The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The 14 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed primarily across the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

History

The Sun Belt Conference was founded on August 4, 1976, with the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

, the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...

, Georgia State University, Jacksonville University, the

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine coll ...

, and the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

. 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 Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

. 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 Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research act ...

, 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 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a public research university with multiple campuses throughout the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas and is the southernmost member of the University of Texas System. The University of T ...

), New Orleans (re-joined), Lamar University, and the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State Universi ...

. 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. Central Florida left the league following the 1991–92 academic year due to a dispute over television rights, among other reasons. Lamar, Texas–Pan American, and Jacksonville departed at the end of the 1997–98 academic year.

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

joined the Sun Belt in 1998, and the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

was added in 1999. Louisiana Tech departed after the 2000–01 academic year. Poydras Street, New Orleans CBD, 24 August 2021 - 10

The conference did not sponsor football until 2001, when the league added former

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacifi ...

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 The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

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 Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

, was added as a football-only member in 2003, then departed in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

with Idaho and New Mexico State for the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to most of t ...

(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 Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

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 The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...

. 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. 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. (UNO later decided to remain in Division I, and joined the

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. 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 Karl David Benson (born December 1, 1951) was the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference where he served from 2012 until his retirement in June 2019. Previously, Benson was the commissioner of the Mid-American Conference from 1990 to 1994 and t ...

also hinted that more changes could be on the way for the conference. On May 25, 2012, the conference announced that the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of ...

(a non-football member) had accepted an invitation to join the conference and would become a full member by 2013. On May 4, 2012, FIU and North Texas announced that they would be leaving the Sun Belt for

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...

on July 1, 2013 as part of a Conference USA expansion effort involving four other schools. On November 29, 2012, Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee State announced that they would also leave the Sun Belt for Conference USA. 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

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. 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 Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

accepted an invitation on March 27, 2013 to join the Sun Belt effective July 1, 2014.

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in H ...

accepted a similar Sun Belt invitation at the same time as Appalachian State. 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 Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...

and New Mexico State on March 28, 2013. 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, leaving it with no other choice. On September 1, 2015,

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

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. 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. The conference announced that beginning in 2018, the conference (10 teams) would be divided into two divisions for football: East:

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Doug ...

Coastal Carolina Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

, Georgia Southern,

Georgia State Georgia state or ''variation'', may refer to: Primarily * Georgia State University ("State", "Georgia State"), a state university * Georgia (U.S. state) ("Georgia state"), a state of the United States of America Sports * sports teams of Georgia St ...

, and

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

; West:

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

, Louisiana–Monroe, South Alabama, and Texas State. The winner of each division will meet in the Sun Belt Championship game.

Early 2020s realignment

Following the July 30, 2021 announcement of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

both moving from the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

to the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

, 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. The American in turn responded on October 21 by adding six schools from

(C-USA), with 2023 as the most likely entry date. Following this move, rumors began to circulate that the Sun Belt was planning to take on another three members (the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

(Southern Miss or USM),

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges ...

, 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. 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 town A college town or university town is a community (often a separate town or city, but in some cases a town/city neighborhood or a district) that is dominated by its university population. The university may be large, or there may be several sma ...

s. 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 The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...

(CAA). Southern Miss and Old Dominion 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, both the Sun Belt and Marshall issued tweets announcing that school's entry; a formal announcement followed the next day and an introductory press conference was held on November 1. 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 A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

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. The committee unanimously approved JMU's move from FCS to FBS, and the Sun Belt move was officially announced on November 6. 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. 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. 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. 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, and UT Arlington, which had been a

member in the 2012–13 school year, announced its return to that conference on January 21, 2022. 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. Marshall escalated the situation by filing suit against C-USA in its local court in an attempt to force a 2022 move. On March 29, Conference USA agreed to let Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss move to the Sun Belt starting July 1, 2022. 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 The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the t ...

). Additionally, it was announced that

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

would join as men's soccer affiliate members beginning in fall 2022, giving the conference an inaugural soccer membership of 9. 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 joins the

in 2023. 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.

