Fans storm the field after Appalachian State scores a game-winning field goal. There is a 0:31 Millions of people ask who they are. Many books try to give people answers. It is necessary for one to do the work of self-awareness discovery right now. Even though it lives life as the flag tied to the middle of the tug-of-war rope that is the world of collegiate athletics, there is one place that doesn't need any assistance when it comes to self-awareness. The Sun Belt Conference headquarters are in New Orleans. It's good to go. There wasn't a need for self-help guides. They know who they are and where they want to go. When you see a team that you really, really want to beat, that your fans really, really want to beat, games that you get emotional about, that's what makes football great. For an old-school guy who played here, I see those kinds of games on the conference schedule. The two true regional divisions are east and west. Their football season will start with four new members, three defectors from Conference USA and one promoted to the top tier of college football. The departure of two non- football members along with the creation of new schools creates a seamless corner of the American map. The new Sun Belt schools start in Virginia and travel all the way down to central Texas. The power rankings before the season starts.
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The Sun Belt is keeping its divisions, leaning hard into regional rivalries, and reestablishing games that were lost to previous rounds of conference realignment.
The strategy used in college sports is no longer the standard. During this one-year stretch, we have been told that Oklahoma is in the Southeast, Los Angeles is in the Midwest, and the number 10 actually means 16.
A world where complaints of "I don't even recognize my favorite sport" are becoming louder is represented by the Sun Belt. That isn't an accident.
We were deliberate. At the end of the day, we want fans to be able to travel to the games, but also the games they want to attend," says commissioner Gill, a former Duke running back who took the helm in April 2019. Gill had his presidents and athletic directors on the phone in the days after the Big 12 lost Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC.
The Big 12 was going to leave the American Athletic Conference and possibly more. The American would go shopping with the other people in the group. Gill used galvanized regionalism as a recruiting tool and as a defense. When there was established history involved, the phone calls to and from potential members started in earnest.
"It can be difficult to create new rivalries as we have moved up the ladder over the years," says Matt Hogue, who has been with the Chanticleers since 1997. That lights the fire pretty quickly. People from the state love to go to the mountains and people from the state love to go to the beach. We have a good relationship with each other. Every year, we fight for the division. There is no lack of intensity if you have been to those games.
It's the same for Louisiana andUL Monroe. South Alabama and Troy are also mentioned. Georgia State and Georgia Southern are also mentioned. There is a chart of animosity that shows the new schools on the roster. Anyone who knows the history of football in the region knows that no ramping-up time will be required for any of the teams. All of them have roots in playing for the championship. Troy was moved to the West Division in order to keep the fires going. Southern Miss is a long-time football-obsessed school and is currently going through hard times.
Clay Helton is the new head coach of Georgia Southern. They tell stories about the Erk Russell days and have to guess who. There is an app state. There is a man named Marshall. There was an old kingdom. Arkansas State is a state in the United States. I can't wait to go to the game.
The motivation for keeping the two divisions was to create more rivalries. Those in the East will not see those in the West as often as they would in the West.
Fans can find themselves working into a lather over the story of showdowns. The nation as a whole is not going to be interested in the Marshall-Appalachian State game. The Sun Belt is unlikely to ever get a $7 billion TV deal. That isn't the goal.
There is a long-term eye on both sides. There is a place at the table for non-A5 schools in the College Football Playoff expansion debate, as well as keeping some sort of bowl season model in place. The 12-team model of the six highest ranked conference champion and the six highest ranked at-large teams has had our support from the beginning. The bowls also do. It is a showcase for our universities and a reward for our student-athletes.
The second idea is that of further realignment, whether it be bringing others into the SBC fold or fortifying the New Orleans area to keep out conference raiders.
Gill says that they are going to take a break right now. We will be open if there is a good opportunity there. We enjoy what we have. We like our configuration and it works well for us.
Does it? The Sun Belt's short-term goal is straightforward and noble. The people who wear the colors of their school want to see good football and that's why they play it. It's possible that the rest of the sports world will catch a glimpse of that energy and tune in.
College sports is supposed to be like that.
Gill says that they are trying to make people aware of the quality of football that they play. People think if you're not in an A5 league you're not trying as hard. That is far from the truth. The product we have is really exciting for people to watch.
There's more energy if we have more people at our games. It's great. The football is good.
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