Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I-A since 1976. The Sun Belt is a far-flung conference, with member institutions distributed primarily across the southern latitudes of the United States in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.Football was not sponsored by the Sun Belt Conference until 2001, when seven new members (Arkansas State, Idaho, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennesse State, New Mexico State, and North Texas) aligned with the conference to play a Division I-A football schedule. Utah State became a football-playing member in 2003.
Not only is the Sun Belt the newest of the Division I-A football conferences, it is also arguably the weakest, 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.
There are currently thirteen member schools (partial or full-time):
- University of Arkansas, Little Rock [basketball-only member]
- Arkansas State University
- University of Denver [basketball-only member]
- Florida International University [basketball-only member (see notes)]
- University of Idaho [football-only member (see notes}]
- University of Louisiana, Lafayette
- University of Louisiana, Monroe [football-only member]
- Middle Tennessee State University
- New Mexico State University [leaving for the WAC in 2005]
- University of New Orleans [basketball-only member]
- University of North Texas
- University of South Alabama [basketball-only member]
- Utah State University [leaving for the WAC in 2005]
- Western Kentucky University [non-football member]
Florida Atlantic University will join the Sun Belt for football in 2004, with its other sports to follow later.
University of Idaho will compete in the Sun Belt in all sports start in 2005.
Florida International University is transitioning its football team from Division I-AA to Division I-A, and expects to play in the Sun Belt when it completes the transition in 2006.