Member schools

Current members

;Notes:

Affiliate members

Future affiliate members

Former members

;Notes:

Former affiliate members

;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1976 till:2030 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:50 top:5 Colors = id:line value:black id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # some sports, but not all id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two PlotData = width:15 textcolor:darkblue shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1976 till:1981 text:Georgia State (1976–1981) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1981 till:1983 bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:1983 till:2005 text: TAAC bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:

CAA CAA may refer to: Law * Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India ** Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act * Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to another party * Clean Air Act, United States law to reduce air ...

bar:1 color:Full from:2013 till:end text: (2013–present) bar:2 color:FullxF from:1976 till:1998 text:Jacksonville (1976–1998) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:end text: TAAC bar:3 color:FullxF from:1976 till:1980 text:New Orleans (1976–1980) bar:3 shift:(65) color:OtherC1 from:1980 till:1987 text:Independent bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text:

ASC ASC may refer to: Educational institutions * Anglican Schools Commission, Australia * Andres Soriano Colleges of Bislig, located in Surigao del Sur, Philippines * Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia Organizations Australia * Australian Singi ...

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1991 till:2010 text: (1991–2010) bar:3 shift:(-25) color:OtherC1 from:2010 till:2012 text:Independent bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:end text: Southland bar:4 color:FullxF from:1976 till:1991 text:North Carolina–Charlotte (1976–1991) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text: Metro bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2005 text: C-USA bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text: A-10 bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2023 text: C-USA bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1976 till:2012 text:South Alabama (1976–present) bar:5 color:Full from:2012 till:end bar:6 color:FullxF from:1976 till:1991 text:South Florida (1976–1991) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text: Metro bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2005 text: C-USA bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text: Big East bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1991 text:Alabama–Birmingham (1979–1991) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text: GMC bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2023 text: C-USA bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1979 text:Indep. bar:8 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1991 text:VCU (1979–1991) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text: Metro bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2012 text:

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text: A-10 bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1979 text:Indep. bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:1982 text:

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1991 text:Old Dominion (1982–1991) bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:2013 text:

bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2022 text: C-USA bar:9 color:Full from:2022 till:end text:(2022–present) bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1982 text: OVC bar:10 color:FullxF from:1982 till:2009 text:Western Kentucky (1982–2014) bar:10 color:Full from:2009 till:2014 bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text: C-USA bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1987 text: Southland bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text:

bar:11 color:FullxF from:1991 till:2001 text:Arkansas State (1991–present) bar:11 color:Full from:2001 till:end bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1977 text: AIC bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1977 till:1979 text:Indep. bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1991 text: TAAC bar:12 color:FullxF from:1991 till:2022 text:Little Rock (1991–2022) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: OVC bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1984 till:1990 text:Independent bar:13 shift:(-5) color:OtherC2 from:1990 till:1991 text:

bar:13 color:FullxF from:1991 till:1992 text:Central Florida (1991–1992) bar:13 shift:(120) color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:2005 text: TAAC/ASUN bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:2005 till:2013 text: C-USA bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2023 text:

bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2023 till:end text:(2023–future) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1987 text: Southland bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text:

bar:14 color:FullxF from:1991 till:1998 text:Lamar (1991–1998) bar:14 shift:(-10) color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:1999 text:Indep. bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1999 till:2021 text: Southland bar:14 shift:(-8) color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:2022 text: WAC bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text: Southland bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1987 text: Southland bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text:

bar:15 color:FullxF from:1991 till:2001 text:Louisiana Tech (1991–2001) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:2013 text: WAC bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text: C-USA bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1982 text: Southland bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1987 text:Independent bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1987 till:1991 text:

bar:16 color:FullxF from:1991 till:2001 text:Louisiana-Lafayette (1991–present) bar:16 color:Full from:2001 till:end bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1978 text:Indep. bar:17 color:OtherC2 from:1978 till:1980 text: TAAC bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:1980 till:1987 text:Independent bar:17 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text:

