana–MonroeYYYYYYYYY 9
South AlabamaYYYYYYYYY 9
Texas StateYYYYYYYYY 9
UT ArlingtonYYYNYYYYY 8
TroyYYYYYYYYY 9
Totals121211111011121212103
Future members
James MadisonYYYYYYYYY 9
MarshallYYYYYYYYY 9
Old DominionYNYYNYNNY 5
Southern MissYYYYYYYYY 9

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt

Departing members in pink; future members in gray.

SchoolBeach
Volleyball		BowlingField
Hockey		LacrosseRifleRowingSailing[lower-alpha 1]Swimming
& Diving
Appalachian StateMAC
Arkansas StateSBL
Coastal CarolinaC-USAASUN
Georgia SouthernSoConCCSA
Georgia StateC-USA
James MadisonCAACAA[lower-alpha 2]CAA
Little RockMVC
Louisiana–MonroeC-USA
MarshallC-USA
Old DominionBig EastAmericanAmericanIndependentC-USA
Southern MissC-USA
  1. Sailing is a coeducational sport not governed by the NCAA, but instead by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association.
  2. James Madison women's lacrosse will join the American Athletic Conference in July 2022.[67]

Championships
See also: List of Sun Belt Conference champions

"RS" is regular season, "T" is tournament. Championships from the previous academic year are flagged with the calendar year in which the most recent season or tournament ended.

Current Sun Belt champions

    NCAA champions

    No current Sun Belt member has won an NCAA Division I team championship while a member of the conference. The only school to have won a national title while an SBC member was Old Dominion, which won one title in women's basketball and five in the non-SBC sport of field hockey during its first conference tenure from 1982 to 1991. Four current members and two other future members have won NCAA Division I team championships prior to joining the conference. Coastal Carolina won its only D-I national title on the day before it officially joined the Sun Belt.

    Future members in gray.

    School NCAA
    titles    		 Sport Years
    Old Dominion
    10
    		 Women's basketball 1985
    Field hockey 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1988 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1998 • 2000
    Georgia Southern
    6
    		 Football (Division I-AA/FCS) 1985 • 1986 • 1989 • 1990 • 1999 • 2000
    James Madison
    5
    		 Field hockey 1994
    Archery 1995
    Football (Division I-AA/FCS) 2004 • 2016
    Women's lacrosse 2018
    Appalachian State
    3
    		 Football (Division I-AA/FCS) 2005 • 2006 • 2007
    Marshall
    3
    		 Football (Division I-AA/FCS) 1992 • 1996
    Men's soccer 2020
    Louisiana–Monroe
    1
    		 Football (Division I-AA/FCS) 1987
    Coastal Carolina
    1
    		 Baseball 2016
    Total 11

    See also: List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships, List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships, and NCAA Division I FBS Conferences

    Football

    For more information see Sun Belt Conference football. For the upcoming season, see 2022 Sun Belt Conference football season.

    West DivisionEast Division
    Arkansas StateAppalachian State
    LouisianaCoastal Carolina
    Louisiana-MonroeGeorgia Southern
    South AlabamaGeorgia State
    Southern MissJames Madison
    Texas StateMarshall
    TroyOld Dominion

    The Sun Belt first began sponsoring football in 2001. It originally consisted of seven football playing schools, three of which are still members of the conference. Up until 2009, the conference only had a contract with one bowl, the New Orleans Bowl. Following the Sun Belt's improved football success and geographical membership changes, other bowls began to sign contracts with the Sun Belt Conference. As of October 2021, the conference has seven bowl game tie-ins (Cure, Boca Raton, LendingTree, New Orleans, Myrtle Beach, Frisco, and Camellia)

    Throughout the years, the conference has experienced flux in membership changes, similar to many other FBS conferences. The conference announced that beginning in 2018, the conference (10 teams after the departure of Idaho and New Mexico State)[68] would be divided into two divisions for football: East: Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and Troy; West: Arkansas State, Louisiana, Louisiana–Monroe, South Alabama, and Texas State. The divisional alignments will change again with the 2022 expansion, with the new dividing line being the Alabama–Georgia border. The winner of each division will meet in the Sun Belt Championship game.[69]

    [70]

