The Sun Belt Conference, founded on Aug. 4, 1976, primarily as a basketball league, experienced significant membership changes through the early 21st century. These shifts eventually positioned the conference to add football as a sponsored sport, helping it emerge as a key player within the Group of Five conferences.
After the 2000 season, the Sun Belt effectively took over the spot in Division I-A previously held by the Big West Conference. The Big West disbanded its football league after the 2000 season, as many of its remaining football members left for other conferences.
In 2001, Arkansas State and Louisiana moved their football programs from the Big West and independent ranks, respectively. Additionally, three schools that had joined the Sun Belt in 2000 — Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, and North Texas — transitioned their football teams into the new conference. To meet the requirement of seven teams for the season, the Sun Belt brought in independent Louisiana-Monroe and former Big West member Idaho as football-only affiliates.
The Sun Belt’s first football season in 2001 was modest, with Middle Tennessee the only team to post a winning overall record. However, a 24-21 upset loss to North Texas on October 13 cost the Blue Raiders a chance at their first Division I-A bowl berth. It also denied them their first postseason appearance since losing to Marshall in the first round of the 1994 Division I-AA playoffs.
The Sun Belt underwent its first major realignment in 2005. The conference’s three western schools — including football-only member Utah State, which had joined in 2003 — departed for the Western Athletic Conference. The Sun Belt replaced them with Florida International and new member Florida Atlantic. Both schools had football programs transitioning from Division I-AA. Troy joined as a football-only member in 2004 and became a full member in 2005.
Aside from adding Western Kentucky in 2009, the Sun Belt saw little membership change until the wave of conference realignment in 2010. Five of the nine schools departed for Conference USA, which was looking to replenish its ranks.
To restore its membership to at least seven teams, the Sun Belt added Texas State from the WAC. It also brought in Idaho and New Mexico State as football-only members. Three programs, led by longtime rivals Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, moved up from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).
In its first 10 seasons of football, Sun Belt teams posted a 7-9 record in bowl games, with Troy and Florida Atlantic each contributing two victories. The conference’s first bowl win came in 2002, when North Texas defeated Conference USA’s Cincinnati 24-19 in the New Orleans Bowl.
In 2019, the Sun Belt earned a spot in the final College Football Playoff rankings for the first time. Appalachian State, which recorded non conference wins over North Carolina and South Carolina, finished the regular season ranked No. 20. However, the Mountaineers fell behind Memphis and Boise State and missed out on the Group of Five’s automatic bid to a New Year’s Six bowl.
Zac Thomas + aggressive defense = an @AppState_FB @NewOrleansBowl victory! 🏈 pic.twitter.com/OzVHjWVgbQ
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) December 14, 2019
Coastal Carolina holds the highest final CFP ranking for a Sun Belt team. The Chanticleers finished the 2020 season at No. 12 with an undefeated 11-0 record, including a win over then-No. 13 BYU. Like Appalachian State, the Chanticleers were left out of the New Year’s Six as Cincinnati, ranked No. 8, secured the Group of Five bid.
The Sun Belt holds a .545 winning percentage in bowl games, with 48 wins in 88 appearances. The Sun Belt’s record for bowl victories in a single season is four — a mark achieved three times since 2020. The first time a Sun Belt team faced a ranked opponent in a bowl game came in 2013, when Arkansas State defeated No. 25 Kent State 17-13 in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. The Golden Flashes had been ranked in the final BCS standings before the bowl season began.
FINAL@GSAthletics_FB 58
Bowling Green 27The Eagles are @GoDaddyBowl champions! #FunBelt pic.twitter.com/EpX7i9xSDA
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) December 24, 2015
The only other bowl matchup involving a ranked opponent — and the only one with both teams ranked — came in the 2022 Cure Bowl, when No. 24 Troy defeated No. 25 UTSA 18-12. The Sun Belt holds a 4-1 all-time record when entering bowl games with a ranked team. The lone loss came in the 2020 Cure Bowl, when No. 12 Coastal Carolina fell to former Big South rival Liberty in overtime.
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