Sun Belt School History

The Sun Belt Conference has been around since 1976, making it one of the oldest conferences in college football. The conference was founded by seven schools from the southeastern United States: Arkansas State University, Georgia Southern University, Louisiana Tech University, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), South Alabama (USA), Troy State, and Western Kentucky. Since then, it has grown to include 11 schools across eight states.

Sun Belt teams have had a long history of success on the field and off-the-field accomplishments, such as producing NFL players and coaches like Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban, who both coached at Florida for many years before taking their respective jobs in professional football. Additionally, some of these same programs have produced All-Americans, including former Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson, who played for Auburn when they were still part of the conference in the 1983–84 season.

In recent times, however, there is no denying that Sun Belt teams are making waves nationally, with several teams having made appearances in bowl games over the past few seasons, including Appalachian State's win over Michigan back during the 2007 season, which is considered one be greatest upsets ever recorded college football history! With new members joining this year – Coastal Carolina -and more competitive play expected, all these powerhouse programs expect even greater things to come from their future!