There’s not a single conference outside of the P4 with the level of success that the Sun Belt has had this past calendar year, and as football rolls around once more, the possibility of returning to the College Football Playoff is certainly there. Just in recent memory, the Sun Belt as a conference saw Troy go on a magical run to the College World Series, and James Madison reach the College Football Playoff, where they went on the road to Euegue and played the Oregon Ducks and actually put up a respectful fight. In a world of NIL, non-geographical conferences, and greedy TV deals, the Sun Belt has stayed the course and has gone all in on being a conference that reminds the fans of everything that remains special about college athletics. 

Like the MAC Conference is for midwesterners, the Sun Belt Conference feels like home for many folks in the deep south and into Appalachia, a conference that represents its fan bases by fully embracing the cultures of the small towns and states that make up the conference’s footprint. For many folks at the conference, the Sun Belt might not have the national success of the SEC, but it has a sense of home like the Southeastern Conference did before adding Texas A&M and Missouri in 2012. There are still divisions with the dividing line being the state of Georgia, and there’s a real sense of pride across the entire footprint. We’re talking about small towns of people who might have grown up around the SEC or even the ACC, but for whatever reason went to one of these schools, and the tradition got into the bloodstream, creating what we see today when someone mentions the beauty of the Sun Belt Conference. 

Like other conferences, the Sun Belt has issues, but what it doesn’t have is the levels of greed that corrupted the highest levels of college athletics. Games are still reasonable for fans to attend, with cheap tickets combined with fair concession prices and easy access to the programs, even the great programs, the Sun Belt programs across the league do a wonderful job at honoring traditions, while adding modern college athletics to the mix. There’s no way you can take in a baseball game at Pete Taylor Park or a football game in Boone, North Carolina, and everywhere in between without the kid-like feeling you used to feel about 15 years ago when attending a game in the ACC, SEC, and the Big 10. There’s just something different about the conference. Despite the growing outside noise, the Sun Belt has stood the test of time and now offers a product southerners enjoy and love. 

With all the recent success, one might wonder where the Sun Belt goes from here and how the conference can continue to grow without giving up what makes it so different from other conferences. The answer is as simple as it comes, stay true to who and what you are as a conference, outside of a few things, there’s not much to change, if you’re going to expand then make it a priority to approach the likeness of Memphis, Tulane, UAB, East Carolina, Middle Tennessee State, and maybe even a Western Kentucky as well and keep the conference confines within the southeast and make the focus on being the conference for the forgotten south. For those folks who might have been priced out of the SEC or ACC but can still donate program-changing funds to continue the Sun Belt Conference’s growth. Combine that with leaning all the way into the traditions that make the Sun Belt what it is today, maybe adapt some, but you can adapt while also staying true to the core of what makes the product so great. We’re seeing it every year with different programs at different sports, the Sun Belt has all the talent in the world to compete and beat the best of the best, invest in that mometum and watch the return on investment come back to fill the trophy cases with trophies that will be talked about for generations to come. 

A prime example of a return on investment and what’s possible for the Sun Belt, just take a look at what Troy was able to do this postseason. The Trojans went into the Gainesville Regional and beat Florida to take the Regional, then hosted a Super Regional, won it, and advanced to the College World Series, where they laid the foundation for a return trip in the very near future. In the year prior, it was Coastal Carolina giving LSU fits in the College World Series Finals, or James Madison playing to a respectful level on the road at one of the best football venues in the country, not to mention all the wins over Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, etc., across the conference that happen in most of the sports. Again, we’ve seen what’s possible with the Sun Belt with a little bit of investments, you better believe that once the 2026-2027 athletic year rolls around next month, the programs across the Sun Belt will be foaming at the mouth as they eagerly await the opportunity to take the mometum from years past, adding another chapter in the long storied history of champions. 

At the end of the day, the Sun Belt Conference represents the traditions of the past while using that mometum to sustain a future that leads other conferences outside the power four by leading from the front. There’s a reason schools are fighting to join the Sun Belt, not to leave. Outside of the traditional power four structure, there’s no better conference than the Sun Belt. The best days are still ahead for all members as the athletic calendar year turns to the 2026-2027 season. 

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