Sun Belt Conference

Sun Belt Conference (Sun Belt)
Established	1976
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I FBS
Members	11
Sports fielded	18 (men's: 9; women's: 9)
Region	Southern United States
Headquarters	New Orleans, Louisiana
Commissioner	Karl Benson (since 2012)
Website	www.sunbeltsports.org
Locations

The Sun Belt Conference 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 11 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed primarily across the southern United States.

History

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. UNO competed as an independent before joining the newly formed American South Conference in 1987.

After the 1990-91 basketball season, all members of the Sun Belt, except Western Kentucky, South Alabama, and Jacksonville, departed for other conferences. The Sun Belt, including incoming member in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, then merged with the American South Conference, made up of Arkansas State University, Louisiana Tech University, the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette), the University of Texas–Pan American, 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. Central Florida left the league following the 1991-92 academic year. Lamar, Texas–Pan American, and Jacksonville departed at the end of the 1997-98 academic year. Florida International University joined the Sun Belt in 1998, and the University of Denver was added in 1999. Louisiana Tech departed after the 2000-01 academic year.

The conference did not sponsor football until 2001, when the league added former Big West Conference members New Mexico State University and the University of North Texas and former Ohio Valley Conference member (an FBS Independent on football) Middle Tennessee State University as full members (all 3 of them joined a year earlier for all sports in the 2000-01 school year) and added FBS Independent University of Louisiana at Monroe and Big West member University of Idaho as "football-only" members. These new members gave the Sun Belt seven football playing members in their first season, as Arkansas State and Louisiana–Lafayette were already full members which sponsored football. Another Big West school, Utah State University, was added as a "football-only" member in 2003, then departed in 2005 with Idaho and New Mexico State for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

In 2004, Troy University became a "football-only" member until the Trojans joined the conference in all sports, effectively in the 2005-06 academic year. In 2005, Florida Atlantic became a "football-only" member until the Owls joined the conference in all sports, effectively 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.^[1]

On November 11, 2009, New Orleans announced they were 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.^[2] (UNO later decided to remain in Division I, and joined the Southland Conference 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 becomes a full FBS member, with bowl eligibility, in 2014.^[3] 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.^[4] On May 25, 2012, the conference announced that Texas–Arlington had accepted an invitation to join the conference and would become a full member by 2013.^[5]

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.^[6] On November 29, 2012, Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee State announced that they would also leave the Sun Belt for Conference USA.^[7] 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.^[8]

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.^[9] Georgia Southern University accepted a similar Sun Belt invitation at the same time as Appalachian State.^[10] Appalachian State and Georgia Southern both joined for all sports from the Southern Conference on July 1, 2014. Both schools have been very successful within the Football Championship Subdivision, combining to win 9 national championships since 1985. They will be upgrading to the Football Bowl Subdivision, and will be eligible for Sun Belt conference championships in 2014, but will not be postseason eligible in football until 2015.

The Sun Belt also granted football-only invites to Idaho and New Mexico State on March 28, 2013.^[11] Idaho and New Mexico State were both former Sun Belt members (Idaho for football-only, New Mexico State for all sports) from 2001-2005. 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,^[12] leaving it with no other choice.^[13][14]

Member schools

Current members

The Sun Belt has 11 members for the 2014–15 academic year. All members except Arkansas–Little Rock and Texas–Arlington compete in football.

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joined
Appalachian State University	Boone, North Carolina	1899	19,089	Mountaineers		2014
Arkansas State University	Jonesboro, Arkansas	1909	13,415	Red Wolves		1991
Arkansas-Little Rock !University of Arkansas at Little Rock	Little Rock, Arkansas	1927	13,176	Trojans		1991
Georgia Southern University	Statesboro, Georgia	1906	20,584	Eagles		2014
Georgia State University	Atlanta, Georgia	1913	32,087	Panthers		1976; 2013
Louisiana-Lafayette !University of Louisiana at Lafayette	Lafayette, Louisiana	1898	16,885	Ragin' Cajuns		1991
Louisiana-Monroe !University of Louisiana at Monroe	Monroe, Louisiana	1931	8,632	Warhawks		2006
South Alabama !University of South Alabama	Mobile, Alabama	1963	15,007	Jaguars		1976
Texas State University	San Marcos, Texas	1899	36,790	Bobcats		2013
Texas-Arlington !University of Texas at Arlington	Arlington, Texas	1895	34,249	Mavericks		2013
Troy University	Troy, Alabama	1887	29,689	Trojans		2005

• Appalachian State and Georgia Southern will be eligible for postseason bowl games beginning in 2015.
• Louisiana–Monroe — football was an affiliate member from 2001–2006
• Troy — football was an affiliate member in 2004–05.

Affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joined	Sport	Primary Conference
Hartwick College	Oneonta, New York	1797	1,520	Hawks		2014	soccer (M)	Empire 8 (NCAA D-III)
Howard University	Washington, D.C.	1867	10,573	Bison		2014	soccer (M)	Mid-Eastern Athletic
Idaho !University of Idaho	Moscow, Idaho	1889	12,312	Vandals		2014	football	Big Sky
New Jersey Institute of Technology	Newark, New Jersey	1881	10,130	Highlanders		2014	soccer (M)	Independent
New Mexico State University	Las Cruces, New Mexico	1888	29,768	Aggies		2014	football	Western Athletic

• ^[15]
• Idaho — football was an affiliate member from 2001–2005.
• New Mexico State — was a full member from 2000–2005.

Former members

Institution	Location	Founded	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current Conference
Alabama-Birmingham !University of Alabama at Birmingham	Birmingham, Alabama	1936	Blazers	1979	1991	C-USA
Central Florida !University of Central Florida	Orlando, Florida	1963	Knights	1991	1992	The American
Denver !University of Denver	Denver, Colorado	1864	Pioneers	1999	2012	The Summit
Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, Florida	1961	Owls	2006[fm 1]	2013	C-USA
Florida International University	Miami, Florida	1965	Panthers	1998	2013	C-USA
Jacksonville University	Jacksonville, Florida	1934	Dolphins	1976	1998	Atlantic Sun
Lamar University	Beaumont, Texas	1923	Cardinals	1991	1998	Southland
Louisiana Tech University	Ruston, Louisiana	1894	Bulldogs & Lady Techsters	1991	2001	C-USA
Middle Tennessee State University	Murfreesboro, Tennessee	1911	Blue Raiders	2000	2013	C-USA
New Orleans !University of New Orleans	New Orleans, Louisiana	1958	Privateers	1976; 1991	1980; 2010	Southland
North Carolina-Charlotte !University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte, North Carolina	1946	49ers	1976	1991	C-USA
North Texas !University of North Texas	Denton, Texas	1890	Mean Green	2000	2013	C-USA
Old Dominion University	Norfolk, Virginia	1930	Monarchs	1982	1991	C-USA
South Florida !University of South Florida	Tampa, Florida	1956	Bulls	1976	1991	The American
Texas-Pan American !University of Texas–Pan American[fm 2]	Edinburg, Texas	1927	Broncs	1991	1998	Western Athletic
Virginia Commonwealth University	Richmond, Virginia	1838	Rams	1979	1991	Atlantic 10
Western Kentucky University	Bowling Green, Kentucky	1906	Hilltoppers & Lady Toppers	1982	2014	C-USA

Notes

Former affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Nickname	Joined	Left	Sport	Primary Conference
Utah State University	Logan, Utah	1888	Aggies	2003	2005	football	Mountain West

Membership timeline

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

Schools ranked by revenue

The schools below are listed by conference rank of total revenue. Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights/licensing, student fees, school funds and all other sources including TV income, camp income, food, and novelties. Total expenses includes coaching/staff, scholarships, buildings/ground, maintenance, utilities and rental fees and all other costs including recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues, and insurance costs. Net profit is calculated using the total revenue and total expenses data provided by USA Today, individual institutions, and the United States Department of Education.^[16]

Conference Rank (2013)	National Rank (2013)	Institution	2013 Total Revenue from Athletics[17]	2013 Total Expenses on Athletics[17]	2013 Net Profit from Athletics[17]
1	74	Texas State University	$29,764,777	$27,690,963	$2,073,814
2	91	Georgia State University	$26,721,964	$27,261,115	-$0,539,151
3	114	University of South Alabama	$21,115,562	$19,830,068	$1,285,494
4	118	Appalachian State University	$19,775,727	$21,395,675	-$1,619,948
5	120	Troy University	$19,505,723	$19,505,723	$0,000,000
6	127	University of Louisiana at Lafayette	$18,114,361	$18,652,324	-$0,537,963
7	131	Arkansas State University	$16,281,038	$16,281,038	$0,000,000
8	158	Georgia Southern University	$13,200,750	$13,200,750	$0,000,000
9	183	University of Texas at Arlington	$11,411,262	$13,970,673	-$2,559,411
10	187	University of Louisiana at Monroe	$11,231,311	$11,439,382	-$0,208,071
11	206	University of Arkansas at Little Rock	$9,403,112	$9,015,885	$0,387,227