bar:17 color:FullxF from:1991 till:1998 text:Texas–Pan American (1991–1998) bar:17 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:2009 text:Independent bar:17 color:OtherC2 from:2009 till:2013 text: GWC bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text: WAC bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1988 text:DII Independent bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:1991 text:DI Indep. bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1998 text: TAAC bar:18 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2005 text:Florida International (1998–2013) bar:18 color:Full from:2005 till:2013 bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text: C-USA bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1980 text:DI Indep. bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:1980 till:1990 text:NAIA Indep. bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:1998 text:DII Indep. bar:19 shift:(-20) color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:1999 text:DI Indep. bar:19 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2012 text:Denver (1999–2012) bar:19 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2013 text: WAC bar:19 shift:(10) color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:2000 text: OVC bar:20 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2001 text:Middle Tennessee State (2000–2013) bar:20 color:Full from:2001 till:2013 bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text: C-USA bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1983 text: MVC bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:1983 till:2000 text: PCAA/Big West bar:21 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2001 text:New Mexico State (2000–2005) bar:21 color:Full from:2001 till:2005 bar:21 shift:(60) color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2014 text: WAC (FB Indep. 2013) bar:21 color:AssocF from:2014 till:2018 text:(2014–2018) bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:2023 text: WAC (FB Indep.) bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text: C-USA bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1982 text:Independent bar:22 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1996 text: Southland bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2000 text: Big West bar:22 color:FullxF from:2000 till:2001 text:North Texas (2000–2013) bar:22 color:Full from:2001 till:2013 bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2023 text: C-USA bar:22 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text:

bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1996 text: Big Sky bar:23 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:2001 text: Big West bar:23 color:AssocF from:2001 till:2005 text:Idaho (2001–2005) bar:23 shift:(25) color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2012 text: WAC bar:23 color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:2014 text:Indep. bar:23 color:AssocF from:2014 till:2018 text:(2014–2018) bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:end text: Big Sky bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1982 text:Independent bar:24 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:2001 text: Southland; FB Indep. (1994–2000) bar:24 color:AssocF from:2001 till:2006 text:Louisiana–Monroe (2001–present) bar:24 color:Full from:2006 till:end bar:25 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1978 text:Indep. bar:25 color:OtherC2 from:1978 till:2003 text: PCAA/Big West; FB Indep. (2001–2003) bar:25 color:AssocF from:2003 till:2005 text:Utah State (2003–2005) bar:25 shift:(85) color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text: WAC bar:25 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text: MWC bar:26 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1991 text: GSC bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:1996 text:Indep. bar:26 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2001 text: Southland bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:2004 text:Indep. bar:26 color:AssocF from:2004 till:2005 text:Troy (2004–present) bar:26 color:Full from:2005 till:end bar:27 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1983 text:NAIA Independent bar:27 color:OtherC2 from:1983 till:1993 text: DII Independent bar:27 color:AssocF from:2005 till:2006 text:Florida Atlantic (2005–2013) bar:27 color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:2006 text: TAAC/ASUN bar:27 color:Full from:2006 till:2013 bar:27 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2023 text: C-USA bar:27 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text:

bar:28 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1983 text: LSC bar:28 color:OtherC2 from:1983 till:1987 text: GSC bar:28 color:OtherC1 from:1987 till:2012 text: Southland bar:28 shift:(-5) color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:2013 text: WAC bar:28 color:Full from:2013 till:end text:Texas State (2013–present) bar:29 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:2012 text: Southland bar:29 shift:(-5) color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:2013 text: WAC bar:29 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2022 text:UT Arlington (2013–2022) bar:29 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: WAC bar:30 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:2014 text:

SoCon The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

bar:30 color:Full from:2014 till:end text:Appalachian State (2014–present) bar:31 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1980 text:Independent bar:31 color:OtherC2 from:1980 till:1992 text: TAAC bar:31 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:2014 text:

bar:31 color:Full from:2014 till:end text:Georgia Southern (2014–present) bar:32 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1983 text:Independent bar:32 color:OtherC2 from:1983 till:2016 text: Big South bar:32 color:FullxF from:2016 till:2017 text:Coastal Carolina (2016–present) bar:32 color:Full from:2017 till:end bar:37 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1979 text:Indep. bar:37 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:2022 text:

bar:37 color:Full from:2022 till:end text:James Madison (2022–present) bar:38 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1997 text:

bar:38 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:2005 text: MAC bar:38 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2022 text: C-USA bar:38 color:Full from:2022 till:end text:Marshall (2022–present) bar:39 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1982 text:Independent bar:39 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1995 text: Metro bar:39 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2022 text: C-USA bar:39 color:Full from:2022 till:end text:Southern Miss (2022–present) bar:33 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2018 text:Hartwick (2014–2018) bar:34 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2021 text:Howard (2014–2021) bar:35 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2016 text:NJIT (2014–2016) bar:36 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2021 text:Central Arkansas (2019–2021) bar:40 color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text: Kentucky (2022–present) bar:41 color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text: South Carolina (2022–present) bar:42 color:AssocOS from:2022 till:end text: West Virginia (2022–present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1976

