Editing Sun Belt Conference (section)

===Early 2010s realignment===
{{Main|2010–2013 Sun Belt Conference realignment}}
{{See also|2010–2013 Conference USA realignment|2010–2013 Western Athletic Conference realignment}}
[[File:Sun Belt Conference 2001 logo.svg|thumb|200px|The former Sun Belt Conference logo used until its rebranding in 2013]]
On April 9, 2012, Georgia State, one of the founding members of the Sun Belt Conference, announced that it would be returning to the conference as a full member in 2013. As part of the move, the [[Georgia State Panthers football|football program]] began a transition from FCS to FBS in the 2012 season; it played a full Sun Belt schedule as a "transitional" FBS member in 2013, and became a full FBS member, with bowl eligibility, in 2014.<ref name="McMurphy 2012-04-07">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/brett-mcmurphy/18373785/georgia-state-to-sun-belt-announcement-monday|title=Sun Belt adding Georgia State|first=Brett|last=McMurphy|work=College Football Insider|publisher=CBS Sports|date=April 7, 2012|access-date=April 9, 2012}}</ref> On May 2, 2012, [[Texas State University]] announced it would leave the [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]] after just one year and join the Sun Belt in July 2013 to begin play for the 2013–14 academic year. At the press conference to announce Texas State's addition, Sun Belt Commissioner [[Karl Benson]] also hinted that more changes could be on the way for the conference.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/ncaa/05/02/sun-belt-texas-state.ap/index.html?sct=cf_t2_a3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605151141/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/ncaa/05/02/sun-belt-texas-state.ap/index.html?sct=cf_t2_a3|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 5, 2012|title=Texas State will leave WAC, join Sun Belt in 2013–14|date=May 2, 2012|access-date=May 2, 2012|magazine=Sports Illustrated}}</ref> On May 25, 2012, the conference announced that the [[University of Texas at Arlington]] (a non-football member) had accepted an invitation to join the conference and would become a full member by 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/dallas/story/_/id/7969941|title=University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks to join Sun Belt Conference in 2013|date=25 May 2012|publisher=ESPN|access-date=May 29, 2015}}</ref>

On May 4, 2012, FIU and North Texas announced that they would be leaving the Sun Belt for [[Conference USA]] on July 1, 2013 as part of a Conference USA expansion effort involving four other schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conferenceusa.com/genrel/050412aab.html|title=Conference USA Adds Five New Members|work=Conferenceusa.com|access-date=May 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510200529/http://www.conferenceusa.com/genrel/050412aab.html|archive-date=May 10, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> On November 29, 2012, Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee State announced that they would also leave the Sun Belt for Conference USA.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8686775/florida-atlantic-owls-middle-tennessee-state-blue-raiders-join-conference-usa|title=C-USA adds FAU, Middle Tennessee State|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=November 29, 2012|first=Brett|last=McMurphy|access-date=May 29, 2015}}</ref> The move for Florida Atlantic and MTSU was originally scheduled to take place in 2014; however, the two schools announced on January 28, 2013 that they would leave for [[Conference USA]] a year early, departing on July 1, 2013 with FIU and North Texas. Western Kentucky also accepted an invitation to join Conference USA on April 1, 2013, and departed from the Sun Belt on July 1, 2014.<ref>[http://www.wkusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5400&ATCLID=207019336] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406145221/http://www.wkusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5400&ATCLID=207019336|date=April 6, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Sun Belt Conference logo.svg|thumb|200px|The former Sun Belt Conference logo used from 2013 to 2020]]
These moves depleted the Sun Belt and made the need to expand their membership more urgent than ever, as the Sun Belt was left with ten full members and only eight members that sponsor football (the minimum number required for a conference to sponsor football at the FBS level) for the 2013 season. [[Appalachian State University]] accepted an invitation on March 27, 2013 to join the Sun Belt effective July 1, 2014.<ref>[http://www.sunbeltsports.org/General/Article/tabid/1069/Article/19992/Appalachian-State-to-Join-Sun-Belt-Conference-in-2014.aspx] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003628/http://www.sunbeltsports.org/General/Article/tabid/1069/Article/19992/Appalachian-State-to-Join-Sun-Belt-Conference-in-2014.aspx|date=December 3, 2013}}</ref> [[Georgia Southern University]] accepted a similar Sun Belt invitation at the same time as Appalachian State.<ref>[http://www.sunbeltsports.org/General/Article/tabid/1069//Article/19989/Title/georgia-southern-to-join-sun-belt-conference-in-2014.aspx] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003153/http://www.sunbeltsports.org/General/Article/tabid/1069//Article/19989/Title/georgia-southern-to-join-sun-belt-conference-in-2014.aspx|date=December 3, 2013}}</ref> Appalachian State and Georgia Southern both joined for all sports from the [[Southern Conference]] on July 1, 2014. Both schools had been very successful within the Football Championship Subdivision, combining to win nine national championships since 1985. They upgraded to the Football Bowl Subdivision, and were eligible for Sun Belt conference championships in 2014, but were not postseason-eligible in football until 2015.

