Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a group of colleges that compete in sports together. It has been part of the NCAA Division I since 1976, which is the top level of college sports in the United States. At first, the Sun Belt did not have football, but it started sponsoring football in 2001. The football teams now play in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of college football.

There are 14 schools in the Sun Belt Conference, and they are all located in the Southern United States. These schools come together to compete in many different sports, making the Sun Belt Conference an important part of college athletics.

History

1970s and 1980s

The Sun Belt Conference started on August 4, 1976, with schools like the University of New Orleans, University of South Alabama, Georgia State University, Jacksonville University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and University of South Florida. Over the next ten years, the conference added more schools such as Western Kentucky University, Old Dominion University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Virginia Commonwealth University. New Orleans left in 1980 because the conference thought their gym was too small, and they joined another conference in 1987.

1990s

After the 1990–91 basketball season, many schools left the Sun Belt except for Western Kentucky, South Alabama, and Jacksonville. The Sun Belt then merged with the American South Conference, which included schools like Arkansas State University, Louisiana Tech University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Texas–Pan American, New Orleans, Lamar University, and University of Central Florida. Central Florida left in 1992, and other schools like Lamar, Texas–Pan American, and Jacksonville left by 1998. Florida International University joined in 1998, and the University of Denver joined in 1999. Louisiana Tech left after the 2000–01 school year.

2000s

The Sun Belt didn’t sponsor football until 2001, when they added schools like New Mexico State University, University of North Texas, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Louisiana at Monroe, and University of Idaho. These additions brought the total football teams to seven. Utah State University joined as a football-only member in 2003 but left in 2005. Troy University joined in 2004 and became a full member in 2005–06. Florida Atlantic joined in 2005 and became a full member in 2006–07. Louisiana–Monroe joined in 2006. Western Kentucky upgraded to Division I FBS football in 2009.

2010s

Georgia State returned to the Sun Belt in 2013, and Texas State University and University of Texas at Arlington also joined. FIU, North Texas, Florida Atlantic, and Middle Tennessee State left for Conference USA in 2013. Appalachian State and Georgia Southern joined in 2014. Coastal Carolina University joined in 2016, with football starting in 2017. The conference planned to split into two divisions for football starting in 2018.

2020s

Following changes in other conferences, the Sun Belt added Southern Miss, Marshall University, Old Dominion University, and James Madison University. These schools joined between 2022 and 2023. Texas State will leave for the Pac-12 Conference in 2026 and will be replaced by Louisiana Tech University. The Sun Belt also added new sports like men's soccer, beach volleyball, and swimming & diving.

Member schools

The Sun Belt Conference has many schools that compete in different sports together. Some schools are leaving to join the Pac-12 Conference in 2026. There are also schools that will join later and some that used to be part of the conference but are not anymore.

The conference keeps track of all these changes over time. You can see how the football teams have changed by visiting the page for Sun Belt Conference football § Reorganization.

Commissioners

The Sun Belt Conference has had several leaders who help manage its sports teams. Some past leaders include Vic Bubas, Craig Thompson, Wright Waters, Karl Benson, and the current leader, Keith Gill.

Before becoming leaders of other conferences, some people worked for the Sun Belt Conference. Wright Waters planned to retire in 2012, and Karl Benson was hired to replace him. Keith Gill became the new leader in 2019 and was the first African American to lead a top-level football conference.

• Vic Bubas (1976–1990)
• Jim Lessig (1990–1991)
• Craig Thompson (1991–1998)
• Wright Waters (1999–2012)
• Karl Benson (2012–2019)
• Keith Gill (2019–present)

Sports

The Sun Belt Conference offers competitions in nine men's and ten women's sports for the school year 2025–26. Recently, women's swimming and diving started again in 2023–24.

When a new team joined, the conference planned to bring back men's soccer. This happened in 2022–23 with six teams, and three more joined later. Beach volleyball also began with eight teams.

Men's sponsored sports by school

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt

Women's sponsored sports by school

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt

Championships

See also: List of Sun Belt Conference champions

The Sun Belt Conference holds championships in many sports. "RS" means regular season, and "T" means tournament. Championships from the past year show the year they ended.

The Sun Belt also has a special award called the Vic Bubas Cup. This goes to the school that does best in all the sports the Sun Belt sponsors. South Alabama has won this award the most, with 16 wins.

Only one school has won a national title while being part of the Sun Belt. That school is Old Dominion. They won one title in women's basketball and five in field hockey before the Sun Belt had field hockey. Six other schools in the Sun Belt have won national titles before joining the conference. Coastal Carolina won its only title just before joining the Sun Belt.

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

The Sun Belt Conference started sponsoring football in 2001. It began with seven teams that play football, and three of these teams are still part of the conference. Until 2009, the conference only had one bowl game, the New Orleans Bowl. Because the Sun Belt improved in football and changed its members, more bowls started working with the conference. As of October 2021, the conference had seven bowl game agreements.

Over the years, the conference has had many changes in its members, like other big college football groups. In 2018, the conference decided to split into two groups for football: East and West. The East group includes Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and Troy. The West group has Arkansas State, Louisiana, Louisiana–Monroe, South Alabama, and Texas State. These groups changed again in 2022, with the new split line being the border between Alabama and Georgia. The winners of each group play in the Sun Belt Championship game.

Since the 2018 season, the Sun Belt Conference has held a football championship game.

Sun Belt champions

Bowl games

As of the 2024–25 NCAA football bowl games, the Sun Belt Conference has agreements with several bowl games:

Football rivalries

Football rivalries include matches between Sun Belt teams:

Basketball

Men's basketball

For the most recent season, see 2025–26 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season.

This list goes through the 2021–22 season.

Women's basketball

This list goes through the 2022–23 season.

Championships

Since the 2022–23 season, the Sun Belt Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments, held in early March, have included all 14 of the conference's teams. The tournaments are played in a special format where the bottom four teams play in the first round, teams seeded 5 through 10 get a rest in the second round, and the top 4 teams start in the quarterfinals. All games are held in Pensacola, Florida at Pensacola Bay Center since 2022. The winners of these tournaments get to play in the NCAA Division I basketball tournament.

Baseball

The Sun Belt Conference holds a yearly baseball tournament to find the best team. This tradition started in 1978. One team, South Alabama, has won the most titles with 13 wins so far.

Facilities

The Sun Belt Conference has many sports facilities where athletes compete. One is S.B. Ballard Stadium, located at Old Dominion University. Another is Trojan Arena, found on the campus of Troy University.

Athletic department revenue by school

This section shows how much money each school in the Sun Belt Conference made and spent during the 2023–24 school year. The money comes from things like ticket sales, donations, and TV income. Expenses include paying coaches, scholarships, and maintaining facilities.

Academics

Four schools in the Sun Belt Conference—Georgia State, Louisiana, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss—are universities that give out high-level degrees and do a lot of research. They are rated very high by a group that checks how good schools are at research.

Another school, Appalachian State, is one of the top regional schools in the South, according to U.S. News & World Report.