Informational Links
Complete Sun Belt Release Downloadable in PDF Format
Sun Belt Conference Players of the Week Announced
2009 Sun Belt Conference Football Media Guide
2009 Composite Schedule and Results
Sun Belt Conference Standings

Sun Belt Attendance on the Rise
Teams from the Sun Belt Conference helped the league to a new all-time single season attendance record for both overall and per game average attendance last year.  Last season's numbers were also the largest increase in average in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision.  The league also averaged nearly 2,000 more fans per game than the Mid-American Conference.

Sun Belt in the BCS
The Sun Belt Conference is a BCS Conference.  In fact, the Sun Belt Conference is one of just 11 BCS Conferences.  The Sun Belt Conference champion will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if that team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS standings or if that team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS standings and its ranking is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the of BCS bowls.  In the first 10 years of the BCS arrangement, more than $100 million was distributed to conferences that do not have an annual automatic berth to one of the BCS bowls.  In 2009, nine percent of the net revenues from the BCS arrangement (approximately $9.5 million) is guaranteed in aggregate to Conference USA, the Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Western Athletic Conferences for their participation in the BCS arrangement.  When a team from one of those five conferences plays in BCS bowl game, those conferences receive an additional nine percent of net revenues.  When more than one team from those conferences play in a BCS bowl game, those conferences will receive an additional $4.5 million for each additional team.

Sun Belt Football Membership
The Sun Belt Conference is currently comprised of nine football playing members - Arkansas State (founding football member in 2001), Florida Atlantic (joined league as football member in 2005), FIU (joined league as football member in 2005), Louisiana-Lafayette (founding football member in 2001), ULM (founding football member in 2001), Middle Tennessee (founding football member in 2001), North Texas (founding football member in 2001), Troy (joined league as football member in 2004) and Western Kentucky University (will begin full competition in 2009)  The league will expand to 10 football playing members when South Alabama enters in 2012.

Sun Belt Boasts Winning Bowl Record in Last Three Seasons
Over the last three seasons the Sun Belt Conference has represented itself well in the postseason.  In fact the Sun Belt Conference boasts a winning record of 3-2 in its five bowl appearances in the last three seasons.

2006 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Troy 41, Rice 17
2006 Motor City Bowl - Central Michigan 31, Middle Tennessee 14
2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Florida Atlantic 44, Memphis 17
2008 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Southern Miss 30, Troy 27 (OT)
2008 Motor City Bowl - Florida Atlantic 24, Central Michigan 21

Sun Belt Ties Conference Mark for Bowl Eligible Teams
A record tying number of teams reached bowl eligibility last season when four teams (Troy, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, and Louisiana-Lafayette) reached the six-win plateau to become eligible for a postseason bid.  In 2006 the Sun Belt also had four bowl eligible teams (Troy, Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Arkansas State) and two of those teams were selected to bowl games.  2008 also marked the first time that a 6-6 Sun Belt team (Florida Atlantic) was selected for a postseason bowl game. 

Sun Belt Sends Two to Bowls
For the third time in the Sun Belt Conference's brief eight year history of football the league sent multiple teams to postseason bowl games in 2008.  Outright league champion Troy represented the league in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.  It was the Trojans second trip to that bowl game, having played in the Superdome in 2006 as well.  Troy has played in three bowl games since joining the Sun Belt in 2004.  In their inaugural season in 2004 the Trojans played in the Silicon Valley Football Classic.  Joining Troy in the postseason was Florida Atlantic, which rolled to a victory over Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl.  The Owls made their second postseason appearance in as many years, having defeated Memphis in the 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.  The two other seasons the Sun Belt sent two teams to bowl games were 2006 (Troy - R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Middle Tennessee - Motor City Bowl) and 2004 (North Texas - R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Troy - Silicon Valley Football Classic).

