Sun Belt Conference

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates 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.

History

1970s and 1980s

File:Sun Belt Conference very old logo.png

Original Sun Belt logo from 1976

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.

1990s

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.

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 joined the Sun Belt in 1998, and the University of Denver was added in 1999. Louisiana Tech departed after the 2000–01 academic year.

File:Poydras Street, New Orleans CBD, 24 August 2021 - 10.jpg

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

2000s

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.

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 Southland Conference, which has four other members in Louisiana, in 2013.)

2010s

File:Sun Belt Conference 2001 logo.svg

The former Sun Belt Conference logo used until its rebranding in 2013

On April 9, 2012, Georgia State, one of the founding members of the Sun Belt Conference, announced that it would be returning to the conference as a full member in 2013. As part of the move, the football program began a transition from FCS to FBS in the 2012 season; it played a full Sun Belt schedule as a "transitional" FBS member in 2013, and became a full FBS member, with bowl eligibility, in 2014. 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. 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.

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. 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 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.

File:Sun Belt Conference logo.svg

The former Sun Belt Conference logo used from 2013 to 2020

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. Georgia Southern University 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 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 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, 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.

2020s

Following the July 30, 2021 announcement of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Oklahoma both moving from the Big 12 Conference to the Southeastern Conference, 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 Conference USA (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 (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. 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). 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 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 Western Athletic Conference 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). 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. 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. 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.

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.

On August 17, 2023, the SBC officially announced the return of women's swimming and diving as a sponsored sport. However, the SBC would only sponsor the sport for two seasons before dropping it after the 2024–25 season.

On June 30, 2025, Texas State accepted an offer to join the Pac-12 Conference by July 1, 2026, following the unanimous approval of the Texas State University System board of regents. On July 14, the SBC voted to replace Texas State with another regional member, Louisiana Tech of Conference USA, by as early as 2026. This addition would keep the installment of conference divisions intact, with Louisiana Tech replacing Texas State in the West Division.

Member schools

Current full members

  Member departing for the Pac-12 Conference in 2026.

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Endowment (millions)	Nickname	Colors
East Division
Appalachian State University	Boone, North Carolina	1899	2014	Public	21,798	$191	Mountaineers	Template:College color boxes
Coastal Carolina University	Conway, South Carolina	1954	2016		10,894	$44.6	Chanticleers	Template:College color boxes
Georgia Southern University	Statesboro, Georgia	1906	2014		26,106	$98.4	Eagles	Template:College color boxes
Georgia State University	Atlanta, Georgia	1913	2013Template:Efn		50,521	$220	Panthers	Template:College color boxes
James Madison University	Harrisonburg, Virginia	1908	2022		21,496	$123	Dukes	Template:College color boxes
Marshall University	Huntington, West Virginia	1837	2022		11,962	$201	Thundering Herd	Template:College color boxes
Old Dominion University	Norfolk, Virginia	1930	2022Template:Efn		24,286	$312	Monarchs	Template:College color boxes
West Division
Arkansas State University	Jonesboro, Arkansas	1909	1991	Public	14,109	$122.6	Red Wolves	Template:College color boxes
	Lafayette, Louisiana	1898	1991		19,188	$232	Ragin' Cajuns	Template:College color boxes
	Monroe, Louisiana	1931	2006Template:Efn		9,060	$37.3	Warhawks	Template:College color boxes
	Mobile, Alabama	1963	1976		14,834	$466	Jaguars	Template:College color boxes
	Hattiesburg, Mississippi	1910	2022		14,606	$131	Golden Eagles	Template:College color boxes
Texas State University	San Marcos, Texas	1899	2013	Public	40,678	$393	Bobcats	Template:College color boxes
Troy University	Troy, Alabama	1887	2005Template:Efn	Public	17,494	$164	Trojans	Template:College color boxes

Notes

Future members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joining	Type	Enrollment	Endowment (millions)	Nickname	Colors	Current conference
Louisiana Tech University	Ruston, Louisiana	1894	TBDTemplate:Efn	Public	12,039	$92.2	Bulldogs & Lady Techsters	Template:College color boxes	CUSA

