Sun Belt Conference

Sun Belt Conference (Sun Belt)
Established	1976
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I FBS
Members	12
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 12 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 (now merged into the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), 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 became 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 the University of Texas at 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]

On September 1, 2015, Coastal Carolina University accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference. The university joined in all sports except for football starting July 1, 2016, with football joining in 2017.^[15]

The conference announced on March 1, 2016 that the affiliation agreement with Idaho and New Mexico State would not be extended past the 2017 season.^[16]

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joined
Appalachian State University	Boone, North Carolina	1899	19,089	Mountaineers		2014
Arkansas State University	Jonesboro, Arkansas	1909	14,074	Red Wolves		1991
Coastal Carolina University	Conway, South Carolina	1954	10,263	Chanticleers		2016
Georgia Southern University	Statesboro, Georgia	1906	20,584	Eagles		2014
Georgia State University	Atlanta, Georgia	1913	32,087	Panthers		1976; 2013
Little Rock !University of Arkansas at Little Rock	Little Rock, Arkansas	1927	13,176	Trojans		1991
Louisiana-Lafayette !University of Louisiana at Lafayette	Lafayette, Louisiana	1898	17,508	Ragin' Cajuns		1991
Louisiana-Monroe !University of Louisiana at Monroe	Monroe, Louisiana	1931	8,854	Warhawks		2006
South Alabama !University of South Alabama	Mobile, Alabama	1963	16,462	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	19,579	Trojans		2005

• Louisiana–Monroe — football was an affiliate member from 2001 to 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 Mexico State University	Las Cruces, New Mexico	1888	29,768	Aggies		2014	football	Western Athletic

• Idaho — football was an affiliate member from 2001 to 2005.
• New Mexico State — was a full member from 2000 to 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	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	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

• Florida Atlantic — football was an affiliate member in 2005–06.

Former affiliate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Nickname	Joined	Left	Sport	Primary Conference
New Jersey Institute of Technology	Newark, New Jersey	1881	Highlanders	2014	2016	soccer (M)	Atlantic Sun
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) 

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.^[17] 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.^[18]

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
Coastal Carolina	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	8
Georgia Southern	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	6
Georgia State	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	6
Little Rock	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	N	Y	Y	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
UT Arlington	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	7
Troy	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	7
Totals	12	12	10	10	12	4	8	8	10	86
Affiliate Members
Hartwick						Y				1
Howard						Y				1
Idaho				Y						1
New Mexico State				Y						1

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

School	Wrestling
Appalachian State	SoCon

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
Coastal Carolina	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Georgia Southern	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Georgia State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Little Rock	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	7
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
UT Arlington	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Troy	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Totals	12	12	10	11	10	11	12	12	12	102

• UT Arlington — Golf (W) begins play in 2017.^[19]

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

School	Beach Volleyball	Bowling	Field Hockey	Lacrosse	Rifle	Swimming & Diving
Appalachian State			IND
Arkansas State		SBL
Coastal Carolina	ASUN			ASUN
Georgia Southern					SoCon	CCSA
Georgia State	CCSA
Little Rock						MVC
Louisiana–Monroe	IND

• Appalachian State — Field Hockey joins the Mid-American Conference in 2017.^[20]

Championships

Current Sun Belt champions

NCAA champions

The following current Sun Belt members have won NCAA Division I team championships prior to joining the conference:

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
Coastal Carolina	1	Baseball	2016

Football

For more information see Sun Belt Conference football. For the current season, see 2016 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	1	1–0	18	Scott Satterfield
Arkansas State	1911	446–468–37	.488	4	2–2	11	Blake Anderson
Georgia Southern	1923	356–200–9	.638	1	1–0	11	Tyson Summers
Georgia State	2010	10–35–0	.222	1	0–1	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	Matt Viator
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	Neal Brown

^[21]

Sun Belt champions

Starting in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS Season, the Sun Belt Conference will host a Conference Football Championship Game.^[22]

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
2015	Arkansas State	8–0
2016	Appalachian State Arkansas State	7-1

Bowl games

Pick	Name	Location	Opposing conference	Opposing pick
1	New Orleans Bowl	New Orleans, Louisiana	MWC	5/6
2	Dollar General Bowl	Mobile, Alabama	MAC	1
3	Camellia Bowl	Montgomery, Alabama	MAC	5
4	Cure Bowl	Orlando, Florida	AAC	7/8
5	Arizona Bowl	Tucson, Arizona	MWC

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	—	31 (2015)	17–13–1	Appalachian State
Arkansas State	Louisiana–Monroe	Trail of Tears Classic	—	37 (2015)	23–14	Arkansas State
Louisiana–Lafayette	Louisiana–Monroe	Battle on the Bayou	Wooden Boot	51 (2015)	27–24	Louisiana–Lafayette
South Alabama	Georgia State	Clash of the Claws	—	5 (2015)	3-2	South Alabama
Georgia State	Georgia Southern	Modern Day Hate	—	2 (2015)	1-1	Tie
South Alabama	Troy	Battle for the Belt	Belt	4 (2015)	2–2	Tie

