21 Schools•Division I•Est. 1976
The Sun Belt Conference was formed on August 4, 1976, when six universities with independent men's basketball programs came together. The charter members were Georgia State, Jacksonville, New Orleans, North Carolina at Charlotte, South Alabama and South Florida, and each school paid $10,000 to join.
The young league opened without a commissioner, and Vic Bubas was named its first commissioner that October. Competition began in four men's sports: soccer, basketball, golf and tennis. From those modest beginnings across the Southeast, the Sun Belt grew into a full multisport conference for men and women.
Football arrived in 2001, when the Sun Belt began sponsoring the sport at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. Its programs quickly built a reputation for postseason success, and in 2022 the league set a conference record with seven bowl teams. That same year the conference welcomed ESPN's College GameDay to its footprint for only the second time in its history.
The Sun Belt has also used its platform beyond the field. In the summer of 2020 it launched BE THE CHANGE, a racial justice initiative, and it established a Civil Rights Trail that highlights historic sites within its footprint across the South, inviting fans traveling to games to learn more about the region's history.
Official Website
The Sun Belt Conference was formed on August 4, 1976, when six universities with independent men's basketball programs came together. The charter members were Georgia State, Jacksonville, New Orleans, North Carolina at Charlotte, South Alabama and South Florida, and each school paid $10,000 to join.
The young league opened without a commissioner, and Vic Bubas was named its first commissioner that October. Competition began in four men's sports: soccer, basketball, golf and tennis. From those modest beginnings across the Southeast, the Sun Belt grew into a full multisport conference for men and women.
Football arrived in 2001, when the Sun Belt began sponsoring the sport at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. Its programs quickly built a reputation for postseason success, and in 2022 the league set a conference record with seven bowl teams. That same year the conference welcomed ESPN's College GameDay to its footprint for only the second time in its history.
The Sun Belt has also used its platform beyond the field. In the summer of 2020 it launched BE THE CHANGE, a racial justice initiative, and it established a Civil Rights Trail that highlights historic sites within its footprint across the South, inviting fans traveling to games to learn more about the region's history.
Official Website
In Sun Belt football, 14 schools compete in NCAA Division I. The conference was founded in 1976.
Appalachian State University, Arkansas State University, Coastal Carolina University, Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University, James Madison University, Louisiana Tech University, Marshall University, Old Dominion University, Troy University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Louisiana at Monroe, University of South Alabama, University of Southern Mississippi.
Sun Belt members have won 6 national championships in football. The leaders: James Madison (2), Marshall (2), Louisiana Tech (1), UL Monroe (1).
The largest home venues in Sun Belt football are Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium (Southern Mississippi, 36,000 seats); Joan C. Edwards Stadium (Marshall, 30,475 seats); Veterans Memorial Stadium at Larry Blakeney Field (Troy, 30,470 seats).
RallyFuel tracks 2,059 Sun Belt football athletes across the conference, from 44 states and 14 other countries. The most common home states are Georgia, Louisiana and Florida.