Sun Belt Conference
U.S. college sports conference From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 14 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed across the Southern United States.
 | |
| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1976 |
| Commissioner | Keith Gill (since 2019) |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| Subdivision | FBS |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Headquarters | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Region | Southern United States |
| Official website | sunbeltsports.org |
| Locations | |
| |
History
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Perspective
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 (the conference rejected UNO's offer to play all conference home games at the Louisiana Superdome). 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 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 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 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, which has four other members in Louisiana, in 2013.)
Early 2010s realignment
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, 
– current associate member
– Full member, 
– current associate memberFollowing 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. At the time, both were 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, with the entrance of three new men's soccer-sponsoring schools in James Madison, Marshall, and Old Dominion, the Sun Belt announced that men's soccer would be reinstated as a sponsored sport. The three aforementioned programs joined current Sun Belt members Coastal Carolina (previously affiliates with Conference USA) as well as Georgia State and Georgia Southern (previously affiliates with the Mid-American Conference). Additionally, it was announced that Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia would join as men's soccer affiliate members beginning in fall 2022, giving the conference an inaugural soccer membership of 9.[42] Kentucky and South Carolina were previously also affiliated with C-USA, while West Virginia was affiliated with the MAC. The SBC later announced it would add UCF as a men's soccer affiliate when that school joined the Big 12 Conference in 2023.[43] In men's soccer, the conference is not a "mid-major" conference, but a "power" conference due to the quasi-alliance of the Big 12 and SEC schools, plus the presence of Marshall, which has played in two national championship games in the 2020s, winning one.
On June 6, the SBC presidents & chancellors approved adding two new women's sports, beach volleyball and swimming & diving, no later than the 2023–24 school year. They also announced that the conference would explore adding another women's sport, field hockey, at an undetermined future date.[44]
On January 18, 2023, the SBC officially announced that its beach volleyball league would launch that spring, with the four full members sponsoring the sport joined by Charleston, Mercer, UNC Wilmington, and Stephen F. Austin as affiliate members.[45]
On August 17, 2023, the SBC officially announced the return of women's swimming and diving as a sponsored sport.[46] However, the SBC would only sponsor the sport for two seasons before dropping it after the 2024–25 season.[47]
Member schools
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Perspective
Full members
- Notes
Affiliate members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Type | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | Sport | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College of Charleston | Charleston, South Carolina | 1770 | 2022[a] | Public | 10,468 | Cougars | Beach volleyball | CAA | |
| University of Kentucky | Lexington, Kentucky | 1865 | 2022 | 32,710 | Wildcats | Soccer (m) | SEC | ||
| Mercer University | Macon, Georgia | 1833 | 2022[a] | Private | 8,740 | Bears | Beach volleyball | SoCon | |
| University of South Carolina | Columbia, South Carolina | 1801 | 2022 | Public | 35,364 | Gamecocks | Soccer (m) | SEC | |
| University of Central Florida | Orlando, Florida[b] | 1963 | 2023 | 70,406 | Knights | Big 12 | |||
| University of North Carolina Wilmington | Wilmington, North Carolina | 1947 | 2022[a] | 14,765 | Seahawks | Beach volleyball | CAA | ||
| West Virginia University | Morgantown, West Virginia | 1867 | 2022 | 26,269 | Mountaineers | Soccer (m) | Big 12 |
- The three beach volleyball associates (Charleston, Mercer, and UNCW) are listed as having joined in 2022, even though they were not announced as incoming affiliates until January 2023. The SBC's first beach volleyball season of 2023, which featured the four schools, was part of the 2022–23 school year.
- The main UCF campus has an Orlando mailing address but is in unincorporated Orange County.
Former full members
- Notes
- The main UCF campus has an Orlando mailing address but is in unincorporated Orange County.
- The main FIU campus has a Miami mailing address but is in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
- 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[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Central Arkansas | Conway, Arkansas | 1907 | 2019 | 2021 | Public | Bears[b] | Soccer (m) | ASUN | |
| Hartwick College | Oneonta, New York | 1797 | 2014 | 2018 | Private | Hawks | Empire 8[c] | ||
| Howard University | Washington, D.C. | 1867 | 2021[d] | 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 | CUSA | |||
| Stephen F. Austin State University | Nacogdoches, Texas | 1923 | 2022 | 2024 | Ladyjacks | Beach volleyball | SLC | ||
| Utah State University | Logan, Utah | 1888 | 2003 | 2005 | Aggies | Football | Mountain West (Pac-12 in 2026) | ||
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Tennessee | 1873 | 1995 | 1997 | Private | Commodores | Soccer (m) | none[e] |
- Notes
- In all cases except those of Howard and Vanderbilt, this matches the school's primary conference affiliation. Howard is a full member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, including FCS football. Vanderbilt has been a full member of the Southeastern Conference since that league's creation in 1932.
- Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
- 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) Other Conference Other Conference
Commissioners
- Vic Bubas (1976–1990)
- Jim Lessig (1990–1991)
- Craig Thompson (1991–1998)
- Wright Waters (1999–2012)
- Karl Benson (2012–2019)
- Keith Gill (2019–present)
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.[73] 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.[74][75]
Sports
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Perspective
As of the current 2024–25 school year, the Sun Belt Conference sponsors championship competition in nine men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[76] The most recent change to sports sponsorship was the reinstatement of women's swimming and diving in 2023–24.
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. Men's soccer resumed play in 2022–23 with six full members joined by three associates; a fourth associate joined in 2023–24. Beach volleyball started play with eight members, evenly divided between full members and associates.
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | 14 | – |
| Basketball | 14 | 14 |
| Beach volleyball | – | 8 |
| Cross country | 9 | 13 |
| Football | 14 | – |
| Golf | 14 | 13 |
| Soccer | 10 | 14 |
| Softball | – | 12 |
| Swimming and diving | – | 4 |
| Tennis | 9 | 14 |
| Track and field indoor | 7 | 13 |
| Track and field outdoor | 10 | 13 |
| Volleyball | – | 14 |
Men's sponsored sports by school
Member-by-member sponsorship of the nine men's SBC sports for the 2023–24 academic year.
| School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross country | Football | Golf | Soccer | Tennis | Track & field Indoor | Track & field outdoor | Total sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | 6 |
| Arkansas State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | 7 |
| Coastal Carolina | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 8 |
| Georgia Southern | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | 6 |
| Georgia State | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | 6 |
| James Madison | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | 6 |
| Louisiana | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
| Louisiana–Monroe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | 7 |
| Marshall | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 8 |
| Old Dominion | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | 6 |
| South Alabama | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
| Southern Miss | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 |
| Texas State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | 7 |
| Troy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | 7 |
| Totals | 14 | 14 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 6+4 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 97+4 |
| Affiliate members | ||||||||||
| Kentucky | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
| South Carolina | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
| UCF | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
| West Virginia | Yes | 1 | ||||||||
Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt
- 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 11 women's SBC sports for the 2024–25 academic year.
| School | Basketball | Beach volleyball | Cross country | Golf | Soccer | Softball | Swimming & diving[a] | Tennis | Track & field indoor | Track & field outdoor | Volleyball | Total sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9 |
| Arkansas State | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
| Coastal Carolina | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Georgia Southern | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Georgia State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| James Madison | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Louisiana | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
| Louisiana–Monroe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Marshall | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Old Dominion | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | 6 |
| South Alabama | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9 |
| Southern Miss | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Texas State | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9 |
| Troy | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9 |
| Totals | 14 | 4+3 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 128+3 |
| Affiliate members | ||||||||||||
| Charleston | Yes | 1 | ||||||||||
| Mercer | Yes | 1 | ||||||||||
| UNCW | Yes | 1 | ||||||||||
Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt
- Sailing is a coeducational sport not governed by the NCAA, but instead by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association.
Championships
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Perspective
"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
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|
|
NCAA champions
The only school to have won a national title while an SBC member is 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. Six other current 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 SBC, while representing the Big South Conference.
| 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 | 29 |
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
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Perspective
For more information see Sun Belt Conference football. For the most recent season, see 2024 Sun Belt Conference football season.
