New Orleans competed as an independent before joining the newly formed American South Conference in 1987.Īfter the 1990–91 basketball season, all members of the Sun Belt, except Western Kentucky, South Alabama, and Jacksonville, departed for other conferences. 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. 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. Sun Belt Conference: What could happen to Sun Belt Conference as college football conference landscape shiftsĪrkansas-Little Rock and Texas-Arlington are not members of the conference in football.Įrik Hall is the lead digital producer for sports with the USA Today Network.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.Bryan Maggard: UL Ragin' Cajuns athletic director Bryan Maggard to receive pay raise, new title.Big 12 Conference expansion: Big 12 Conference votes to add Cincinnati, Brigham Young, Central Florida, Houston.We feel very good about the quality of our schools, we take pride in who we are, and will continue to build our programs and our great conference.Ĭurrent members of the Sun Belt Conference are Appalachian State, Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas-Arlington, Texas State, and Troy. Throughout this process, if we identify a school that adds value to the Sun Belt, we’ll certainly consider them for membership. I spoke to our conference CEOs and ADs yesterday about the current realignment in a few FBS conferences and how it puts us in a more advantageous position for our programs to thrive. We finished last year with two teams ranked in the final CFP and we’ve led the FBS in postseason winning percentage the last five years. We were the only non-A5 conference with two teams ranked in both preseason polls. The Sun Belt is the best non-autonomy FBS conference in the country. The Sun Belt Conference could not have positioned itself better for this moment as the landscape shifts across conferences. It's about a value that you're bringing into your neighborhood that will be attractive to your television partner. There is no doubt the shift is going to be more sport-laden than anything and, particularly, football, because it is about the brand. "There's always the credibility of the academic institution, right. "Football plays a big role in that," Maggard said. Maggard said football will be a determinant in if or how the Sun Belt expands. "We feel like - if you're recruiting against the American - we believe that we have more to recruit to right now than other leagues." "We want to get aggressive in a smart, sensible, responsible way," Maggard said. Maggard said he feels the Sun Belt is positioned to be stronger than the American Athletic Conference, which is seeing the departures of Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF. The Sun Belt athletics directors met on a call Thursday that preceded Gill's announcement Friday morning.
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