Notable Wins Bolster Sun Belt Conference
By playing at the highest level of collegiate football - the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Bowl Championship Series - Sun Belt Conference teams continue to face noted big name programs.  Sun Belt teams don't just compete though - teams from the SBC are consistently notching wins in these contests.  In the opening week of the season last year, Arkansas State defeated Texas A&M which snapped the Aggies' 20-game winning streak in home openers and handed them just their fourth loss over their last 50 non-conference home games.  The next week Middle Tennessee won its first-ever home game against a team from a BCS guaranteed conference with the win over Maryland.  In previous season teams from the Sun Belt have taken down powers such as Alabama, Missouri, Minnesota, and Oklahoma State.

Sun Belt Conference Sweeps Mid-American Conference in 2008 Season
A year after finishing ahead of the Mid-American Conference in the USA Today Sagarin Ratings, the Sun Belt Conference took advantage of its opportunities against teams from the MAC in 2008.  Louisiana-Lafayette defeated Kent State 44-27 on September 13 and FIU took a 35-16 win at Toledo on September 27.  To cap off a perfect season against the MAC, Florida Atlantic defeated Central Michigan 24-21 in the Motor City Bowl.

Sun Belt Conference Bowl Partners
In addition to the Sun Belt Conference's tie-in with the BCS, the league has been a proud and successful partner with the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl since its inception in 2001.  A team from the Sun Belt Conference will play a Conference USA opponent on December 20th in the Louisiana Superdome in that game.  Additionally, teams from the Sun Belt Conference can be selected to play in the Papjohns.com Bowl, St. Petersburg Bowl, and Independence Bowl if  the primary contracted partners are unable to fulfill their obligations to those bowl games.

Florida Atlantic Takes Back-to-Back Bowl Wins
Florida Atlantic became the first team to win bowl games in back-to-back seasons since the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001.  The Owls defeated Central Michigan 24-21 in the 2008 Motor City Bowl and defeated Memphis in the 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl for the front end of the achievement.

Sun Belt Conference and ESPN Agree to New Deal
A new agreement with ESPN will give the Sun Belt Conference's rising football league a minimum of two games on either ESPN or ESPN2 each season.  Additionally, ESPN Regional Television will have the right to produced, distribute and syndicate up to five football games each year. ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will also be granted additional opportunities to select games to air.  This trio of networks will be granted a 12 day rolling window during the season to select additional games to televise.   Games available for selection are after the third Saturday of the season.  This provides the Sun Belt Conference additional opportunities for exposure previously not available.   

Five Trojans Named to Lombardi Watch List
Oklahoma, Florida, and Troy.  How is that for a 1, 2, 3 ranking?  When the 40th annual Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List was announced this preseason that is exactly how teams in the FBS ranked based on the number of players on the list.  Five members of the Troy squad were listed and only Oklahoma (7) and Florida (6) had more players on the list, which included 153 players from 79 teams and 11 conferences.  The five Trojans on the list are senior defensive ends Brandon Lang and Cameron Sheffield, senior linebackers Boris Lee and Bear Woods and senior center Danny Franks.

Arnold Takes Aim at Joining Elite List
Arkansas State's Reggie Arnold enters his senior campaign as the nation's third leading rusher among active players with a career total of 3,210 yards.  Arnold can also become just the eighth player in NCAA history to post four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons if he can surpass the mark again in 2009.  Tyrell Fenroy, Tony Dorsett, Amos Lawrence, Denvis Manns, Ron Dayne, Cedric Benson and DonTrell Moore are the only players in NCAA history with four 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

Blakeney a Hall of Famer
Larry Blakeney entered his 40th year as a football coach this fall as he leads the Troy University Trojans onto the field.  But the veteran coach added to his list of accomplishments this offseason as he was named to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.  Joining Blakeney in the class of 2009 are Steve Bolt, Tommy Brooker, Jimmy Key, Janelle Godfrey, Charley Hannah, Lee May and John Mitchell. The class will bring the total number of members of the Hall of Fame to 281, a list that includes five of the top 15 all-time athletes, according to ESPN.

