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 Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Golden Eagles compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level mainly as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). USM's newest sport of women's beach volleyball, a sport not currently sponsored by the Sun Belt, was added in the 2018–19 school year and competes in Conference USA. The school's earliest nickname was Tigers. Thereafter came such nicknames as Normalites, Yellow Jackets, Confederates, and Southerners. Golden Eagles was selected in a student/alumni vote in the early 1972. Seymour d'Campus is the name of the modern-day mascot eagle.
The Southern Miss Golden Eagles football program represents the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They play college football in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The Eagles are currently members of the Sun Belt Conference and play their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Rivalry in Dixie is the name given to the Louisiana Tech–Southern Miss football rivalry. It is a college football rivalry game between the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
The 2014 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a new member of the West Division of Conference USA. They were led by second-year head coach Todd Monken and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They finished the season 3–9, 1–7 in C-USA play to finish in last place in the West Division.
The 2016 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Eagles played their home games at the M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Jay Hopson. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in third place in the West Division. They were invited to the New Orleans Bowl where they defeated Louisiana–Lafayette.
The 2016 Conference USA football season was the 21st season of Conference USA football and part of the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on September 1 with Charlotte facing Louisville. This season was the second season for the C-USA under realignment that took place in 2014, which added the 14th member Charlotte from the Atlantic 10 Conference. The C-USA is a "Group of Five" conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the American Athletic Conference, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2017 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Eagles played their home games at the M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by second-year head coach Jay Hopson. They finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Independence Bowl where they lost to Florida State.
The 1997 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Golden Eagles were led by eighth-year head coach Jeff Bower and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium. In their second year in the Conference USA, they claimed their second-straight conference championship with a 6–0 C-USA record and a 9–3 record overall. They were invited to the 1997 Liberty Bowl, where they defeated Pittsburgh, 41–7. In the final AP and Coaches Polls of the season, the Golden Eagles were ranked 19th, which was the first ranked finish in school history.
The 2018 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Eagles played their home games at the M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by third-year head coach Jay Hopson. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in a three-way tie for second in the West Division. Despite being bowl eligible, they were not invited to a bowl game.
The 2019 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Eagles played their home games at the M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (CUSA). They were led by fourth-year head coach Jay Hopson.
The 2020 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Eagles played their home games at the M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (CUSA). Head coach Jay Hopson, who was in his fifth year, resigned after one game and was replaced by interim head coach Scotty Walden. Walden himself resigned after four games to become the head coach at Austin Peay and was replaced by Tim Billings.
The 2021–22 Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball team represented the University of Southern Mississippi during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by third-year head coach Jay Ladner, and played their home games at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi as members of Conference USA (C-USA).
The 2021–22 Southern Miss Lady Eagles basketball team represented the University of Southern Mississippi during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The team was led by 18th-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis, and played their home games at the Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi as a member of Conference USA (C-USA).
The 2022 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University during the 2022 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. The team was coached by Clay Helton, former head coach of the USC Trojans. Helton was hired on November 2, 2021, and this was his first season in Statesboro.
The 2022 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi as a new member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Will Hall, who was coaching his second season with the team. The Golden Eagles played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
The 2022 Southern Miss Golden Eagles baseball team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the sport of baseball for the 2021 college baseball season. The Golden Eagles competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and in Conference USA. They played their home games at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The team was coached by Scott Berry, who was in his thirteenth season with the Golden Eagles. This was Southern Miss' last season to compete as a member of the C-USA as they moved on to the Sun Belt Conference following the conclusion of the season.
The 2022–23 Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball team represented the University of Southern Mississippi during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by third-year head coach Jay Ladner, and played their home games at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi as first-year members of the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2022–23 Southern Miss Lady Eagles basketball team represented the University of Southern Mississippi during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The team was led by 19th-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis, and played their home games at the Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi as a member of the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2024 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team will represent the University of Southern Mississippi in the Sun Belt Conference's West Division during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Eagles are led by Will Hall in his fourth year as the head coach. The Golden Eagles will play home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium, located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.