Notes

Affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Sport	Primary conference
	Charleston, South Carolina	1770	2022Template:Efn	Public	10,468	Cougars	Template:College color boxes	Beach volleyball	CAA
	Lexington, Kentucky	1865	2022		32,710	Wildcats	Template:College color boxes	Soccer (m)	SEC
	Macon, Georgia	1833	2022Template:Efn	Private	8,740	Bears	Template:College color boxes	Beach volleyball	SoCon
	Columbia, South Carolina	1801	2022	Public	35,364	Gamecocks	Template:College color boxes	Soccer (m)	SEC
	Orlando, FloridaTemplate:Efn	1963	2023		70,406	Knights	Template:College color boxes		Big 12
	Wilmington, North Carolina	1947	2022Template:Efn		14,765	Seahawks	Template:College color boxes	Beach volleyball	CAA
West Virginia University	Morgantown, West Virginia	1867	2022		26,269	Mountaineers	Template:College color boxes	Soccer (m)	Big 12

Former full members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Left	Type	Nickname	Colors	Subsequent conference	Current conference
	Birmingham, Alabama	1969	1979	1991	Public	Blazers	Template:College color boxes	Great Midwest	American
	Orlando, FloridaTemplate:Efn	1963	1991	1992		Knights	Template:College color boxes	ASUN	Big 12
	Denver, Colorado	1864	1999	2012	Private	Pioneers	Template:College color boxes	WAC	Summit
Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, Florida	1961	2006Template:Efn	2013	Public	Owls	Template:College color boxes	CUSA	American
Florida International University	Miami, FloridaTemplate:Efn	1965	1998			Panthers	Template:College color boxes	CUSA
Jacksonville University	Jacksonville, Florida	1934	1976	1998	Private	Dolphins	Template:College color boxes	ASUN
Lamar University	Beaumont, Texas	1923	1991		Public	Cardinals	Template:College color boxes	Southland
University of Arkansas at Little Rock	Little Rock, Arkansas	1927	1991	2022		Trojans	Template:College color boxes	OVC (UAC in 2026)
Louisiana Tech University	Ruston, Louisiana	1894	1991	2001		Bulldogs & Lady Techsters	Template:College color boxes	WAC	CUSA
Middle Tennessee State University	Murfreesboro, Tennessee	1911	2000	2013		Blue Raiders	Template:College color boxes	CUSA
New Mexico State University	Las Cruces, New Mexico	1888		2005Template:Efn		Aggies	Template:College color boxes	WAC	CUSA
	New Orleans, Louisiana	1958	1976	1980		Privateers	Template:College color boxes	D-I Independent	Southland
			1991	2010				D-I Independent
	Charlotte, North Carolina	1946	1976	1991		49ers	Template:College color boxes	Metro	American
	Denton, Texas	1890	2000	2013		Mean Green	Template:College color boxes	CUSA	American
	Tampa, Florida	1956	1976	1991		Bulls	Template:College color boxes	Metro	American
University of Texas at Arlington	Arlington, Texas	1895	2013	2022		Mavericks	Template:College color boxes	WAC (UAC in 2026)
Template:Efn	Edinburg, Texas	1927	1991	1998		Broncs	Template:College color boxes	Independent	Southland (as UTRGV Vaqueros)
Virginia Commonwealth University	Richmond, Virginia	1838	1979	1991		Rams	Template:College color boxes	Metro	Atlantic 10
Western Kentucky University	Bowling Green, Kentucky	1906	1982	2014		Hilltoppers & Lady Toppers	Template:College color boxes	CUSA