Sun Belt Conference Alumni
In the 2008 NFL Draft the Buffalo Bills selected three time All-Sun Belt Conference performer Leodis McKelvin from Troy with the 11th overall pick in the first round of the Draft.  McKelvin signed a five-year, $19.4 million contract with the Bills with up to $12.6 million in bonuses.  McKelvin, a defensive back and explosive kick returner, was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for November 2008.  In the five November games, McKelvin compiled five tackles, three pass breakups, two interceptions including one that he returned 64 yards for a touchdown in a win at Kansas City.  McKelvin also exploded onto the national stage as a premier kick returner taking one back for a 98-yard touchdown in the Monday Night Football game against Cleveland.

2007 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year Tyrell Johnson from Arkansas State was drafted by the Vikings in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft.  Johnson, a safety, finished his rookie season starting 7 of 16 games, recording 31 tackles.  His seven starts helped propel the Vikings to the NFC North Division Championship and a playoff berth for the Vikings - the first playoff appearance for the Vikings since 2004.

2004 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year DeMarcus Ware from Troy was drafted 11th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft.  Ware has quickly turned into one of the NFL's premier defensive players as he has been selected to the Pro Bowl in three of his four seasons with the Cowboys.  So far in Ware's young career he has recorded 299 tackles, 53.5 sacks, 61.0 tackles for a loss, 18 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries (one of which he returned 69 yards for a touchdown) 13 passes defended and 1 interception which he returned 41 yards for a touchdown in 64 NFL games.  Ware had a league-high 20 sacks in 2008 and finished second in the voting for the NFL Associated Press' Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Osi Umenyiora is another noted talent making headlines in the NFL.  Umenyiora played for Troy and is currently a member of the New York Giants defensive front.  Umenyiora, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, had 13 sacks in 2007 and helped the Giants to an NFL regular season-leading 53 sacks. This pass rush was pivotal in the Super Bowl XLII victory over the New England Patriots.

Louisiana-Lafayette has a history of sending talented players to the NFL.  Brian Mitchell was one such player to make an impact in the NFL from Louisiana-Lafayette. Mitchell is the NFL's second all time leader in total yardage.  In his second season with the Washington Redskins, Mitchell led the NFL in punt return yards (600) and punt return touchdowns (two), assisting his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXVI, where Washington defeated the Buffalo Bills 37-24. Mitchell continued to play for the Redskins until 1999, leading the NFL in punt return average(14.1) and touchdowns (two) in 1994, and making a Pro Bowl selection in 1995.

Another former Louisiana-Lafayette player to make and impact in the NFL is Jake Delhomme of the Carolina Panthers.  Delhomme was selected to the 2005 Pro Bowl and led the Panthers through to Super Bowl XXXVIII to face the New England Patriots.  Charles Tillman of the Chicago Bears was selected with the 35th overall pick, third in the second round, of the 2003 NFL Draft from Louisiana-Lafayette.

Notable former professional football players from Sun Belt schools include Joe "Mean Joe" Greene (North Texas), and Stan Humphries (Louisiana-Monroe).  Former Cleveland Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel is a graduate of Western Kentucky University.

