The Sun Belt Conference sponsors nine men's sports and 10 women's sports. This is a list of conference champions for each sport.
Members All dates of membership reflect the calendar years of entry and departure. Since all past Sun Belt associate members participated only in fall sports, the year of departure is the calendar year after the final (planned) season of competition.
Full members Appalachian State Arkansas State Coastal Carolina Georgia Southern Georgia State James Madison Louisiana Louisiana–Monroe Marshall Old Dominion South Alabama Southern Miss Texas State Troy
Affiliate members Charleston – beach volleyball Kentucky – men's soccer Mercer – beach volleyball South Carolina – men's soccer UCF – men's soccer UNCW – beach volleyball West Virginia – men's soccer
Former full members UAB, 1976–1991 Central Florida, 1991–1992 Denver, 1999–2012 FIU, 1998–2013 Florida Atlantic, 2005–2013 Jacksonville, 1978–1998 Lamar, 1991–1998 Little Rock, 1991–2022 Louisiana Tech, 1991–2001 Middle Tennessee, 2000–2013 New Mexico State, 2000–2005 UNO, 1976–1980; 1991–2010 UNC-Charlotte, 1976–1991 North Texas, 2000–2013 South Florida, 1976–1991 UT Arlington, 2013–2022 UT Pan American, 1991–1998 VCU, 1979–1991 Western Kentucky, 1982–2014
Former affiliate members Central Arkansas – men's soccer, 2019–2021 Hartwick – men's soccer, 2014–2018 Howard – men's soccer, 2014–2020 Idaho – football, 2001–2005, 2014–2018 New Mexico State – football, 2014–2018 NJIT – men's soccer, 2014–2016 Stephen F. Austin – beach volleyball, 2022–2024 Utah State – football, 2003–2005
Vic Bubas Cup The Vic Bubas Cup (formerly the Sun Belt Cup) is the Sun Belt's all-sports championship trophy, named after the Sun Belt's first commissioner Vic Bubas. The reigning champion is South Alabama, who won their record 17th Bubas Cup in the 2025–26 season.
Scoring As of 2026–27, the scoring system is as follows: For sports with regular season conference competition (baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball, and volleyball), cup points are awarded based on each teams' regular season finish. Standings are determined by winning percentage in conference games for all sports besides men's and women's soccer, in which standings are determined by points, with three points given for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. For sports without regular season competition (cross country, golf, track and field, and tennis), points are awarded based on Sun Belt Tournament finish. The number of points for each sport is based on the number of schools in the conference which sponsor that sport. For example, the men's basketball regular season champion receives 14 points but the men's cross country champion only receives 9. While affiliate members are ineligible for the award and cannot receive points, sports with affiliate members count the affiliate members in the formula for awarding points. For example, as of 2026, the men's soccer regular season champion receives 10 points, as long as they are a full member of the conference, because men's soccer is sponsored by six full members and four affiliate members. If two or more teams are tied for the same position in a sport's standings, they split the points for that position. For example, if two teams are tied for first in a sport that awards 14 points, each receives 13.5 points. For sports with both a regular season conference competition and a conference tournament, the conference tournament winner receives one additional point. For sports with divisions (baseball, basketball, football, and volleyball), points are awarded based on overall conference record regardless of divisional finish. If necessary, the tiebreaker is the number of conference titles each school won that season. If this is also tied then the teams involved are declared co-champions.
History The early years of the competition were largely dominated by the South Florida Bulls, who won 8 of the first 10 Vic Bubas Cups. After South Florida left the conference following their 9th Cup win after the 1990 season, South Alabama took over as the dominant force in the conference, winning 8 of the next 10 competitions. Between 2001 and 2014, the only teams to win the Cup were Middle Tennessee (with 9) and Western Kentucky (with 5). Middle Tennessee left the conference after 2013 and Western Kentucky did the same the following year, which paved the way for South Alabama to retake control of the Cup for each of the next four seasons. After that, South Alabama and Texas State combined to win seven of the next eight Cups, South Alabama winning three and Texas State winning four, with Texas State leaving the conference for the Pac-12 following the 2025–26 season.
Trophy The trophy itself has gone through four different designs. The first was a blue and white porcelain vase and all others have been a Waterford Crystal vase (each version becoming more elaborate than the version prior). The current design was introduced during the 2022–23 season.
Winners YearWinner 1976–77 Jacksonville* 1977–78 South Florida* 1978–79 South Florida* 1979–80South Florida* 1980–81South Florida* 1981–82South Florida* 1982–83Old Dominion 1983–84South Florida* 1984–85South Florida* 1985–86South Florida* 1986–87 Western Kentucky* 1987–88 South Alabama 1988–89South Alabama 1989–90South Florida* 1990–91South Alabama 1991–92South Alabama1992–93South Alabama1993–94South Alabama1994–95Arkansas State1995–96South Alabama1996–97South Alabama1997–98Arkansas State1998–99South Alabama1999–2000South Alabama2000–01Middle Tennessee*2001–02Western Kentucky*2002–03Western Kentucky*2003–04Middle Tennessee*2004–05Middle Tennessee*2005–06Western Kentucky*2006–07Middle Tennessee*2007–08Western Kentucky*2008–09Middle Tennessee*2009–10Middle Tennessee*2010–11Middle Tennessee*2011–12Middle Tennessee*2012–13Middle Tennessee*2013–14Western Kentucky*2014–15South Alabama2015–16South Alabama2016–17South Alabama2017–18South Alabama2018–19Texas State*2019–20Arkansas State2020–21South Alabama2021–22Texas State*2022–23South Alabama2023–24Texas State*2024–25Texas State*2025–26South Alabama
TeamNumber of Bubas CupsSouth Alabama17South Florida*9Middle Tennessee*Western Kentucky*6Texas State*4Arkansas State3Jacksonville*1Old Dominion
*– No longer members of the Sun Belt Conference. Old Dominion left the SBC in 1991 and returned in 2022.