Notes

Former affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Left	Type	Nickname	Colors	Sport	Conference in former Sun Belt sportTemplate:Efn
	Conway, Arkansas	1907	2019	2021	Public	BearsTemplate:Efn	Template:College color boxes	Soccer (m)	ASUN
Hartwick College	Oneonta, New York	1797	2014	2018	Private	Hawks	Template:College color boxes		Empire 8Template:Efn
Howard University	Washington, D.C.	1867		2021Template:Efn		Bison	Template:College color boxes		Northeast
	Moscow, Idaho	1889	2001	2005	Public	Vandals	Template:College color boxes	Football	Big Sky
			2014	2018
New Jersey Institute of Technology	Newark, New Jersey	1881		2016		Highlanders	Template:College color boxes	Soccer (m)	America East
New Mexico State University	Las Cruces, New Mexico	1888		2018		Aggies	Template:College color boxes	Football	CUSA
Stephen F. Austin State University	Nacogdoches, Texas	1923	2022	2024		Ladyjacks	Template:College color boxes	Beach volleyball	SLC
Utah State University	Logan, Utah	1888	2003	2005		Aggies	Template:College color boxes	Football	Mountain West (Pac-12 in 2026)
Vanderbilt University	Nashville, Tennessee	1873	1995	1997	Private	Commodores	Template:College color boxes	Soccer (m)	noneTemplate:Efn

Notes

Membership timeline

<timeline> DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1976 till:2032 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 shift:(15) color:OtherC2 from:1983 till:2005 text:TAAC
bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:CAA
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
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:CUSA
bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:A-10
bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2023 text:CUSA
bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:American

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:CUSA
bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:Big East
bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:American

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:CUSA
bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:American

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:CAA
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:CAA
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1991 text:Old Dominion (1982–1991)
bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:2013 text:CAA
bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2022 text:CUSA
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:CUSA

bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1987 text:Southland
bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text:ASC
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:ASC
bar:13 color:FullxF from:1991 till:1992 text:UCF (1991–1992)
bar:13 shift:(120) color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:2005 text:TAAC/ASUN
bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:2005 till:2013 text:CUSA
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2023 text:American
bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2023 till:end text:(2023–present)

bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1987 text:Southland
bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text:ASC
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:ASC
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:2027 text:CUSA
bar:15 color:Full from:2027 till:end text:(2027–future)

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:ASC
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:ASC
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:CUSA

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

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:CUSA

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:(70) color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2014 text:WAC
bar:21 color:AssocF from:2014 till:2018 text:(2014–2018)
bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:2023 text:WAC
bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text:CUSA

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:CUSA
bar:22 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text:American

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
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
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:2026 text:MWC
bar:25 color:OtherC1 from:2026 till:end text:Pac-12

bar:26 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1991 text:GSC
bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:1993 text:Ind.
bar:26 shift:(-5) color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:1994 text:ECC
bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1994 till:1997 text:Mid-Continent
bar:26 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:2004 text:TAAC/ASUN
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:CUSA
bar:27 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text:American

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:2026 text:Texas State (2013–2026)
bar:28 color:OtherC1 from:2026 till:end text:Pac-12

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:OtherC2 from:2022 till:2026 text:WAC
bar:29 color:OtherC1 from:2026 till:end text:UAC

bar:30 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:2014 text:SoCon
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:SoCon
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:CAA
bar:37 color:Full from:2022 till:end text:James Madison (2022–present)

bar:38 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1997 text:SoCon
bar:38 color:OtherC2 from:1997 till:2005 text:MAC
bar:38 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2022 text:CUSA
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:CUSA
bar:39 color:Full from:2022 till:end text:Southern Miss (2022–present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1976 </timeline>

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

Commissioners

File:Vic Bubas.jpg

Vic Bubas was the Sun Belt Conference's first commissioner, successfully creating what was initially a premier mid-major basketball league.

• 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. 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.

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 2025–26 school year, the Sun Belt Conference sponsors championship competition in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports. 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.

File:LSU Baseball vs. USM, rundown.jpg

Southern Miss vs. LSU baseball in 2008

File:Georgia State vs Georgia Southern basketball 2020.jpg

Georgia Southern vs. Georgia State men's basketball in 2020

File:Army-football-takes-on-the-university-of-louisiana-at-monroe-at-malone-stadium-in-monroe-la-sep-2-2023-us-army-photo-by-cadet-patrick-faherty 53165134618 o.jpg

Louisiana–Monroe vs. Army football in 2023

Teams in Sun Belt competitionTemplate:Efn

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
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 2025–26 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
Future members
Louisiana Tech	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	7
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

School	SailingTemplate:Efn	Swimming & diving	Wrestling
Appalachian State			SoCon
Old Dominion	MAISA	ASUN

Women's sponsored sports by school

Member-by-member sponsorship of the 10 women's SBC sports for the 2025–26 academic year.