Sun Belt Conference Team News & Notes

Arkansas State Red Wolves
Offensively, Ryan Aplin (QB), Derek Lawson (RB) and Allen Muse (WR) all made their first career start, while J.T. Jordan (TE) made his first start this season against Florida Atlantic.  Defensively, Nathan Herrold (LB) and Jeremy Gibson (DE) both made their first career starts . . . During the FAU game, ASU led at halftime for the third time this season and the first since the Florida International game.  The Red Wolves are now 2-1 in those games . . . ASU's streak of nine games without allowing a 100-yard rusher was snapped.  Entering the game, ASU was one of just eight teams in the nation to not allow a 100-yard rusher . . . Derek Lawson rushed for 67 yards on nine carries, both his second most of the season.  Ryan Aplin rushed for a career-high 82 yards, including a 47 yard run that was the longest of his career and the longest by an ASU player this season.  Aplin also completed 20 passes, threw for 168 yards, recorded a touchdown pass and finished with 250 yards of total offense, all career highs . . . Brandon Thompkins, ASU's leading receiver with 35 receptions and 430 yards, caught at least five passes in a game for the fourth time this season, including the third time over the last five games.  Thompkins needs six more receptions and 81 more yards to tie his single-season career highs . . . ASU's 176 rushing yards against FAU was its most since posting 276 against Florida International on Oct. 24 . . . Redshirt freshman wide receiver Taylor Stockemer caught his first career touchdown pass during the FAU game, hauling in a pass from Aplin from four yards out.  . . . Josh Arauco tied his career high with four field goals made and is now 12-of-14 on the season.  He has made his last eight attempts.  It was the 18th game of his career with multiple field goals and the fourth with four . . . Arauco now needs 15 more points to break the Sun Belt Conference record for points by kicking . . . Redshirt freshman Nathan Herrold recorded a career and team-high 11 tackles during the FAU game . . . The ASU offense needs 239 more passing yards to become the 10th team in school history to pass for 2,000 or more yards . . . Twelve players on the ASU roster are from the state of Tennessee, where ASU plays its upcoming game. 

Florida Atlantic Owls
Florida Atlantic needed a big game to secure its first home victory of the 2009 season.  The Owls had proven their ability on offense, proven it on defense and had had flawless special teams but had not been able to do all three in the same game in 2009. Saturday versus Arkansas State they all came together with a victory that will allow the Owls to keep their long shot quest alive. 

Alfred Morris rushed for 117 yards, four yards above ASU's average rushing yards allowed. The redshirt sophomore was credited with three of the team's five scores, two by ground and one by air.

Jeff Van Camp was perfect on the night with an 18-for-27 performance, 67 percent, for 242 yards and three touchdown passes. His longest completion was a 52 yard connection to Jason Harmon. The redshirt junior earned his first victory under center.

Defensively, the Owls allowed just four field goals and several goal line stands through 59 minutes of play. True freshman David Hinds was a big part of the defensive performance at middle linebacker with 12 total tackles, two for a loss of 14 yards. His performance also included breaking up two passes and a sack for a loss of 10. While Hinds drew his first start, Marcus Bartels continued to play lights out with a career high 14 tackles, nine solo. As a team, FAU recorded three sacks.

FIU Golden Panthers
FIU turned an interception, a blocked punt and a fumble recovery into 21 second-half points to complete a 35-28 come-from-behind homecoming victory over North Texas Saturday. Though the Mean Green outgained FIU 513-268 and held the ball for more than 39 minutes, three big plays were all the Panthers needed to escape with their second straight home win.

Peter Riley returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown, Jonathan Faucher blocked a punt and Anthony Gaitor forced a fumble to help FIU shut UNT out in the second half.

Even though not much was working for the FIU offense, the running game got going, sparked by Kendall Berry and the "wildcat" formation. Berry carried the ball 14 times for 82 yards and two scores. Over the last three contests, Berry has racked up 208 yards and six touchdowns. Senior Daunte Owens also had a big game on the ground, picking up 79 yards on just eight carries. However, the biggest run of the game came from backup quarterback Wayne Younger, who took off on third and one and scored on a 23-yard game-winning touchdown with 5:08 to go in the game.

On defense, Aaron Davis racked up 13 tackles, nine of them unassisted and one of them for a loss. Davis led an FIU defense that kept North Texas' high-powered offense off the scoreboard in the second half, helping FIU erase the halftime deficit to beat the Mean Green on Homecoming. In his three starts this season, Davis has amassed 35 tackles, 27 of them solo and 3.5 behind the line of scrimmage.

Up next for the Panthers is a bus trip up the road to Gainesville for a meeting with top-ranked and defending national champions Florida.