Commissioners

• Vic Bubas (1976–1990)
• Jim Lessig (1990–1991)
• Craig Thompson (1991–1998)
• Wright Waters (1999–2012)
• Karl Benson (2012–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.^[18] 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.^[3]

Sports

The Sun Belt Conference sponsors championship competition in nine men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports.^[19]

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track & Field Indoor	Y	Y
Track & Field Outdoor	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Football	Golf	Soccer	Tennis	Track & Field Indoor	Track & Field Outdoor	Total Sun Belt Sports
Appalachian State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Arkansas State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	7
Arkansas–Little Rock	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	N	Y	Y	6
Georgia Southern	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	6
Georgia State	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	6
Louisiana–Lafayette	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	8
Louisiana–Monroe	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	7
South Alabama	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	8
Texas State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	7
Texas–Arlington	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	7
Troy	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	7
Totals	11	11	9	9	11	3	7	8	9	78
Affiliate Members
Hartwick						Y				1
Howard						Y				1
Idaho				Y						1
New Mexico State				Y						1
NJIT						Y				1

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt Conference which are played by Sun Belt schools:

School	Rodeo 1	Wrestling
Appalachian State		SoCon
Troy	NIRA

• Rodeo is sanctioned by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), not the NCAA.

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & Field Indoor	Track & Field Outdoor	Volleyball	Total Sun Belt Sports
Appalachian State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Arkansas State	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Arkansas–Little Rock	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	7
Georgia Southern	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Georgia State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Louisiana–Lafayette	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Louisiana–Monroe	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
South Alabama	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Texas State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Texas–Arlington	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Troy	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Totals	11	11	8	10	9	10	11	11	11	92

• Georgia Southern — Golf (W) begins play in 2015–16.^[20]
• Texas–Arlington — Golf (W) begins play in 2017–18.^[21]

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Sun Belt Conference which are played by Sun Belt schools:

School	Bowling	Field Hockey	Rifle	Rodeo 1	Sand Volleyball	Swimming & Diving
Appalachian State		NORPAC
Arkansas State	Southland Bowling League
Arkansas–Little Rock						MVC
Georgia Southern			IND			CCSA
Georgia State					IND
Louisiana–Monroe					IND
Troy				NIRA

• Appalachian State's field hockey league, the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference, will formally disband at the end of the 2014–15 school year. This follows the departure of the league's four founding members, all from California, for single-sport membership in the America East Conference. ASU's future field hockey affiliation is unknown at this time.
• Rodeo is sanctioned by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), not the NCAA.
• Women's Bowling - The Southland Conference provides administrative support for the Southland Bowling League, but the SBL operates independently from regular conference operations.^[22] The women's bowling league was established in 2015 and includes Southland Conference members Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin, plus Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Monmouth, Tulane, Valparaiso and Vanderbilt.

Championships

Current Sun Belt champions

Fall 2014 Sport School Cross Country South Alabama (Men) UT Arlington (Women) Football Georgia Southern Soccer (M) Hartwick (Regular Season) Hartwick (Tournament) Soccer (W) South Alabama (Regular Season) South Alabama (Tournament) Volleyball (W) Arkansas–Little Rock (Regular Season) Arkansas–Little Rock (Tournament)

Winter 2014–15 Sport School Basketball (M) Georgia State (Regular Season) Georgia State (Tournament) Basketball (W) Arkansas–Little Rock (Regular Season) Arkansas–Little Rock (Tournament) Track & Field Indoor (Men) (Women)

Spring 2015 Sport School Baseball (Regular Season) (Tournament) Golf (Men) (Women) Softball (Regular Season) (Tournament) Tennis (Men) (Women) Track & Field Outdoor (Men) (Women)

NCAA champions

The following current Sun Belt members have won NCAA Division I team championships:

School	NCAA titles	Sport	Years
Georgia Southern	6	Football (Division I-AA)	1985 • 1986 • 1989 • 1990 • 1999 • 2000
Appalachian State	3	Football (Division I-AA/FCS)	2005 • 2006 • 2007
Louisiana–Monroe	1	Football (Division I-AA)	1987

Football

For more information see Sun Belt Conference football For the most recent season, see 2014 Sun Belt Conference football season