School	Basketball	Beach volleyball	Cross country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & field indoor	Track & field outdoor	Volleyball	Total sports
Appalachian State	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Arkansas State	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
Coastal Carolina	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Georgia Southern	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Georgia State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
James Madison	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Louisiana	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
Louisiana–Monroe	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Marshall	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Old Dominion	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	5
South Alabama	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Southern Miss	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Texas State	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Troy	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Totals	14	4+3	13	13	14	12	13	13	13	14	124+3
Future members
Louisiana Tech	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
Affiliate members
Charleston		Yes									1
Mercer		Yes									1
UNCW		Yes									1

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt

School	Bowling	Field hockey	Lacrosse	Rifle	Rowing	SailingTemplate:Efn	Swimming & diving
Appalachian State		MAC
Arkansas State	CUSA
Coastal Carolina			ASUN
Georgia Southern				SoCon			ASUN
James Madison		MAC	American				American
Louisiana Tech	CUSATemplate:Efn
Marshall							American
Old Dominion		Big East	American		Big 12	MAISA	ASUN

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 2025

Sport	School
Cross Country	Appalachian State (men) Appalachian State (women)
Football	James Madison (East RS, 2025) Troy (West RS, 2025) Marshall (CG, 2024)
Soccer (M)	Kentucky (RS) UCF (T)
Soccer (W)	Old Dominion (East RS) ULM (West RS) Texas State (T)
Volleyball (W)	James Madison (East RS) Arkansas State & South Alabama (West RS) Arkansas State (T)

Winter 2024–25

Sport	School
Basketball (M)	Arkansas State, James Madison, South Alabama, & Troy (RS) Troy (T)
Basketball (W)	James Madison (RS) Arkansas State (T)
Swimming & Diving (W)	James Madison
Track & Field Indoor	Louisiana (men) Texas State (women)

Spring 2025

Sport	School
Baseball	Coastal Carolina (RS & T)
Beach Volleyball	Coastal Carolina (RS) Georgia State (T)
Golf	Coastal Carolina (men) Southern Miss (women)
Softball	Texas State (RS) Coastal Carolina (T)
Tennis (M)	Old Dominion (RS & T)
Tennis (W)	Old Dominion (RS & T)
Track & Field Outdoor	Texas State (men) Texas State (women)

Vic Bubas Cup

The Sun Belt also has an all-sports competition called the Vic Bubas Cup, which is awarded to the school with the best performance across every sport the Sun Belt Conference sponsors. South Alabama has won the most Bubas Cups, with 16.Template:Notelist

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

For more information see Sun Belt Conference football. For the current season, see 2025 Sun Belt Conference football season.

West Division	East Division
Arkansas State	Appalachian State
Louisiana	Coastal Carolina
Louisiana–Monroe	Georgia Southern
South Alabama	Georgia State
Southern Miss	James Madison
Texas State	Marshall
Troy	Old Dominion

The Sun Belt first began sponsoring football in 2001. It originally consisted of seven football playing schools, three of which are still members of the conference. Up until 2009, the conference only had a contract with one bowl, the New Orleans Bowl. Following the Sun Belt's improved football success and geographical membership changes, other bowls began to sign contracts with the Sun Belt Conference. since October 2021Template:Dated maintenance category (articles), 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) 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.