    Team First
    Season    		 All-Time
    Record    		 All-Time
    Win %    		 Bowl
    Appearances    		 Bowl
    Record    		 All-Time
    Conference
    Titles    		 Current
    Head Coach
    Appalachian State 1928 648–345–28 .648 7 6–1 22 Shawn Clark
    Arkansas State 1911 487–509–37 .489 8 3–5 14 Butch Jones
    Coastal Carolina 2003 149–80 .651 2 1–1 9 Jamey Chadwell
    Georgia Southern 1924 344–162–1 .679 4 3–1 11 Clay Helton
    Georgia State 2010 50–92 .352 5 3–2 0 Shawn Elliott
    James Madison 1972 351–220-4 .614 0 0-0 10 Curt Cignetti
    Louisiana 1901 551–563–34 .495 9 6–3 13 Michael Desormeaux
    Louisiana–Monroe 1951 320–446–8 .419 1 0–1 5 Terry Bowden
    Marshall 1895 590–545–35 .519 18 12–6 13 Charles Huff
    Old Dominion 1930 120–133–4 .475 2 1-1 0 Ricky Rahne
    Southern Miss 1912 577–410-27 .582 23 11–12 8 Will Hall
    South Alabama 2009 66–83 .443 2 0–2 0 Kane Wommack
    Texas State 1904 543–479–35 .530 0 0–0 12 Jake Spavital
    Troy 1909 553–425–28 .564 8 5–3 21 Jon Sumrall

    Sun Belt champions

    Since the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS season, the Sun Belt Conference has held a football championship game.[71]

    Season Champion Conference
    Record
    2001 Middle Tennessee State
    North Texas
    5–1
    2002 North Texas
    6–0
    2003 North Texas
    7–0
    2004 North Texas
    7–0
    2005 Arkansas State
    Louisiana–Lafayette
    Louisiana–Monroe
    5–2
    2006 Middle Tennessee State
    Troy
    6–1
    2007 Florida Atlantic
    Troy
    6–1
    2008 Troy
    6–1
    2009 Troy
    8–0
    2010 Florida International
    Troy
    6–2
    2011 Arkansas State
    8–0
    2012 Arkansas State
    7–1
    2013* Arkansas State
    5–2
    2014 Georgia Southern
    8–0
    2015 Arkansas State
    8–0
    2016 Appalachian State
    Arkansas State
    7–1
    2017 Appalachian State
    Troy
    7–1
    2018 Appalachian State
    7–1
    2019 Appalachian State
    7–1
    2020 Coastal Carolina
    Louisiana
    8-0
    7-1
    2021 Louisiana
    8–0
    Notes
    • Louisiana–Lafayette vacated 2013 shared Sun Belt Conference co-championship due to major NCAA violations.[72]
    • The 2020 championship game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues; the divisional champions were declared league co-champions.

    Bowl games

    As of the 2021–22 NCAA football bowl games, the Sun Belt Conference has tie-ins with the following bowl games:

    Name Location Opposing
    conference
    Boca Raton Bowl Boca Raton, Florida C–USA
    Camellia Bowl Montgomery, Alabama MAC
    Cure Bowl Orlando, Florida The American
    Frisco Bowl Frisco, Texas The American
    LendingTree Bowl Mobile, Alabama MAC
    Myrtle Beach Bowl Myrtle Beach, South Carolina MAC
    New Orleans Bowl New Orleans, Louisiana C–USA

    Football rivalries
    Conference play
    TeamsRivalry
    Name    		TrophyMeetings
    (last)    		RecordSeries
    Leader
    Appalachian StateGeorgia SouthernDeeper Than Hate—36
    (2021)    		20–15–1Appalachian State
    Georgia StateGeorgia SouthernModern Day Hate—8
    (2021)    		5–3Georgia State
    LouisianaLouisiana–MonroeBattle on the BayouWooden Boot57
    (2021)    		31–25Louisiana
    South AlabamaTroyBattle for the BeltBelt10
    (2021)    		7–3Troy
    Non-conference play