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe will meet for the 45th time, with the Warhawks holding a slight 23-21 edge in the series (Bustle 2-5).  Coach Bustle has lost three games in this series by a total of 12 points, including back-to-back three-point losses in 2003-04.  ULL has won the last two meetings in Monroe, but lost the last three meetings in Lafayette.  The Cajuns are 10-11 all-time in Lafayette and 7-7 all-time at Cajun Field (Bustle 0-3).  In last season's win in Monroe, the Cajuns set a new school record for most net rushing yards (556)...ULL attempts to win six games for the fourth time in the last five seasons (last done at ULL from 1986-89).

Against Middle Tennessee, Vernon Wolfe scored his first career touchdown on a seven-yard reception and Chris Masson was 25-of-43 (58%) for 220 yards, his fifth straight game with 200+ yards passing and his second straight game with at least 40 attempts. Masson scored his team-leading sixth rushing touchdown.

After building a 17-14 lead at the half behind 218 yards of offense, the Cajuns were shutout in the second half and managed only 75 yards of offense.  The team had just two penalties for 19 yards.  Louis Lee had kick returns of 34 and 40 yards, the Cajuns longest two kickoff returns of the season.  Richie Falgout made a career-high six catches.  Jezreel Washington had a career high 11 tackles (10 solos) in his first start of the season.  Hall Davis captured his team-leading third sack.  LaQuincy Williams made his first career block, the Cajuns sixth of the season and 41st in the Coach Bustle era.

The Cajuns are 96-of-155 passing (61.9%) with seven passing TD's to just one interception in the team's five victories.  ULL is 5-1 this season when the defense forces at least two turnovers.  The Cajuns have allowed only one sack in their five victories.  In games lost, ULL is 34% on third down (53% by opponent), but in games won, ULL is 53% on third down (35% by opponent).

ULM Warhawks
Trey Revell's 9-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter was his fourth of his career. It was also the 33rd rushing touchdown by a quarterback during the Charlie Weatherbie era.

Western Kentucky's 25-yard rush in the second quarter was just the fifth rushing play of more than 20 yards that the Warhawk defense has given up this season.

Frank Goodin moved into second place on the ULM career and single-season rushing touchdown lists with 13 and 22, respectively. He also moved into fourth on the career rushing yardage list after running for a career-high 169 yards on 19 carries. He is just four yards shy of 10th on the ULM single-season rushing list with 978 yards.

Cardia Jackson finished Saturday's game with 15 tackles. He pushed his career total to 365, which set the all-time Sun Belt mark. Jackson also moved into sixth place on the all-time ULM career tackles list and two tackles shy of tying fifth place.

LaGregory Sapp has made 33 receptions over the past seven games for a total of 663 yards, for an average of 94.7 yards per game during over the past seven contests. Sapp's 33 yards pushed his season total to 784 receiving yards and into sole possession of 10th place on the ULM single-season receiving yards list.

Aaron Morgan recorded one sack against WKU, giving him 21 for his career and eight on the season. His 21 sacks moves him within a half-a-sack of Brandon Guillory (2002-05) for fourth-place in school history. His eight sacks this season is tied for the 10th-most in school history.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
Know for always being around the football, Jeremy Kellem has played 34 career games and has forced 22 turnovers. He has collected seven interceptions, four fumble recoveries, seven forced fumbles and four blocked punts. In his last four games, Kellem has come up with five turnovers (two blocked punts, two forced fumbles, one interception).

Dwight Dasher went over the 200-yard passing mark for the seventh time this season and the first since throwing for 355 yards against WKU October 24. Dasher has now gone over the 200-yard barrier nine times in his career to rank sixth all-time. The record of 18 games is held by Wes Counts and Clint Marks.

Dasher registered 308 yards of total offense against ULL he broke the single-season record for total offense. Dasher ran his season total to 3,040 yards to break the previous mark of 2,862 by Clint Marks in 2004.

With two field goals against ULL, Alan Gendreau has now made 16 three-pointers on the season. The 16 field goals are now the second most in a single season at Middle Tennessee as Gendreau passed Colby Smith for second place. The single-season record is 17 set by Matt Crews in 1990. Gendreau is now 16-for-18 on the season.

