The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) 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 14 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed across the Southern United States.
The Georgia Southern Eagles football program represents Georgia Southern University in football as part of the Sun Belt Conference. The current head coach is Clay Helton. The Eagles have won six FCS (I-AA) national championships and have produced two Walter Payton Award winners. Georgia Southern first continuously fielded a football team in 1924, but play was suspended for World War II and did not return until 1981. The Eagles competed as an FCS independent from 1984 to 1992 and as a member of the Southern Conference from 1993 to 2013, winning 10 SoCon championships. In 2014, Georgia Southern moved to the FBS level and joined the Sun Belt Conference, winning the conference championship outright in its first year. Georgia Southern's main Sun Belt rivals are Appalachian State and Georgia State.
The Georgia State Panthers are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Georgia State University, located in Atlanta, Georgia. All GSU teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as members of the Sun Belt Conference, a conference of which they were a charter member. Previously, GSU was a member of the CAA, and prior to that, the ASUN Conference.
The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and were a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) between 1972 and 2014. On July 1, 2014, Appalachian State moved to the Sun Belt Conference. Appalachian State fields varsity teams in 17 sports, 7 for men and 10 for women. The football team competes in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly I-A, as a result of the transition to the Sun Belt. The wrestling team remains in the Southern Conference because the Sun Belt does not sponsor the sport. In field hockey, another sport not sponsored by the Sun Belt, Appalachian State joined the Mid-American Conference for the 2017 season after playing two seasons as an independent following the demise of its former league, the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac). While rivalries exist with Sun Belt west division schools such as Troy and Louisiana, Appalachian State's main Sun Belt rivals are east division members Coastal Carolina and Georgia Southern, as well as rekindled rivalries from the days in FCS with recent Sun Belt additions Marshall and James Madison. Historically prior to joining the Sun Belt, Western Carolina and Furman were prominent rivalries.
The Appalachian State Mountaineers football team is the intercollegiate American football team representing Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The Mountaineers have competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Sun Belt Conference since 2014. Appalachian plays its home games in Kidd Brewer Stadium, named after former head coach Kidd Brewer, whose 1937 squad was unbeaten and unscored upon during the regular season, outscoring opponents 206–0.
The Georgia State Panthers football team is the college football program for Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. The Panthers football team was founded in 2010 and competes at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers currently play at Center Parc Stadium, about ten minutes from GSU's downtown campus.
The Georgia State Panthers men's basketball team represents Georgia State University and competes in the Sun Belt Conference of NCAA Division I. The Panthers play at the Georgia State Convocation Center in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
The 2012 Georgia State Panthers football team represented Georgia State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Panthers were led by third year head coach Bill Curry and played their home games at the Georgia Dome. Georgia State was a full member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), but announced on April 9, 2012 that it would return to the Sun Belt Conference, which it had left in 1981, in July 2013. In advance of this move, the Panthers began a transition to Division I FBS in 2012. As a result of these moves, the 2012 season was the first and only year that they competed in the CAA for football. Although not qualifying, they were ineligible for the FCS playoffs as a transitional FBS team. The Panthers finished the season 1–10, 1–7 in CAA play.
The 2013 Georgia State Panthers football team represented Georgia State University (GSU) in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by first year head coach Trent Miles and played their home games at the Georgia Dome. The 2013 season was the Panthers' first in the Sun Belt Conference and at the FBS level. As a result of this transition, the Panthers were ineligible to play in a bowl game regardless of their final record (0–12).
The 2014 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Willie Fritz and played their home games at Paulson Stadium. They were first year members of the Sun Belt Conference. In their second year of the FCS to FBS transition, the Eagles were eligible for the conference championship; however, they were not bowl-eligible.
The 2014–15 Georgia State Panthers men's basketball team represented Georgia State University during 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach]was Ron Hunter serving his fourth season at GSU. The Panthers played their home games at the GSU Sports Arena competing as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 25–10, 15–5 in Sun Belt play to win the Sun Belt regular season championship. They defeated Louisiana–Lafayette and Georgia Southern to become champions of the Sun Belt tournament. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Baylor in the second round before losing in the third round to Xavier.
The 2016 Georgia State Panthers football team represented Georgia State University (GSU) in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by fourth-year head coach Trent Miles for the first 10 games of the year until he was fired on November 12, 2016 after a 2–8 record. They were led by interim head coach Tim Lappano for the remainder of the season. They played their home games at the Georgia Dome. The 2016 season was the Panthers' fourth in the Sun Belt Conference and seventh since starting football. This was also the Panthers final season in the Georgia Dome, as the stadium was demolished on November 20, 2017 following the opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 26 of the same year.
The 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was played on January 7, 2017, in Frisco, Texas. The James Madison Dukes defeated the Youngstown State Penguins, 28–14, to capture their second national championship in team history.
The 2017 Georgia State Panthers football team represented Georgia State University (GSU) in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by first-year head coach Shawn Elliott. The season marked the first in which they played in the newly acquired Georgia State Stadium, a renovated Turner Field with artificial turf and a 22,000 person capacity. The season was the Panthers' fifth in the Sun Belt Conference and eighth since starting football. The Panthers finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in Sun Belt play to finish in fourth place. They received an invite to the Cure Bowl, where Georgia State defeated Western Kentucky for the Panthers' first bowl win in program history.
The 2017 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represented Appalachian State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mountaineers played their home games at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina, and competed in the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by fifth-year head coach Scott Satterfield. They finished the season 9–4, 7–1 in Sun Belt play to earn a share of the Sun Belt championship for the second consecutive year. They received an invite to the Dollar General Bowl where they defeated Toledo for the second consecutive year in a bowl game.
The 2017 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, and competed in the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by coach Chad Lunsford following the mid-season firing of second-year head coach Tyson Summers. They finished the season 2–10, 2–6 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for tenth place.
The 2018 Georgia State Panthers football team represented Georgia State University (GSU) in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by second-year head coach Shawn Elliott. The season was the Panthers' sixth in the Sun Belt Conference, first within the East Division, and ninth since starting football. They played their home games at Georgia State Stadium. They finished the season 2–10, 1–7 in Sun Belt play to finish in last place in the East Division.
The 2020 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Ragin' Cajuns played their home games at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana, and competed in the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Billy Napier. The Cajuns began the season with an away matchup against a preseason top-25 Iowa State and concluded their regular season at conference and in-state rival Louisiana–Monroe.
The 2021 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, and competed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Chad Lunsford until he was dismissed mid-season following his third consecutive loss within the first four games of the season. Cornerbacks coach Kevin Whitley was tapped to serve as interim coach until a new head coach was hired by the university. Whitley was in his third year as cornerbacks coach and previously played for Georgia Southern as a four year starter from 1988 to 1991, helping to win two national titles for the Eagles. On November 2, 2021, Clay Helton, former head coach of the USC Trojans, was hired to become the next head coach for Georgia Southern, starting in the 2022 season.
The 2021 Georgia State Panthers football team represented Georgia State University (GSU) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by fifth-year head coach Shawn Elliott. This was the Panthers' ninth season in the Sun Belt Conference, fourth within the East Division, and 12th since the inception of the program. They played their home games at Center Parc Stadium.