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[update], the conference had 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)[77] 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 changed 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.[78]
| Team | First season |
All-Time record |
All-Time win % |
Bowl appearances |
Bowl record |
All-Time Conference titles |
Current Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | 1928 | 653–349–28 | .648 | 7 | 6–1 | 22 | Shawn Clark |
| Arkansas State | 1911 | 487–509–37 | .489 | 10 | 4–6 | 14 | Butch Jones |
| Coastal Carolina | 2003 | 157–81 | .660 | 2 | 1–1 | 9 | Tim Beck |
| Georgia Southern | 1924 | 407–240–10 | .627 | 4 | 3–1 | 11 | Clay Helton |
| Georgia State | 2010 | 50–92 | .352 | 5 | 3–2 | 0 | Dell McGee |
| James Madison | 1972 | 351–220-4 | .614 | 0 | 0–0 | 10 | Bob Chesney |
| Louisiana | 1901 | 553–563–34 | .496 | 7 | 5–2 | 13 | Michael Desormeaux |
| Louisiana–Monroe | 1931 | 319–446–8 | .418 | 1 | 0–1 | 5 | Terry Bowden |
| Marshall | 1895 | 623–563–47 | .524 | 18 | 12–6 | 13 | Charles Huff |
| Old Dominion | 2009[a] | 92–79–0 | .538 | 3 | 1–2 | 0 | Ricky Rahne |
| Southern Miss | 1912 | 607–447–27 | .574 | 24 | 11–13 | 8 | Will Hall |
| South Alabama | 2009 | 66–83 | .443 | 2 | 0–2 | 0 | Kane Wommack |
| Texas State | 1904 | 522–486–25 | .517 | 2 | 2–0 | 12 | G. J. Kinne |
| Troy | 1909 | 554–424–28 | .565 | 8 | 5–3 | 21 | Gerard Parker |
- Notes
- The team played as a division of the College of William & Mary from 1930 to 1940, then folded. It was restarted in 2009; 16 years ago.
Sun Belt champions
Since the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS season, the Sun Belt Conference has held a football championship game.[79]
| Season | Champion | Conference record |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Middle Tennessee 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 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 |
| 2022 | Troy | 7–1 |
| 2023 | Troy | 7–1 |
| 2024 | Marshall | 7–1 |
- Notes
- Louisiana–Lafayette vacated 2013 shared Sun Belt Conference co-championship due to major NCAA violations.[80]
- The 2020 championship game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues; the divisional champions were declared league co-champions.
Bowl games
As of the 2024–25 NCAA football bowl games, the Sun Belt Conference had tie-ins with the following bowl games:[81]
Football rivalries
Football rivalries involving Sun Belt teams include:
| Teams | Rivalry Name | Trophy | Meetings (last) | Record | Series Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | Georgia Southern | Deeper Than Hate | — | 40 (2024) | 22–17–1 | background-color:#222222;color:#FFCC00;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #FFCC00, inset -2px -2px 0 #FFCC00;"}]]}">Appalachian State |
| Appalachian State | Marshall | Old Mountain Feud | — | 27 (2024) | 16–11 | background-color:#222222;color:#FFCC00;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #FFCC00, inset -2px -2px 0 #FFCC00;"}]]}">Appalachian State |
| Georgia State | Georgia Southern | Modern Day Hate | — | 11 (2024) | 6–5 | background-color:#0039A6;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Georgia State |
| James Madison | Old Dominion | Royal Rivalry | Crown | 5 (2024) | 3–2 | background-color:#450084;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">James Madison |
| Louisiana | Louisiana–Monroe | Battle on the Bayou | Wooden Boot | 60[a] (2024) | 33–26 | background-color:#CE181E;color:#FFFFFF;<br"}]]}">Louisiana |
| South Alabama | Troy | Battle for the Belt | Belt | 13 (2024) | 9–4 | background-color:#98002E;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Troy |
- Notes
- In 2015, Louisiana–Lafayette vacated their win over Louisiana–Monroe in their 2011 football season due to alleged major NCAA violations.