Team	First season	All-Time record	All-Time win %	Bowl appearances	Bowl record	All-Time Conference titles	Current Head Coach
Appalachian State	1928	668–363–28	Template:Winpct	8	7–1	22	Shawn Clark
Arkansas State	1911	503–530–37	Template:Winpct	12	5–7	14	Butch Jones
Coastal Carolina	2003	172–96	Template:Winpct	5	2–3	9	Tim Beck
Georgia Southern	1924	426–258–10	Template:Winpct	7	3–4	11	Clay Helton
Georgia State	2010	64–115	Template:Winpct	6	4–2	0	Dell McGee
James Madison	1972	378–228-4	Template:Winpct	2	1–1	10	Bob Chesney
Louisiana	1901	582–568–34	Template:Winpct	12	8–4	13	Michael Desormeaux
Louisiana–Monroe	1931	330–471–8	Template:Winpct	1	0–1	5	Bryant Vincent
Marshall	1895	638–574–47	Template:Winpct	20	13–7	13	Tony Gibson
Old Dominion	2009Template:Efn	97–86–0	Template:Winpct	3	1–2	0	Ricky Rahne
Southern Miss	1912	618–473–27	Template:Winpct	25	12–13	8	Charles Huff
South Alabama	2009	90–98	Template:Winpct	5	2–3	0	Kane Wommack
Texas State	1904	541–501–25	Template:Winpct	2	2–0	12	G. J. Kinne
Troy	1909	581–437–28	Template:Winpct	10	6–4	21	Gerard Parker

Notes

Sun Belt champions

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

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.
• 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:

Name	Location	Opposing conference
68 Ventures Bowl	Mobile, Alabama	MAC
Cure Bowl	Orlando, Florida	The American
Myrtle Beach Bowl	Conway, South Carolina	CUSA/MAC
New Orleans Bowl	New Orleans, Louisiana	CUSA
Salute to Veterans Bowl	Montgomery, Alabama	MAC

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	style=Template:CollegePrimaryStyle| Appalachian State
Appalachian State	Marshall	Old Mountain Feud	—	27 (2024)	16–11	style=Template:CollegePrimaryStyle| Appalachian State
Georgia State	Georgia Southern	Modern Day Hate	—	11 (2024)	6–5	style=Template:NCAA color cell| Georgia State
James Madison	Old Dominion	Royal Rivalry	Crown	5 (2024)	3–2	style=Template:NCAA color cell| James Madison
Louisiana	Louisiana–Monroe	Battle on the Bayou	Wooden Boot	60Template:Efn (2024)	33–26	style=Template:NCAA color cell (2024) | Louisiana
South Alabama	Troy	Battle for the Belt	Belt	13 (2024)	9–4	style=Template:NCAA color cell| Troy

Notes

Basketball

Men's basketball

This list goes through the 2021–22 season.

Team	First season	All-time record	All-time win %	NCAA Tournament appearances	NCAA Tournament record	Arena	Head coach
Appalachian State	1919–20	1263–1162	Template:Winning percentage	3	0–3	Holmes Center	Dustin Kerns
Arkansas State	1926–27	1183–1184	Template:Winning percentage	1	0–1	First National Bank Arena	Bryan Hodgson
Coastal Carolina	1974–75	711–680	Template:Winning percentage	4	0–4	HTC Center	Justin Gray
Georgia Southern	1926–27	1289–1014	Template:Winning percentage	3	0–3	Hill Convocation Center	Brian Burg
Georgia State	1963–64	668–954	Template:Winning percentage	6	2–6	Georgia State Convocation Center	Jonas Hayes
James Madison	1969–70	787–714	Template:Winning percentage	6	5–6	Atlantic Union Bank Center	Preston Spradlin
Louisiana	1911–12	1449–1124	Template:Winning percentage	11	4–11	Cajundome	Bob Marlin
Louisiana–Monroe	1951–52	1014–937	Template:Winning percentage	7	0–7	Fant–Ewing Coliseum	Keith Richard
Marshall	1906–07	1539–1139–2	Template:Winning percentage	6	1–6	Cam Henderson Center	Cornelius Jackson
Old Dominion	1950–51	1214–765	Template:Winning percentage	12	3–12	Chartway Arena	Mike Jones
South Alabama	1968–69	857–682	Template:Winning percentage	8	1–8	Mitchell Center	Richie Riley
Southern Miss	1912–13	1279–1112–1	Template:Winning percentage	3	0–3	Reed Green Coliseum	Jay Ladner
Texas State	1920–21	1357–1184	Template:Winning percentage	2	0–2	Strahan Arena	Terrence Johnson
Troy	1950–51	1086–933	Template:Winning percentage	2	0–2	Trojan Arena	Scott Cross

Women's basketball

This list goes through the 2022–23 season.