Team	First Season	All-Time Record	All-Time Win %	Bowl Appearances	Bowl Record	All-Time Conference Titles	Current Head Coach
Appalachian State	1928	567–325–27	.632	0	0–0	18	Scott Satterfield
Arkansas State	1911	446–468–37	.488	4	2–2	11	Blake Anderson
Georgia Southern	1923	356–200–9	.638	0	0–0	11	Willie Fritz
Georgia State	2010	10–35–0	.222	0	0–0	0	Trent Miles
Idaho	1893	445–580–27	.436	2	2–0	10	Paul Petrino
Louisiana–Lafayette	1901	506–528–34	.490	4	4–0	15	Mark Hudspeth
Louisiana–Monroe	1951	292–378–8	.437	1	0–1	5	Todd Berry
New Mexico State	1893	429–598–32	.420	3	2–0–1	4	Doug Martin
South Alabama	2009	31–21–0	.596	1	0–1	0	Joey Jones
Texas State	1904	498–418–30	.542	0	0–0	12	Dennis Franchione
Troy	1909	503–382–28	.566	5	2–3	20	Larry Blakeney

^[23]

Sun Belt champions

Season	Champion	Conference Record
2001	Middle Tennessee State North Texas	5–1
2002	North Texas	6–0
2003	North Texas	7–0
2004	North Texas	7–0
2005	Arkansas State Louisiana–Lafayette Louisiana–Monroe	5–2
2006	Middle Tennessee State Troy	6–1
2007	Florida Atlantic Troy	6–1
2008	Troy	6–1
2009	Troy	8–0
2010	Florida International Troy	6–2
2011	Arkansas State	8–0
2012	Arkansas State	7–1
2013	Arkansas State Louisiana–Lafayette	5–2
2014	Georgia Southern	8-0

Bowl games for 2014 season

Pick	Name	Location	Opposing conference	Opposing pick
1	New Orleans Bowl	New Orleans, Louisiana	MWC	5/6
2	GoDaddy Bowl	Mobile, Alabama	MAC	1
3	Camellia Bowl	Montgomery, Alabama	MAC	5

Rivalries

Football rivalries involving Sun Belt teams include:

Conference-play

Teams		Rivalry Name	Trophy	Meetings (last)	Record	Series Leader
Appalachian State	Georgia Southern	Black & Blue Brawl	—	30 (2014)	16–13–1	Appalachian State
Arkansas State	Louisiana–Monroe	Trail of Tears Classic	—	35 (2013)	21–14	Arkansas State
Louisiana–Lafayette	Louisiana–Monroe	Battle on the Bayou	Wooden Boot	49 (2013)	25–24	Louisiana–Lafayette
Georgia State	Georgia Southern	—	—	1 (2014)	1-0	Georgia Southern
South Alabama	Troy	—	—	3 (2014)	2–1	Troy

Non-conference play

Teams		Rivalry Name	Trophy	Meetings (last)	Record	Series Leader
Arkansas State	Memphis	Paint Bucket Bowl	—	59 (2013)	30–24–5	Memphis
Louisiana–Lafayette	Lamar	—	Sabine Shoe	34 (2012)	22–12	Louisiana–Lafayette
Louisiana–Lafayette	McNeese State	—	Cajun Crown	37 (2007)	20–15–2	McNeese State
Louisiana–Lafayette	Southeastern Louisiana	—	Cypress Mug	38 (1981)	18–17–3	Louisiana–Lafayette
Texas State	Nicholls State	Battle for the Paddle	Paddle	30 (2011)	16–14	Nicholls State
Troy	Alabama–Birmingham	Dungeons & Dragons	20-sided Dice	11 (2013)	7–4	Troy
Troy	Middle Tennessee State	Battle for the Palladium	Palladium	20 (2012)	12–8	Middle Tennessee State

Basketball

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

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 11. School Tourney Titles Title Years South Alabama 11 1980 • 1981 • 1983 • 1984 • 1987 • 1992 • 1996 • 1997 • 2000 • 2001 • 2005 New Orleans 3 1978 • 1979 • 2007 South Florida 3 1982 • 1986 • 1990 Louisiana–Lafayette 2 1998 • 2014 Florida International 2 1999 • 2010 Middle Tennessee State 2 2003 • 2009 Western Kentucky 2 2004 • 2008 Lamar 2 1993 • 1995 Florida Atlantic 1 2013 Louisiana–Monroe 1 2012 Arkansas–Little Rock 1 2011 Troy 1 2006 New Mexico State 1 2002 Arkansas State 1 1994 Alabama–Birmingham 1 1991 Jacksonville 1 1989 Virginia Commonwealth 1 1988 Old Dominion 1 1985 Teams in bold represent current conference members.