For the first time since 2002, a Middle Tennessee player went over the 100-yard rushing mark in three consecutive games when D.D. Kyles accomplished the feat Saturday. The last Blue Raider to record three straight 100 yard games was Dwone Hicks and he did it in five straight outings. Kyles rushed for 177 yards on 20 carries against ULL and now has 427 yards the past three games.

North Texas Mean Green
North Texas scored a touchdown on its opening possession of the game which is the fourth time it has done that this season.  The Mean Green scored touchdowns on its first possession in wins over Ball State and Western Kentucky and also against Florida Atlantic

Quarterback Riley Dodge's 38-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was the longest rush for him this year and the seventh-longest rush by a North Texas player this season.

The North Texas defense forced a punt on FIU's first possession of the game which was the first time in three games that a Mean Green opponent didn't score a touchdown on its opening drive.

Lance Dunbar rushed for a 42-yard touchdown in the first quarter which was the sixth-longest rush by a North Texas player this season and his 14th rushing (and 16th total) touchdown of the season.

 North Texas scored more points (7) in the first two minutes of the game than it scored in the entire game last week (6).

The 14 points in the first quarter ties the most North Texas has scored in the first quarter this season (Western Kentucky).

North Texas had more rushing yards in the first quarter against FIU (121) than it had in the entire game last week against Louisiana-Monroe. 

Troy Trojans
Quarterback Levi Brown's first quarter interception against Arkansas was his first in 27 quarters ending his streak which was the longest in the nation. He previously had 265 attempts dating back to September 19th against UAB. That interception was in the first quarter as well. Free safety Matt Harris, son of former Dallas Cowboy Cliff Harris, intercepted Brown on the long pass attempt intended for Chip Reeves.

Arkansas' first quarter 7-0 lead marked the first time Troy had trailed after the opening quarter since the last trip to the state of Arkansas. Arkansas State led Troy after one quarter 10-3 in the fourth game of the season. Troy won that game 30-27.

Boris Lee got his first sack of the season in the second quarter against Arkansas. The sack against Ryan Mallett forced the Razorbacks into a fourth and 22 and a Razorback punt.

Receiver Jason Bruce caught his first career touchdown pass for Troy's first touchdown of the game. The 3-yard touchdown pass from Levi Brown to Bruce was originally credited to Chip Reeves, but was corrected after a look at the replay. The TD pass for Brown was the 31st of his career, moving him into sole possession of fifth on the Troy career list.

Levi Brown's second quarter interception by linebacker Jerry Franklin marked the first time he has thrown two picks in a game since the season opening loss at Bowling Green. The pick was recorded on a deflection off receiver Tebiarus Gill. Brown was intercepted for a third time on the final play of the half on a "Hail Mary" pass into the end zone. Brown's three picks against Arkansas were a career-high and were the most by a Troy QB since Omar Haugabook was intercepted four times by North Texas on Oct. 20, 2007.

WKU Hilltoppers
Sophomore kicker Casey Tinius tied a school record with four field goals last week at Louisiana-Monroe.  Tinius was good from 43, 41, 35 and 39 - hitting all four field goals on consecutive drives in the second quarter to give the Hilltoppers a halftime lead.  The 43-yard kick also tied a career long.

WKU held a 12-7 lead at haltime against ULM, marking the first time in 2009 that the Hilltoppers went into the locker room ahead at intermission.  The seven points allowed in the first 30 minutes were the fewest the Toppers had allowed in any half this season.

Sophomore running back Bobby Rainey rushed for a career-high 134 yards on 16 carries against the Warhawks - marking the second time this season that he has gone for over 100 yards on the ground.

Jake Gaebler also added to his school-record receiving totals, hauling in a game-high seven catches for 106 yards.  He now has 160 career catches, and has racked up over 100 receiving yards twice in the last four games.

The Hilltoppers will have their second bye week of the season this Saturday, before returning to action on Nov. 21 at Florida Atlantic.

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