Team	First season	All-time record	All-time win %	NCAA Tournament appearances	NCAA Tournament record	Arena	Head coach
Appalachian State	1970–71	689–726	Template:Winning percentage	4	0–4	Holmes Center	Alaura Sharp
Arkansas State	1974–75	770–602	Template:Winning percentage	0	0–0	First National Bank Arena	Destinee Rogers
Coastal Carolina	1974–75	572–732	Template:Winning percentage	0	0–0	HTC Center	Kevin Pederson
Georgia Southern	1973–74	707–679	Template:Winning percentage	2	0–2	Hill Convocation Center	Hanna Haden
Georgia State	1975–76	630–692	Template:Winning percentage	3	0–3	Georgia State Convocation Center	Gene Hill
James Madison	1920–21	1176–578–5	Template:Winning percentage	12	8–12	Atlantic Union Bank Center	Sean O'Regan
Louisiana	1982–83	466–684	Template:Winning percentage	1	0–1	Cajundome	Gary Broadhead
Louisiana–Monroe	1974–75	632–682	Template:Winning percentage	4	4–4	Fant–Ewing Coliseum	Missy Bilerback
Marshall	1969–70	715–737	Template:Winning percentage	2	0–2	Cam Henderson Center	Juli Fulks
Old Dominion	1969–70	1121–480	Template:Winning percentage	25	34–24	Chartway Arena	DeLisha Milton-Jones
South Alabama	1974–75	666–701	Template:Winning percentage	1	0–1	Mitchell Center	Yolisha Jackson
Southern Miss	1975–76	780–589	Template:Winning percentage	8	4–8	Reed Green Coliseum	Joye Lee-McNelis
Texas State	1982–83	565–576	Template:Winning percentage	2	0–2	Strahan Arena	Zenarae Antoine
Troy	1975–76	670–677	Template:Winning percentage	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. Winners of the tournaments earn automatic bids to their respective NCAA Division I basketball tournament.

Season	Men's Regular Season Champion	Men's Tournament Champion	Women's Regular Season Champion	Women's Tournament Champion
1977	North Carolina–Charlotte		No Regular Season	No Tournament
1978	North Carolina–Charlotte	New Orleans	No Regular Season	No Tournament
1979	South Alabama	Jacksonville	No Regular Season	No Tournament
1980	South Alabama	Virginia Commonwealth	No Regular Season	No Tournament
1981	Virginia Commonwealth		No Regular Season	No Tournament
1982	Alabama–Birmingham		No Regular Season	No Tournament
1983	Virginia Commonwealth	Alabama–Birmingham	Old Dominion
1984	Virginia Commonwealth	Alabama–Birmingham	Old Dominion
1985	Virginia Commonwealth		Old Dominion
1986	Old Dominion	Jacksonville	Western Kentucky
1987	Western Kentucky	Alabama–Birmingham	Old Dominion
1988	North Carolina–Charlotte		Old Dominion	Western Kentucky
1989	South Alabama		Old Dominion	Western Kentucky
1990	Alabama–Birmingham	South Florida	Alabama–Birmingham	Old Dominion
1991	South Alabama		Alabama–Birmingham	Western Kentucky
1992	Southwestern Louisiana		Western Kentucky
1993	New Orleans	Western Kentucky	Western Kentucky
1994	Western Kentucky	Southwestern Louisiana	Louisiana Tech
1995	Western Kentucky		Louisiana Tech	Western Kentucky
1996	Arkansas–Little Rock	New Orleans	Louisiana Tech
1997	South Alabama		Louisiana Tech
1998	South Alabama		Louisiana Tech
1999	Louisiana Tech	Arkansas State	Louisiana Tech
2000	Louisiana–Lafayette		Louisiana Tech
2001	Western Kentucky		Louisiana Tech
2002	Western Kentucky		Florida International
2003	Western Kentucky		Western Kentucky
2004	Louisiana–Lafayette (vacated)		South Alabama	Middle Tennessee State
2005	Denver	Louisiana–Lafayette (vacated)	Western Kentucky	Middle Tennessee State
2006	Western Kentucky	South Alabama	Western Kentucky	Middle Tennessee
2007	South Alabama	North Texas	Middle Tennessee
2008	South Alabama	Western Kentucky	Western Kentucky
2009	Western Kentucky		Middle Tennessee
2010	Troy	North Texas	Arkansas–Little Rock	Middle Tennessee
2011	Florida Atlantic	Arkansas–Little Rock	Middle Tennessee Arkansas–Little Rock	Arkansas–Little Rock
2012	Middle Tennessee	Western Kentucky	Middle Tennessee	Arkansas–Little Rock
2013	Middle Tennessee	Western Kentucky	Middle Tennessee	Arkansas–Little Rock
2014	Georgia State	Louisiana–Lafayette	Arkansas State	Western Kentucky
2015	Georgia State		Arkansas–Little Rock
2016	Little Rock		Arkansas State	Troy
2017	UT Arlington	Troy	Little Rock	Troy
2018	Louisiana	Georgia State	Little Rock
2019	Georgia State		Little Rock UT Arlington	Little Rock
2020	Little Rock	Tournament canceled	Troy	Tournament canceled
2021	Texas State	Appalachian State	Louisiana	Troy
2022	Texas State	Georgia State	Troy	UT Arlington
2023	Southern Miss	Louisiana	James Madison Southern Miss Texas State	James Madison
2024	Appalachian State	James Madison	Marshall
2025	Troy Arkansas State South Alabama James Madison	Troy	James Madison	Arkansas State