Current champions Sport Regular Season Champion Postseason Champion Baseball Southern Miss (2026) Southern Miss (2026) Football James Madison (2025) James Madison (2025) Men's Basketball Troy (2025–26) Troy (2025–26) Men's Cross Country – Appalachian State (2026) Men's Golf – Arkansas State (2026) Men's Soccer Kentucky (2025) UCF (2025) Men's Indoor Track and Field – Texas State (2025–26) Men's Outdoor Track and Field – Texas State (2026) Men's Tennis – Old Dominion (2026) Women's Basketball Georgia Southern (2025–26) James Madison (2025–26) Beach Volleyball – Georgia State (2026) Women's Cross Country – Appalachian State (2025) Women's Golf – ULM (2026) Women's Soccer ULM (2025) Texas State (2025) Softball ULM (2026) South Alabama (2026) Women's Tennis – Old Dominion (2026) Women's Indoor Track and Field – Texas State (2025–26) Women's Outdoor Track and Field – Texas State (2026) Volleyball James Madison (2025) Arkansas State (2025)
Baseball
The Sun Belt Conference has sponsored an annual baseball tournament to determine the conference winner and automatic NCAA Division I Tournament host since 1978. South Alabama has won the most championships, at 13. The Sun Belt also has imposed several seasons under divisional structure (1981-1994; 2016-2021). In 2022, the structure reverted back to standard structure (1978-1980; 1995-2015; 2022-present). SeasonTournament ChampionRegular Season Champion1978New OrleansSouth Alabama1979 New Orleans1980 South Alabama1981South Alabama (T & South Division) Alabama–Birmingham (North Division)1982South Florida (T & South Division)1983 South Alabama (T & West Division)Old Dominion (East Division1984UNC Charlotte (East Division)1985Old Dominion (T & East Division)Western Kentucky (West Division)1986South Florida (T & West Division)Jacksonville (East Division)1987South Alabama (T & West Division)Old Dominion (East Division)1988Virginia Commonwealth (T & East Division)Western Kentucky (West Division)1989Jacksonville (T & East Division)South Florida (West Division)1990South FloridaJacksonville (East Division)South Alabama (West Division)1991Alabama–BirminghamJacksonville (East Division)South Alabama (West Division)1992South Alabama (T & East Division)Louisiana Tech (West Division)1993Lamar (T & West Division)South Alabama (East Division)1994Arkansas StateSouth Alabama (East Division)Lamar (West Division)1995LamarJacksonville1996 South Alabama1997South AlabamaSouthwestern Louisiana1998Southwestern Louisiana South Alabama1999Florida International2000South AlabamaNew Orleans2001South Alabama (T & Co-RS)Middle Tennessee (Co-RS)2002New Mexico StateSouth Alabama2003Middle Tennessee2004Western KentuckyMiddle Tennessee2005South AlabamaLouisiana–Lafayette2006 Troy2007New OrleansLouisiana–Lafayette2008Western KentuckyLouisiana–Monroe2009 Middle Tennessee State2010Florida InternationalLouisiana–LafayetteFlorida Atlantic2011Arkansas–Little RockTroy2012Louisiana–MonroeFlorida Atlantic2013Florida AtlanticTroySouth Alabama2014 Louisiana–Lafayette2015Louisiana–LafayetteSouth Alabama2016Louisiana–Lafayette (T & Co-RS)South Alabama (Co-RS)2017South AlabamaCoastal Carolina (East Division)UT Arlington (West Division)2018Coastal Carolina (T & East Division)Louisiana (West Division)2019Coastal CarolinaGeorgia Southern (East Division)Texas State (West Division) 2020 None2021South Alabama (T & East Division)Louisiana (West Division)2022LouisianaTexas State2023Southern MissCoastal Carolina2024Southern MissLouisiana2025Coastal CarolinaCoastal Carolina2026Southern MissSouthern Miss
Softball
The Sun Belt Conference has sponsored an annual softball tournament to determine the conference winner and automatic bid to the NCAA Division I softball tournament since 2000. Louisiana has won the most championships, at 18. SeasonTournament ChampionRegular Season Champion2000 Louisiana–Lafayette2001200220032004200520062007 Florida Atlantic2008 Louisiana–Lafayette2009 Louisiana–Lafayette2010 Louisiana–Lafayette2011 Louisiana–Lafayette2012South AlabamaLouisiana–Lafayette2013South AlabamaWestern Kentucky2014 Louisiana–Lafayette2015South AlabamaLouisiana–Lafayette2016 Louisiana–Lafayette2017 Louisiana–Lafayette2018 Texas State2019 Louisiana 2020 None2021 Louisiana2022 Louisiana2023 Louisiana2024Texas StateLouisiana2025Coastal CarolinaTexas State2026South AlabamaLouisiana–Monroe
Basketball
Since 2020–21, the Sun Belt Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments, held in early March, has involved all conference members and is played entirely in Pensacola, Florida. First- and second-round games are played at Hartsell Arena on the campus of Pensacola State College and the Pensacola Bay Center, with semifinals and finals at the Bay Center. Winners of the tournaments earn automatic bids to their respective NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.