    Future members in gray

    Teams Rivalry Name Trophy Meetings
    (last)    		 Record Series leader
    Appalachian State Western Carolina Battle for the Old Mountain Jug Old Mountain Jug 78
    (2013)    		 59–18–1 Appalachian State
    Arkansas State Memphis Paint Bucket Bowl — 60
    (2021)    		 32–22–5 Memphis
    Coastal Carolina Liberty Coastal Carolina–Liberty — 15
    (2020)    		 8–7 Liberty
    James Madison Delaware Delaware–James Madison — 27
    (2021)    		 14–13 Delaware
    Richmond James Madison–Richmond — 44
    (2021)    		 27–17 James Madison
    William & Mary James Madison–William & Mary — 39
    (2021)    		 21–18 James Madison
    Louisiana Lamar — Sabine Shoe 34
    (2012)    		 22–11 Louisiana
    Louisiana Tech Louisiana–Louisiana Tech — 87
    (2015)    		 48–33–6 Louisiana Tech
    McNeese State — Cajun Crown 37
    (2007)    		 20–15–2 McNeese State
    Southeastern Louisiana — Cypress Mug 40
    (2017)    		 20–17–3 Louisiana
    Louisiana–Monroe Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech–Louisiana–Monroe — 43
    (2000)    		 29–14 Louisiana Tech
    Northwestern State Louisiana–Monroe–Northwestern State — 48
    (2005)    		 28–19–1 Northwestern State
    Marshall East Carolina East Carolina–Marshall — 16
    (2021)    		 11–5 East Carolina
    Ohio Battle for the Bell The Bell 60
    (2019)    		 33–21–6 Ohio
    West Virginia Friends of Coal Bowl — 12
    (2012)    		 12–0 West Virginia
    Old Dominion Norfolk State Norfolk State–Old Dominion — 4
    (2019)    		 4–0 Old Dominion
    Southern Miss Louisiana Tech Rivalry in Dixie — 53
    (2021)    		 36–17 Southern Miss
    Memphis Black and Blue Bowl — 63
    (2012)    		 40–22–1 Southern Miss
    Tulane Battle for the Bell The Bell 32
    (2020)    		 23–9 Southern Miss
    Texas State Nicholls Battle for the Paddle Paddle 31
    (2019)    		 16–15 Nicholls
    Troy UAB — — 12
    (2014)    		 7–5 Troy
    Jacksonville State Battle for the Ol' School Bell – 63
    (2001)    		 32–29–2 Jacksonville State
    Middle Tennessee Battle for the Palladium Palladium 22
    (2020)    		 13–9 Middle Tennessee

    Basketball

    Men's basketball
    See also: Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

    This list goes through the 2020–21 season.[73]

    Team First
    Season    		 All-Time
    Record    		 All-Time
    Win %    		 NCAA Tournament
    Appearances    		 NCAA Tournament
    Record    		 Arena Head Coach
    Appalachian State 1919–20 1246–1150 .520 3 0–3 Holmes Center Dustin Kerns
    Arkansas State 1926–27 1172–1171 .500 1 0–1 First National Bank Arena Mike Balado
    Coastal Carolina 1974–75 693–672 .508 4 0–4 HTC Center Cliff Ellis
    Georgia Southern 1926–27 1276–1001 .560 3 0–3 Hanner Fieldhouse Brian Burg
    Georgia State 1963–64 652–948 .408 5 2–5 GSU Sports Arena Jonas Hayes
    Little Rock 1967–68 813–720 .530 5 2–5 Jack Stephens Center Darrell Walker
    Louisiana 1911–12 1432–1115 .562 10 4–10 Cajundome Bob Marlin
    Louisiana–Monroe 1951–52 1007–918 .523 7 0–7 Fant–Ewing Coliseum Keith Richard
    South Alabama 1968–69 840–671 .556 8 1–8 Mitchell Center Richie Riley
    UT Arlington 1959–60 762–914 .455 1 0–1 College Park Center Greg Young
    Texas State 1920–21 1335–1177 .531 2 0–2 Strahan Arena Terrence Johnson
    Troy 1950–51 1075–916 .540 2 0–2 Trojan Arena Scott Cross

    Championships
    Main articles: Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Tournament

    Since the 2018–19 season, the Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, held in early March, have involved only 10 of the conference's 12 teams, and have been bracketed in a semi-stepladder format. The bottom four seeds play in the first round; the 5 and 6 seeds receive byes to the second round, the 3 and 4 seeds to the quarterfinals, and the top two seeds to the semifinals. The semifinals and finals are held in New Orleans; the 2019 men's and women's events were at Lakefront Arena, and from 2020 will be at Smoothie King Center.[74] Winners of the tournaments earn automatic bids to their respective NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.

