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The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. The Sun Belt is a far-flung conference, with member institutions distributed primarily across the southern latitudes of the United States in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas.
After the 1990-91 basketball season all members of the Sun Belt except Western Kentucky, South Alabama, Jacksonville, and incoming member Arkansas-Little Rock departed for other conferences. The Sun Belt merged with the American South Conference made up of Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Texas-Pan American, New Orleans, Lamar, and Central Florida. Football was not sponsored by the Sun Belt Conference until 2001, when the league added New Mexico State, North Texas and Middle Tennessee State as full members and added Louisiana-Monroe and Idaho as football only members. ULM joined the league as a member in all sports on July 1, 2006.
The Sun Belt is one of the lower ranked Division I-A football conferences, having won just 15 (14 percent) of 105 non-conference games against Division I-A opponents and 7 (37 percent) of 19 games against Division I-AA opponents during the 2001-2003 regular seasons. It has one bowl tie-in, the New Orleans Bowl, which currently pits the Sun Belt champion against an agreed-upon school from Conference USA.
The conference office has been headquartered in downtown New Orleans since 2000, after moving from suburban Metairie, Louisiana where it had been based since 1991. Prior to moving to the “Big Easy” the league was based in Tampa, Florida from 1977-1991. The original conference office was located in Charlotte, North Carolina from 1976-77.
Current members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arkansas at Little Rock | Little Rock, Arkansas | 1927 | Public | 12,000 |
| Arkansas State University | Jonesboro, Arkansas | 1909 | Public | 16,494 |
| University of Denver | Denver, Colorado | 1864 | Private/Non-sectarian | 9,846 |
| Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton, Florida | 1961 | Public | 26,000 |
| Florida International University | Miami, Florida | 1965 | Public | 37,000 |
| University of Louisiana at Lafayette | Lafayette, Louisiana | 1900 | Public | 18,079 |
| University of Louisiana at Monroe | Monroe, Louisiana | 1931 | Public | 10,100 |
| Middle Tennessee State University | Murfreesboro, Tennessee | 1911 | Public | 21,779 |
| University of New Orleans | New Orleans, Louisiana | 1958 | Public | 17,350 |
| University of North Texas | Denton, Texas | 1890 | Public | 32,181 |
| University of South Alabama | Mobile, Alabama | 1963 | Public | 13,500 |
| Troy University | Troy, Alabama | 1887 | Public | 27,148 |
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green, Kentucky | 1906 | Public | 18,391 |
Full Members
Conference facilities
| School | Football stadium | Stadium capacity | Basketball arena | Arena capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Little-Rock | Non-football school | N/A | Jack Stephens Center | 5,600 |
| Arkansas State | Indian Stadium | 30,964 | Convocation Center | 10,563 |
| Denver | Non-football school | N/A | Magness Arena | 7,200 |
| Florida Atlantic | Lockhart Stadium | 20,450 | FAU Gymnasium | 5,000 |
| Florida International | FIU Stadium | 17,103 | Pharmed Arena | 5,000 |
| Louisiana-Lafayette | Cajun Field | 31,000 | Cajundome | 11,550 |
| Louisiana-Monroe | Malone Stadium | 30,427 | Fant-Ewing Coliseum | 7,085 |
| Middle Tennessee | Johnny Red Floyd Stadium | 31,788 | Murphy Center | 11,520 |
| New Orleans | Non-football school | N/A | Human Performance Center | 1,200 |
| North Texas | Fouts Field | 30,500 | Super Pit | 10,040 |
| South Alabama | Non-football school | N/A | Mitchell Center | 10,000 |
| Troy | Movie Gallery Stadium | 30,000 | Trojan Arena | 4,000 |
| Western Kentucky | L.T. Smith Stadium* | 17,500 | E.A. Diddle Arena | 8,300 |
Notes:
- Arkansas-Little Rock normally plays its home games on campus, but occasionally plays at ALLTEL Arena.
- New Orleans' normal home, Lakefront Arena, is unavailable due to damage from Hurricane Katrina.
* Western Kentucky is not a football member of the Sun Belt Conference, as it competes at the Division I-AA level in the Gateway Football Conference.
Football Champions by Year
- 2001 North Texas 5-1 Middle Tennessee 5-1 (North Texas won the tiebreaker by winning the head-to-head game)
- North Texas had a losing overall record in 2001 and was not technically bowl-eligible, but the NCAA granted the team an exemption because it had won the conference. This is similar to what is granted to a basketball or baseball team which has a losing overall record but wins its conference tournament.
- 2002 North Texas 6-0
- North Texas had a losing overall record in 2001 and was not technically bowl-eligible, but the NCAA granted the team an exemption because it had won the conference. This is similar to what is granted to a basketball or baseball team which has a losing overall record but wins its conference tournament.
- 2003 North Texas 7-0
- 2004 North Texas 7-0
- 2005 Arkansas State 5-2 Louisiana-Lafayette 5-2 Louisiana-Monroe 5-2 (Arkansas State won the conference's automatic bowl bid through a three-way tiebreaker.)
Basketball Tournament Champions by Year
Sports
The Sun Belt Conference sponsors intercollegiate competition in men’s baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s football, men’s and women’s golf, women’s soccer, women’s softball, women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, and women’s volleyball.
External link
College athletics conferences | Sun Belt Conference | NCAA Division I-A Conferences
"Sun Belt Conference"