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	Battle for the Palladium	Palladium	20 (2012)	12–8	Middle Tennessee

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
2016	Little Rock	Little Rock	Arkansas State	Troy

Baseball

Facilities

School	Football Stadium	Capacity	Basketball Arena	Capacity	Baseball Stadium	Capacity
Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium	7004240500000000000♠24,050	Holmes Center	7003832500000000000♠8,325	Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium	7003100000000000000♠1,000[23]
Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium	7004334100000000000♠33,410	Convocation Center	7004105630000000000♠10,563	Tomlinson Stadium–Kell Field	7003120000000000000♠1,200[24]
Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium	7003921400000000000♠9,214	HTC Center	7003337000000000000♠3,370	Springs Brooks Stadium - Vrooman Field	7003250000000000000♠2,500[25]
Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium	7004250000000000000♠25,000	Hanner Fieldhouse	7003432500000000000♠4,325[26]	J. I. Clements Stadium	7003300000000000000♠3,000
Georgia State	Georgia Dome	7004712280000000000♠71,228	GSU Sports Arena	7003385400000000000♠3,854[27]	GSU Baseball Complex	7003109200000000000♠1,092
Idaho	Kibbie Dome	7004160000000000000♠16,000	Football-only school
Little Rock	Non-football school		Jack Stephens Center	7003560000000000000♠5,600[28]	Gary Hogan Field	7003255000000000000♠2,550
Louisiana–Lafayette	Cajun Field	7004369000000000000♠36,900	Cajundome (M) Earl K. Long Gymnasium (W)	7004120680000000000♠12,068 7003150000000000000♠1,500	M.L. Tigue Moore Field	7003375500000000000♠3,755
Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium	7004304270000000000♠30,427	Fant–Ewing Coliseum	7003708500000000000♠7,085	Warhawk Field	7003180000000000000♠1,800
New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium	7004303430000000000♠30,343	Football-only school
South Alabama	Ladd Peebles Stadium	7004406460000000000♠40,646	Mitchell Center	7004100410000000000♠10,041	Eddie Stanky Field	7003450000000000000♠4,500
Texas State	Bobcat Stadium	7004300000000000000♠30,000	Strahan Coliseum	7003720000000000000♠7,200	Bobcat Ballpark	7003200000000000000♠2,000
Texas-Arlington !UT Arlington	Non-football school		College Park Center	7003700000000000000♠7,000	Clay Gould Ballpark	7003160000000000000♠1,600
Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium	7004300000000000000♠30,000	Trojan Arena	7003520000000000000♠5,200[29]	Riddle–Pace Field	7003200000000000000♠2,000

• Coastal Carolina is currently expanding Brooks Stadium. When football joins the Sun Belt in 2017, the venue is expected to have a capacity of 20,000.
• Although the Georgia Dome has a football capacity of 71,228, Georgia State normally uses a configuration with a capacity of only 28,155.
  • The 2016 season is Georgia State's last at the Georgia Dome, which is scheduled to be demolished in 2017. The football team will move into Turner Field, which the university will rebuild into a 23,000-seat football stadium.
• Little Rock normally plays its home basketball games on campus but occasionally plays at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
• 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	University System	Endowment	U.S. News rank [30]	Carnegie Foundation Classification [31]	Forbes [32]
Appalachian State	University of North Carolina System	7007914290000000000♠$91,429,000	10 (Regional: South)	Masters (Larger Programs)	385
Arkansas State	Arkansas State University System	7007519070000000000♠$51,907,000	53 (Regional: South)	Masters (Larger Programs)	N/A
Coastal Carolina	Not Applicable	7007255000000000000♠$25,500,000	63 (Regional: South)	Masters (Larger Programs)	N/A
Georgia Southern	University System of Georgia	7007491570000000000♠$49,157,000	RNP (National)	Doctoral (Moderate Research)	588
Georgia State	University System of Georgia	7008133296000000000♠$133,296,000	RNP (National)	Doctoral (Highest Research)	466
Little Rock	University of Arkansas System	7007700800000000000♠$70,080,000	RNP (National)	Doctoral {Moderate Research)	621
Louisiana–Lafayette	University of Louisiana System	7008112260000000000♠$112,260,000	RNP (National)	Doctoral (Higher Research)	520
Louisiana–Monroe	University of Louisiana System	7007231577410000000♠$23,157,741	93 (Regional: South)	Doctoral (Moderate Research)	N/A
South Alabama	Not Applicable	7008497274000000000♠$497,274,000	RNP (National)	Doctoral (Higher Research)	610
Texas State	Texas State University System	7008161264000000000♠$161,264,000	52 (Regional: West)	Doctoral (Higher Research)	555
Texas–Arlington !UT Arlington	University of Texas System	7008113800000000000♠$113,800,000	RNP (National)	Doctoral (Highest Research)	601
Troy	Troy University System	7007566100000000000♠$56,610,000	65 (Regional: South)	Masters (Larger Programs)	648

References

External links

• Official website