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.

School	Tourney titles	Title Years
South Alabama	13	1980 • 1981 • 1983 • 1984 • 1987 • 1992 • 1996 • 1997 • 2000 • 2001 • 2005 • 2017 • 2021
Louisiana	5	1998 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2022
Coastal Carolina	3	2018 • 2019 • 2025
New Orleans	3	1978 • 1979 • 2007
South Florida	3	1982 • 1986 • 1990
FIU	2	1999 • 2010
Lamar	2	1993 • 1995
Middle Tennessee	2	2003 • 2009
Southern Miss	2	2023 • 2024
Western Kentucky	2	2004 • 2008
Arkansas State	1	1994
Florida Atlantic	1	2013
Jacksonville	1	1989
Little Rock	1	2011
New Mexico State	1	2002
Old Dominion	1	1985
Troy	1	2006
UAB	1	1991
ULM	1	2012
VCU	1	1988

Facilities

• S.B. Ballard Stadium, on the campus of Old Dominion University.
  S.B. Ballard Stadium, on the campus of Old Dominion University.
• Trojan Arena, on the campus of Troy University.
  Trojan Arena, on the campus of Troy University.

Template:CollegePrimaryHeader

style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium	Template:Nts	Holmes Center	Template:Nts	Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium	Template:Nts	Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium	Template:Nts	First National Bank Arena	Template:Nts	Tomlinson Stadium–Kell Field	Template:Nts	Non-softball school
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium	Template:Nts	HTC Center	Template:Nts	Springs Brooks Stadium	Template:Nts	St. John Stadium – Charles Wade-John Lott Field	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium	Template:Nts	Hill Convocation Center	Template:Nts	J. I. Clements Stadium	Template:Nts	Eagle Field	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium	Template:Nts	GSU Convocation Center	Template:Nts	GSU Baseball Complex	Template:Nts	Robert E. Heck Softball Complex	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| James Madison	Bridgeforth Stadium	Template:Nts	Atlantic Union Bank Center	Template:Nts	Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park	Template:Nts	Veterans Memorial Park	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Louisiana	Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium	Template:Nts	CajundomeTemplate:Efn	Template:Nts	M. L. Tigue Moore Field	Template:Nts	Yvette Girouard Field	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium	Template:Nts	Fant–Ewing Coliseum	Template:Nts	Lou St. Amant Field	Template:Nts	Geo-Surfaces Field	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium	Template:Nts	Thomas Assembly Center	Template:Nts	J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park	Template:Nts	Dr. Billy Bundrick Field	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium	Template:Nts	Cam Henderson Center	Template:Nts	Jack Cook Field	Template:Nts	Dot Hicks Field	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Old Dominion	S.B. Ballard Stadium	Template:Nts	Chartway Arena	Template:Nts	Bud Metheny Ballpark	Template:Nts	Non-softball school
style="Template:NCAA secondary color cell"| South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium	Template:Nts	Mitchell Center	Template:Nts	Eddie Stanky Field	Template:Nts	Jaguar Field	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium	Template:Nts	Reed Green Coliseum	Template:Nts	Pete Taylor Park	Template:Nts	Southern Miss Softball Complex	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Texas State	UFCU Stadium	Template:Nts	Strahan Arena	Template:Nts	Bobcat Ballpark	Template:Nts	Bobcat Softball Stadium	Template:Nts
style="Template:NCAA color cell"| Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Template:Nts	Trojan Arena	Template:Nts	Riddle–Pace Field	Template:Nts	Troy Softball Complex	Template:Nts