Season Tournament Champion 1978 New Orleans 1979 New Orleans 1980 South Alabama 1981 South Alabama 1982 South Florida 1983 South Alabama 1984 South Alabama 1985 Old Dominion 1986 South Florida 1987 South Alabama 1988 Virginia Commonwealth 1989 Jacksonville 1990 South Florida 1991 Alabama–Birmingham 1992 South Alabama 1993 Lamar 1994 Arkansas State 1995 Lamar 1996 South Alabama 1997 South Alabama 1998 Southwestern Louisiana 1999 Florida International 2000 South Alabama 2001 South Alabama 2002 New Mexico State 2003 Middle Tennessee State 2004 Western Kentucky 2005 South Alabama 2006 Troy 2007 New Orleans 2008 Western Kentucky 2009 Middle Tennessee State 2010 Florida International 2011 Arkansas–Little Rock 2012 Louisiana–Monroe 2013 Florida Atlantic 2014 Louisiana–Lafayette

Facilities

School	Football Stadium	Capacity	Basketball Arena	Capacity	Baseball Stadium	Capacity
Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium	24,050	Holmes Center	8,325	Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium	1,000[24]
Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium	33,410	Convocation Center	10,563	Tomlinson Stadium–Kell Field	1,200[25]
Arkansas–Little Rock	Non-football school		Jack Stephens Center	5,600	Gary Hogan Field	2,550
Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium	25,000	Hanner Fieldhouse	4,500	J. I. Clements Stadium	3,000
Georgia State	Georgia Dome	71,228	GSU Sports Arena	3,854[26]	GSU Baseball Complex	1,092
Idaho	Kibbie Dome	16,000	football-only school
Louisiana–Lafayette	Cajun Field	36,900	Cajundome (men) Earl K. Long Gymnasium (women)	12,068 1,500	M.L. Tigue Moore Field	3,755
Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium	30,427	Fant–Ewing Coliseum	7,085	Warhawk Field	1,800
New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium	30,343	football-only school
South Alabama	Ladd Peebles Stadium	40,646	Mitchell Center	10,041	Eddie Stanky Field	4,500
Texas State	Bobcat Stadium	30,000	Strahan Coliseum	7,200	Bobcat Ballpark	2,000
Texas–Arlington	Non-football school		College Park Center	7,000	Clay Gould Ballpark	1,600
Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium	30,000	Trojan Arena	6,000	Riddle–Pace Field	2,000

• Arkansas–Little Rock normally plays its home basketball games on campus but occasionally plays at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
• Although the Georgia Dome has a football capacity of 71,228, Georgia State normally uses a configuration with a capacity of only 28,155.
• Louisiana–Lafayette women's basketball team primarily plays at Earl K. Long Gymnasium. Doubleheaders with the men's basketball team are played at the Cajundome.

Academics

Institution	Type	Endowment	U.S. News rank[27]	Carnegie Foundation Classification[28]
Appalachian State	Public	7007914290000000000♠$91,429,000	9 (Regional: South)	Masters (Larger Programs)
Arkansas State	Public	7007519070000000000♠$51,907,000	53 (Regional: South)	Masters (Larger Programs)
Arkansas–Little Rock	Public	7007700800000000000♠$70,080,000	RNP (National)	Doctoral/Research
Georgia Southern	Public	7007491570000000000♠$49,157,000	RNP (National)	Doctoral/Research
Georgia State	Public	7008133296000000000♠$133,296,000	RNP (National)	Research (Very High Research)
Louisiana–Lafayette	Public	7008112260000000000♠$112,260,000	RNP (National)	Research (High Research)
Louisiana–Monroe	Public	7007231577410000000♠$23,157,741	81 (Regional: South)	Masters (Larger Programs)
South Alabama	Public	7008497274000000000♠$497,274,000	RNP (National)	Research (High Research)
Texas State	Public	7008161264000000000♠$161,264,000	50 (Regional: West)	Masters (Larger Programs)
Texas–Arlington	Public	7008113800000000000♠$113,800,000	RNP (National)	Research (High Research)
Troy	Public	7007566100000000000♠$56,610,000	76 (Regional: South)	Masters (Larger Programs)

References

External links

• Official website

Sun Belt Conference Football members Appalachian State Mountaineers Arkansas State Red Wolves Georgia Southern Eagles Georgia State Panthers Idaho Vandals† New Mexico State Aggies† Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks South Alabama Jaguars Texas State Bobcats Troy Trojans Non-football members Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans Texas–Arlington Mavericks Men's soccer-only members Hartwick Hawks Howard Bison NJIT Highlanders † Football-only members

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