    Season Men's
    Regular Season
    Champion    		 Men's
    Tournament
    Champion    		 Women's
    Regular Season
    Champion    		 Women's
    Tournament
    Champion
    1977 North Carolina–Charlotte No Regular Season No Tournament
    1978 North Carolina–Charlotte New Orleans No Regular Season No Tournament
    1979 South Alabama Jacksonville No Regular Season No Tournament
    1980 South Alabama Virginia Commonwealth No Regular Season No Tournament
    1981 Virginia Commonwealth No Regular Season No Tournament
    1982 Alabama–Birmingham No Regular Season No Tournament
    1983 Virginia Commonwealth Alabama–Birmingham Old Dominion
    1984 Virginia Commonwealth Alabama–Birmingham Old Dominion
    1985 Virginia Commonwealth Old Dominion
    1986 Old Dominion Jacksonville Western Kentucky
    1987 Western Kentucky Alabama–Birmingham Old Dominion
    1988 North Carolina–Charlotte Old Dominion Western Kentucky
    1989 South Alabama Old Dominion Western Kentucky
    1990 Alabama–Birmingham South Florida Alabama–Birmingham Old Dominion
    1991 South Alabama Alabama–Birmingham Western Kentucky
    1992 Southwestern Louisiana Western Kentucky
    1993 New Orleans Western Kentucky Western Kentucky
    1994 Western Kentucky Southwestern Louisiana Louisiana Tech
    1995 Western Kentucky Louisiana Tech Western Kentucky
    1996 Arkansas–Little Rock New Orleans Louisiana Tech
    1997 South Alabama Louisiana Tech
    1998 South Alabama Louisiana Tech
    1999 Louisiana Tech Arkansas State Louisiana Tech
    2000 Louisiana–Lafayette Louisiana Tech
    2001 Western Kentucky Louisiana Tech
    2002 Western Kentucky Florida International
    2003 Western Kentucky Western Kentucky
    2004 Louisiana–Lafayette (vacated) South Alabama Middle Tennessee State
    2005 Denver Louisiana–Lafayette (vacated) Western Kentucky Middle Tennessee State
    2006 Western Kentucky South Alabama Western Kentucky Middle Tennessee
    2007 South Alabama North Texas Middle Tennessee
    2008 South Alabama Western Kentucky Western Kentucky
    2009 Western Kentucky Middle Tennessee
    2010 Troy North Texas Arkansas–Little Rock Middle Tennessee
    2011 Florida Atlantic Arkansas–Little Rock Middle Tennessee
    Arkansas–Little Rock    		 Arkansas–Little Rock
    2012 Middle Tennessee Western Kentucky Middle Tennessee Arkansas–Little Rock
    2013 Middle Tennessee Western Kentucky Middle Tennessee Arkansas–Little Rock
    2014 Georgia State Louisiana–Lafayette Arkansas State Western Kentucky
    2015 Georgia State Arkansas–Little Rock
    2016 Little Rock Arkansas State Troy
    2017 UT Arlington Troy Little Rock Troy
    2018 Louisiana Georgia State Little Rock
    2019 Georgia State Little Rock
    UT Arlington    		 Little Rock
    2020 Little Rock Tournament Cancelled Troy Tournament Cancelled
    2021 Texas State Appalachian State Louisiana Troy
    2022 Texas State Georgia State Troy UT Arlington

    Baseball

    Facilities

    Future members in gray; departing members in pink.