Notes

Athletic department revenue by school

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 2023–24 academic year.

Institution	2023–24 Total Revenue from Athletics	2023–24 Total Expenses on Athletics
James Madison University	$66,110,281	$66,110,281
Old Dominion University	$51,827,948	$51,827,948
Texas State University	$46,310,998	$46,310,998
Marshall University	$45,966,327	$45,966,327
Coastal Carolina University	$43,509,290	$43,509,290
Appalachian State University	$43,110,256	$43,110,256
University of Louisiana at Lafayette	$42,952,287	$42,952,287
Georgia State University	$39,204,432	$39,204,432
Georgia Southern University	$36,967,213	$36,967,213
Troy University	$36,937,664	$36,937,664
University of South Alabama	$30,591,632	$30,591,632
Louisiana Tech University	$30,305,928	$30,305,928
Arkansas State University	$28,162,528	$28,162,528
University of Southern Mississippi	$28,107,301	$28,107,301
University of Louisiana at Monroe	$20,253,458	$20,253,458

Academics

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.

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	Endowment	US News	Forbes
	Public (UNC)	Template:NtshResearch (High)	Template:Ntsh$99,593,000	Template:Ntsh6 (Regional: South)	Template:Ntsh301
	Public (ASU System)	Template:NtshResearch (High)	Template:Ntsh$66,217,000	Template:Ntsh317 (National)	Template:NtshN/ATemplate:Refn
	Public	Template:NtshMaster's (Larger)	Template:Ntsh$39,432,000	Template:Ntsh38 (Regional: South)	Template:NtshN/ATemplate:Refn
	Public (USG System)	Template:NtshResearch (High)	Template:Ntsh$50,999,000	Template:Ntsh331-440 (National)	Template:NtshN/ATemplate:Refn
	Public (USG System)	Template:NtshResearch (Very High)	Template:Ntsh$155,303,000	Template:Ntsh234 (National)	Template:Ntsh367
	Public	Template:NtshResearch (High)	Template:Ntsh$116,700,000	Template:Ntsh151 (National)	Template:Ntsh139
	Public (UL System)	Template:NtshResearch (Very High)	Template:Ntsh$178,300,000	Template:Ntsh331-440 (National)	Template:NtshN/ATemplate:Refn
	Public (UL System)	Template:NtshDoctoral/Research	Template:Ntsh$28,787,795	Template:Ntsh331-440 (National)	Template:NtshN/ATemplate:Refn
	Public	Template:NtshResearch (High)	Template:Ntsh$192,000,000	Template:Ntsh299 (National)	Template:NtshN/ATemplate:Refn
	Public	Template:NtshResearch (Very High)	Template:Ntsh$265,800,000	Template:Ntsh299 (National)	Template:Ntsh472
	Public	Template:NtshResearch (High)	Template:Ntsh$555,735,000	Template:Ntsh331-440 (National)	Template:NtshN/ATemplate:Refn
	Public	Template:NtshResearch (Very High)	Template:Ntsh$136,300,000	Template:Ntsh331-440 (National)	Template:NtshN/ATemplate:Refn
	Public (TSU System)	Template:NtshResearch (High)	Template:Ntsh$186,676,000	Template:Ntsh331-440 (National)	Template:Ntsh385
	Public (TU System)	Template:NtshDoctoral/Research	Template:Ntsh$191,458,000	Template:Ntsh44 (Regional: South)	Template:NtshN/ATemplate:Refn