The Sun Belt also granted football-only invites to [[University of Idaho|Idaho]] and [[New Mexico State University|New Mexico State]] on March 28, 2013.<ref>[http://www.sunbeltsports.org/General/Article/tabid/1069//Article/19996/Title/idaho-and-new-mexico-state-to-join-sun-belt-conference-as-football-members-in-2.aspx] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703201423/http://www.sunbeltsports.org/General/Article/tabid/1069//Article/19996/Title/idaho-and-new-mexico-state-to-join-sun-belt-conference-as-football-members-in-2.aspx|date=July 3, 2013}}</ref> Idaho and New Mexico State were both former Sun Belt members (Idaho for football only, New Mexico State for all sports) from 2001 to 2005. The large number of defections from the [[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]] forced that conference to drop football after the 2012 season. Idaho and New Mexico State were the only remaining WAC members that sponsored football, and competed as FBS independents for the 2013 season before competing in the Sun Belt in 2014. Idaho is located by far the farthest away from the other Sun Belt conference members, but it was rejected by the [[Mountain West Conference]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collegefootball.ap.org/romenews-tribune/content/board-approves-idaho-football-going-independent|title=Board approves Idaho football going independent|work=College Football}}</ref> leaving it with no other choice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/mar/27/idaho-football-returning-sun-belt-2014/|title=Idaho football returning to Sun Belt in 2014 – Spokesman.com – March 27, 2013|work=Spokesman.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/06/29/3258682/rekindling-rivalries-will-help.html|title=Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell news by Idaho Statesman|work=Idaho Statesman}}</ref>

On September 1, 2015, [[Coastal Carolina University]] accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference. The university joined in all sports except for football starting July 1, 2016, with football joining in 2017.<ref name="coastal_sunbelt">{{cite press release|url=http://www.bigsouthsports.com/entries/statement-from-big-south-commissioner-kyle-b-kallander-on-coastal-carolina|title=Statement from Big South Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander on Coastal Carolina|publisher=[[Big South Conference]]|date=September 1, 2015|access-date=September 1, 2015|archive-date=September 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903235638/http://www.bigsouthsports.com/entries/statement-from-big-south-commissioner-kyle-b-kallander-on-coastal-carolina|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The conference announced on March 1, 2016, that the affiliation agreement with Idaho and New Mexico State would not be extended past the 2017 season.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Sun Belt Football to Be 10 Teams in 2018|url=http://sunbeltsports.org/news/2016/3/1/FB_0301161055.aspx|publisher=Sun Belt Conference|date=March 1, 2016|access-date=March 1, 2016}}</ref>

The conference announced that beginning in 2018, the conference (10 teams) would be divided into two divisions for football: East: [[Appalachian State Mountaineers football|Appalachian State]], [[Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football|Coastal Carolina]], [[Georgia Southern Eagles football|Georgia Southern]], [[Georgia State Panthers football|Georgia State]], and [[Troy Trojans football|Troy]]; West: [[Arkansas State Red Wolves football|Arkansas State]], [[Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football|Louisiana]], [[Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football|Louisiana–Monroe]], [[South Alabama Jaguars football|South Alabama]], and [[Texas State Bobcats football|Texas State]]. The winner of each division will meet in the [[Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game|Sun Belt Championship game]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/sun-belt-announces-football-divisions-starting-in-2018-collaborative-replay-system/|title=Sun Belt announces football divisions for 2018, new collaborative replay system|work=CBS Sports|access-date=May 23, 2017|language=en}}</ref>