    School Football
    Stadium    		 Capacity Basketball
    Arena    		 Capacity Baseball
    Stadium    		 Capacity
    Appalachian State Kidd Brewer Stadium 30,000 Holmes Center 8,325 Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium 1,000[75]
    Arkansas State Centennial Bank Stadium 30,406 First National Bank Arena 10,563 Tomlinson Stadium–Kell Field 1,200[76]
    Coastal Carolina Brooks Stadium 20,000 HTC Center 3,370 Springs Brooks Stadium - Vrooman Field 5,400[77]
    Georgia Southern Paulson Stadium 25,000 Hanner Fieldhouse 4,325[78] J. I. Clements Stadium 3,000
    Georgia State Center Parc Stadium 24,333 GSU Sports Arena 3,854[79] GSU Baseball Complex 1,092
    James Madison Bridgeforth Stadium 24,877 Atlantic Union Bank Center 8,500 Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park 1,200
    Little Rock
    Non-football school
    		 Jack Stephens Center[lower-alpha 1] 5,600[80] Gary Hogan Field 2,550
    Louisiana Cajun Field 41,426 Cajundome[lower-alpha 2] 12,068 M. L. Tigue Moore Field 6,000
    Louisiana–Monroe Malone Stadium 27,617 Fant–Ewing Coliseum 7,085 Warhawk Field 1,800
    Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium 38,227 Cam Henderson Center 9,048 Kennedy Center Field[lower-alpha 3] 300
    Old Dominion S. B. Ballard Stadium 22,480 Chartway Arena 8,472 Bud Metheny Baseball Complex 2,500
    South Alabama Hancock Whitney Stadium 25,000 Mitchell Center 10,041 Eddie Stanky Field 4,500
    Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium 36,000 Reed Green Coliseum 8,095 Pete Taylor Park 4,300
    Texas State Jim Wacker Field at Bobcat Stadium 30,000 Strahan Coliseum 10,000 Bobcat Ballpark 2,000
    Troy Veterans Memorial Stadium 30,470 Trojan Arena 6,000[81] Riddle–Pace Field 2,000
    UT Arlington
    Non-football school
    		 College Park Center 7,000 Clay Gould Ballpark 1,600
    Notes
    1. Little Rock normally plays home basketball games on campus but occasionally plays at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock.
    2. Louisiana's women's basketball team primarily plays at the Cajundome but occasionally plays at Earl K. Long Gymnasium on the main campus.
    3. Due to the ballpark's location outside the Huntington floodwall near the Ohio River, Marshall frequently moves baseball games to two other facilities in West Virginia: Marshall is currently planning a new on-campus baseball park and expects to open it for the 2024 season.

    Academics

    Two of the Sun Belt's member schools, Georgia State and UT Arlington are doctorate-granting universities with "very high research activity," the highest classification given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.[82]

    Appalachian State is also currently ranked as one of the Top 10 regional schools in the South by the U.S. News & World Report.

    University Affiliation Carnegie[82] Endowment[83] US News[84] Forbes[85]
    Appalachian State University Public (UNC) Master's (Larger) $99,593,000[86] 6 (Regional: South) 377
    Arkansas State University Public (ASU System) Research (High) $66,217,000[86] RNP (National) N/A[d 1]
    Coastal Carolina University Public Master's (Larger) $39,432,000[86] 48 (Regional: South) N/A[d 2]
    Georgia Southern University Public (USG System) Research (High) $50,999,000[86] RNP (National) 391
    Georgia State University Public (USG System) Research (Very High) $155,303,000[86] 239 (National) 241
    University of Arkansas at Little Rock Public (UA System) Research (High) $70,080,000[86] RNP (National) N/A[d 3]
    University of Louisiana at Lafayette Public (UL System) Research (Very High) $178,300,000[87] RNP (National) N/A[d 4]
    University of Louisiana at Monroe Public (UL System) Doctoral/Research $28,787,795[88] RNP (National) N/A[d 5]
    University of South Alabama Public Research (High) $555,735,000[86] RNP (National) N/A[d 6]
    Texas State University Public (TSU System) Research (High) $186,676,000[86] RNP (National) 407
    University of Texas at Arlington Public (UT System) Research (Very High) $155,277,000[89] 288 (National) 253
    Troy University Public (TU System) Master's (Larger) $104,409,000[86] 44 (Regional: South) N/A[d 7]

    Notes
    1. Arkansas State is not ranked in the 2021 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
    2. Coastal Carolina is not ranked in the 2021 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
    3. Little Rock is not ranked in the 2021 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
    4. Louisiana is not ranked in the 2021 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
    5. Louisiana-Monroe is not ranked in the 2021 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
    6. South Alabama is not ranked in the 2021 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
    7. Troy is not ranked in the 2021 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.

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