Commissioners

* Vic Bubas (1976–1990) * Jim Lessig (1990–1991) * Craig Thompson (1991–1998) * Wright Waters (1999–2012) *

(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. On February 15, 2012, Karl Benson was hired as the new commissioner of the Sun Belt, after having been the commissioner of the

for 17 years. Waters would later move his departure date to March 15, allowing Benson to take over at that time. 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.

Sports

As of the current 2022–23 school year, the Sun Belt Conference sponsors championship competition in nine men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The most recent changes to sports sponsorship were the dropping of men's soccer after the 2020–21 school year and its reinstatement starting in 2022–23. 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. The conference also announced it will sponsor beach volleyball and women's swimming and diving beginning no later than the 2023-24 school year, as well as explore the possibility of sponsoring field hockey. Ryan Taylor vs

Men's sponsored sports by school

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

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt

Women's sponsored sports by school

Member-by-member sponsorship of the nine women's SBC sports for the 2022–23 academic year.

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt

Championships

"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

;Fall 2022 ;Winter 2021–22 ;Spring 2022

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. See also: List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships,

List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships This is a list of U.S. universities and colleges that have won the most team sport national championships (more than 15) that have been bestowed for the highest level of collegiate athletic competition, be that at either the varsity or club level, ...

, and NCAA Division I FBS Conferences

Football

''For more information see Sun Belt Conference football. For the current season, see

2022 Sun Belt Conference football season The 2022 Sun Belt Conference football season is the 22nd season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The season began on September 2, 2022, and will conclude with its conference championship game on December 3, 2022. It is ...

.'' 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 The New Orleans Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually since 2001. It is normally held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans; when the Superdome and the rest of the city suffered damage due ...

. Following the Sun Belt's improved football success and geographical membership changes, other bowls began to sign contracts with the Sun Belt Conference. , the conference has seven

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

tie-ins (

Cure A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The ...

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, LendingTree,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Myrtle Beach, Frisco, and

Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controve ...

) 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

and New Mexico State) would be divided into two divisions for football: East:

, Georgia Southern,

, and

; West:

, 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.

Sun Belt champions

Since the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS season, the Sun Belt Conference has held a football championship game. ;Notes * Louisiana–Lafayette vacated 2013 shared Sun Belt Conference co-championship due to major NCAA violations. * The 2020 championship game was canceled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

issues; the divisional champions were declared league co-champions.

Bowl games

As of the 2022–23 NCAA football bowl games, the Sun Belt Conference has tie-ins with the following bowl games:

Football rivalries

Football rivalries involving Sun Belt teams include:

Basketball

Men's basketball

''For the current season, see 2022–23 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season.'' This list goes through the 2021–22 season.

Championships

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 New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

; the 2019 men's and women's events were at

Lakefront Arena The Senator Nat G. Kiefer University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena (commonly Lakefront Arena or UNO Lakefront Arena) is an 8,933-seat multi-purpose arena located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The arena is home to the University of New Orleans Priva ...

, and from 2020 will be at Smoothie King Center. Winners of the tournaments earn automatic bids to their respective NCAA Division I basketball tournament.

Baseball

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. * Teams in bold represent current conference members.

Facilities

;Notes

Academics

Four of the Sun Belt's member schools,

, 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 The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (CFAT) is a U.S.-based education policy and research center. It was founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of the United States Congress. Among its most nota ...

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

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Belt Conference Organizations based in New Orleans Sports organizations established in 1976 Sports in the Southern United States College sports in Alabama College sports in Arkansas College sports in Georgia (U.S. state) College sports in Louisiana College sports in Mississippi College sports in North Carolina College sports in South Carolina College sports in Texas College sports in Virginia College sports in West Virginia