Basketball
Summarize
Perspective
Men's basketball
This list goes through the 2021–22 season.[82]
Women's basketball
This list goes through the 2022–23 season.[83]
| Team | First season |
All-time record |
All-time win % |
NCAA Tournament appearances |
NCAA Tournament record |
Arena | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | 1970–71 | 689–726 | .487 | 4 | 0–4 | Holmes Center | Alaura Sharp |
| Arkansas State | 1974–75 | 770–602 | .561 | 0 | 0–0 | First National Bank Arena | Destinee Rogers |
| Coastal Carolina | 1974–75 | 572–732 | .439 | 0 | 0–0 | HTC Center | Kevin Pederson |
| Georgia Southern | 1973–74 | 707–679 | .510 | 2 | 0–2 | Hill Convocation Center | Hanna Haden |
| Georgia State | 1975–76 | 630–692 | .477 | 3 | 0–3 | Georgia State Convocation Center | Gene Hill |
| James Madison | 1920–21 | 1176–578–5 | .670 | 12 | 8–12 | Atlantic Union Bank Center | Sean O'Regan |
| Louisiana | 1982–83 | 466–684 | .405 | 1 | 0–1 | Cajundome | Gary Broadhead |
| Louisiana–Monroe | 1974–75 | 632–682 | .481 | 4 | 4–4 | Fant–Ewing Coliseum | Missy Bilerback |
| Marshall | 1969–70 | 715–737 | .492 | 2 | 0–2 | Cam Henderson Center | Juli Fulks |
| Old Dominion | 1969–70 | 1121–480 | .700 | 25 | 34–24 | Chartway Arena | DeLisha Milton-Jones |
| South Alabama | 1974–75 | 666–701 | .487 | 1 | 0–1 | Mitchell Center | Yolisha Jackson |
| Southern Miss | 1975–76 | 780–589 | .570 | 8 | 4–8 | Reed Green Coliseum | Joye Lee-McNelis |
| Texas State | 1982–83 | 565–576 | .495 | 2 | 0–2 | Strahan Arena | Zenarae Antoine |
| Troy | 1975–76 | 670–677 | .497 | 4 | 0–4 | Trojan Arena | Chanda Rigby |
Championships
Since the 2022–23 season, the Sun Belt Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments, held in early March, have involved all 14 of the conference's teams, and have been bracketed in a semi-stepladder format. The bottom four seeds play in the first round; seed 5 through 10 receive byes to the second round, and the top 4 seeds to the quarterfinals. All rounds are held in Pensacola, Florida at Pensacola Bay Center since 2022.[84] Winners of the tournaments earn automatic bids to their respective NCAA Division I basketball tournament.
Baseball
Summarize
Perspective
|
The Sun Belt Conference has sponsored an annual baseball tournament to determine the conference winner since 1978. South Alabama has won the most championships, at 13.
|
|
Facilities
| School | Football stadium | Capacity | Basketball arena | Capacity | Baseball stadium | Capacity | Softball stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| background-color:#222222;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium | 30,000 | Holmes Center | 8,325 | Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium | 1,000 | Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium | 1,000 |
| background-color:#CC092F;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Arkansas State | Centennial Bank Stadium | 30,406 | First National Bank Arena | 10,563 | Tomlinson Stadium–Kell Field | 1,200[85] | Non-softball school | |
| background-color:#006F71;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Coastal Carolina | Brooks Stadium | 21,000 | HTC Center | 3,370 | Springs Brooks Stadium | 5,400[86] | St. John Stadium – Charles Wade-John Lott Field | 500 |
| background-color:#041E42;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium | 25,000 | Hill Convocation Center | 5,500 | J. I. Clements Stadium | 3,000 | Eagle Field | 400 |
| background-color:#0039A6;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Georgia State | Center Parc Stadium | 24,333 | GSU Convocation Center | 8,000[87] | GSU Baseball Complex | 1,092 | Robert E. Heck Softball Complex | 500 |
| background-color:#450084;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">James Madison | Bridgeforth Stadium | 24,877 | Atlantic Union Bank Center | 8,500 | Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park | 1,200 | Veterans Memorial Park | 1,500 |
| background-color:#CE181E;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Louisiana | Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium | 41,426 | Cajundome[a] | 12,068 | M. L. Tigue Moore Field | 6,000 | Yvette Girouard Field | 2,790 |
| background-color:#840029;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Louisiana–Monroe | Malone Stadium | 27,617 | Fant–Ewing Coliseum | 7,085 | Lou St. Amant Field | 1,800 | Geo-Surfaces Field | 500 |
| background-color:#00B140;color:#000000;"}]]}">Marshall | Joan C. Edwards Stadium | 30,475 | Cam Henderson Center | 9,048 | Jack Cook Field[88] | 3,500 | Dot Hicks Field | 1,000 |
| background-color:#003767;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Old Dominion | S.B. Ballard Stadium | 21,944 | Chartway Arena | 8,472 | Bud Metheny Baseball Complex | 2,500 | Non-softball school | |
| background-color:#BF0D3E;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">South Alabama | Hancock Whitney Stadium | 25,450 | Mitchell Center | 10,041 | Eddie Stanky Field | 4,500 | Jaguar Field | 1,050 |
| background-color:#000000;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Southern Miss | M. M. Roberts Stadium | 36,000 | Reed Green Coliseum | 8,095 | Pete Taylor Park | 4,300 | Southern Miss Softball Complex | 607 |
| background-color:#501214;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Texas State | UFCU Stadium | 30,008 | Strahan Arena | 10,000 | Bobcat Ballpark | 2,000 | Bobcat Softball Stadium | 1,000 |
| background-color:#98002E;color:#FFFFFF;"}]]}">Troy | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 30,470 | Trojan Arena | 6,000[89] | Riddle–Pace Field | 2,500 | Troy Softball Complex | 800 |
- Notes
- Louisiana's women's basketball team primarily plays at the Cajundome but occasionally plays at Earl K. Long Gymnasium on the main campus.
