“The Sun Belt is 50 years old, and we’re still rising.”
Those were the words of Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill, as he gave his annual address to kick off SBC Media Days 2026, the kickoff to Sun Belt football season.
In some ways, the statement is entirely true.
Last year, the SBC sent their first ever team to the College Football Playoff when James Madison earned a bid. Not only had the conference never had a playoff team, but they had also not even earned a New Year’s Six bid previously. A bid to the playoff was a lofty goal that should be celebrated as another achievement on an upward trend.
In all honesty, it shouldn’t have mattered what happened during the game. Blowouts happen all the time in the CFP. In fact, early round games are statistically more likely to be blowouts than they are to be competitive, even when they consist of only Power Four teams.
Still, the Dukes looked outmatched early in the game. After a few competitive drives, Oregon hit the accelerator and held a 34-6 lead at the half. JMU rallied late to make the final score a more respectable 51-34, but most of the college football world had turned the game off by then.
Naturally, the narrative became how they didn’t belong in the first place.
It didn’t help that fellow Group of Six team Tulane also got smashed in their playoff appearance. The Green Wave fell 41-10, and all of the talk about the Group of Six in the playoffs only got louder.
Even if those questions are unfair, they will continue to be asked. The playoff made some sneaky changes in the offseason that will make it much more unlikely for two teams from those conferences to ever make the playoff in the same year again.
Still, inclusion in the first place was a significant step in the right direction for the Sun Belt.
Perhaps the best thing the league has going for it is not how it competes on the field, but how it has stuck to its roots.
With conferences all across the country scrambling and adding teams from anywhere to show strength in numbers, the SBC has remained calm, calculated, and committed to regionality.
When Texas State announced its departure for the newly revived PAC-12, the Sun Belt could have panicked and added the first team it could get its hands on. Instead, they were cool under pressure, and they used it as an opportunity.
Rather than take it as a loss, they took it as an opportunity to strengthen those pillars that the league stands on. With Texas State being the furthest team west by a good margin, the league advanced on the chance to become even more close knit.
“For many FBS conferences, realignment has weakened brands, reduced value, and created long-term challenges for the remaining members,” Gill said. “Since 2021, the Sun Belt has taken a different path by strategically adding five brands that strengthen our conference in football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball.”
Enter Louisiana Tech, a school that shares a state with ULM and Louisiana. They are also much closer to other SBC West teams than Texas State ever was. They’re strong in baseball, the conference’s best sport.
“In every way, La Tech reflects the qualities that make the Sun Belt strong,” Gill said of the Bulldogs’ addition.
Whether or not the Bulldogs elevate the league remains to be seen, but one thing is certain. The SBC has attacked the changing landscape in a different, more consistent way than most other conferences across the country.
Plenty of problems still exist. Roster retention is more difficult than ever. Revenue sharing and NIL is spreading already thin athletics departments much thinner. Big conferences still look to poach any program that they can squeeze value out of.
However, for now, the Sun Belt Conference may very well still be rising.
Dawson Eiserloh is the host of “The LohDown with D-Loh” which is broadcast weekdays (1-3 PM) on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station