Athletic department revenue by school
Summarize
Perspective
Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights and licensing, student fees, school funds and all other sources including TV income, camp income, concessions, and novelties.
Total expenses includes coach and staff salaries, scholarships, buildings and grounds, maintenance, utilities and rental fees, recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues, and insurance.
The following table shows institutional reporting to the United States Department of Education as shown on the DOE Equity in Athletics website for the 2021–22 academic year.[90]
| Institution | 2021–22 Total Revenue from Athletics | 2021–22 Total Expenses on Athletics |
|---|---|---|
| James Madison University | $52,857,185 | $52,857,185 |
| Old Dominion University | $47,364,891 | $45,109,567 |
| Georgia State University | $45,248,891 | $39,913,977 |
| University of Louisiana at Lafayette | $39,088,716 | $39,088,716 |
| Marshall University | $38,114,204 | $38,114,204 |
| Coastal Carolina University | $38,077,490 | $38,077,490 |
| Texas State University | $33,707,371 | $33,707,371 |
| Appalachian State University | $32,271,589 | $32,271,589 |
| Georgia Southern University | $29,737,578 | $29,737,578 |
| Troy University | $29,054,724 | $29,054,724 |
| University of Southern Mississippi | $25,564,444 | $25,564,444 |
| University of South Alabama | $24,652,380 | $24,652,380 |
| Arkansas State University | $21,009,474 | $21,009,474 |
| University of Louisiana at Monroe | $18,416,615 | $18,416,615 |
Academics
Summarize
Perspective
Four of the Sun Belt's member schools, Georgia State, Louisiana, Old Dominion and Southern Miss are doctorate-granting universities with "very high research activity," the highest classification given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.[91]
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[91] | Endowment[92] | US News[93] | Forbes[94] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State University | Public (UNC) | Research (High) | $99,593,000[95] | 6 (Regional: South) | 301 |
| Arkansas State University | Public (ASU System) | Research (High) | $66,217,000[95] | 317 (National) | N/A[d 1] |
| Coastal Carolina University | Public | Master's (Larger) | $39,432,000[95] | 38 (Regional: South) | N/A[d 2] |
| Georgia Southern University | Public (USG System) | Research (High) | $50,999,000[95] | 331-440 (National) | N/A[d 3] |
| Georgia State University | Public (USG System) | Research (Very High) | $155,303,000[95] | 234 (National) | 367 |
| James Madison University | Public | Research (High) | $116,700,000[96] | 151 (National) | 139 |
| University of Louisiana at Lafayette | Public (UL System) | Research (Very High) | $178,300,000[97] | 331-440 (National) | N/A[d 4] |
| University of Louisiana at Monroe | Public (UL System) | Doctoral/Research | $28,787,795[98] | 331-440 (National) | N/A[d 5] |
| Marshall University | Public | Research (High) | $192,000,000[96] | 299 (National) | N/A[d 6] |
| Old Dominion University | Public | Research (Very High) | $265,800,000[96] | 299 (National) | 472 |
| University of South Alabama | Public | Research (High) | $555,735,000[95] | 331-440 (National) | N/A[d 7] |
| University of Southern Mississippi | Public | Research (Very High) | $136,300,000[96] | 331-440 (National) | N/A[d 8] |
| Texas State University | Public (TSU System) | Research (High) | $186,676,000[95] | 331-440 (National) | 385 |
| Troy University | Public (TU System) | Doctoral/Research[99] | $191,458,000[100] | 44 (Regional: South) | N/A[d 9] |
Notes
- Arkansas State is not ranked in the 2022 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
- Coastal Carolina is not ranked in the 2022 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
- Georgia Southern is not ranked in the 2022 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
- Louisiana-Lafayette is not ranked in the 2022 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
- Louisiana-Monroe is not ranked in the 2022 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
- Marshall is not ranked in the 2022 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
- South Alabama is not ranked in the 2022 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
- Southern Miss is not ranked in the 2022 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
- Troy is not ranked in the 2022 Forbes America's Best Colleges rankings.
References
External links
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