The 2002 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 2nd college football season for the Sun Belt Conference. During the 2002 season, seven schools competed in Sun Belt football: Arkansas State, Idaho, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State and North Texas.
The conference title was won by North Texas, in its second year as both a Sun Belt member, making them the first team to go back-to-back in Sun Belt Conference history.
Coaches Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school Sun Belt record Arkansas State Steve Roberts 0 47–35–1 0–0 0–0 Idaho Tom Cable 1 6–16 6–16 1–5 Louisiana–Lafayette Rickey Bustle 0 0–0 0–0 0–0 Louisiana–Monroe Bobby Keasler 3 86–59–2 8–25 2–4 Middle Tennessee Andy McCollum 3 17–16 17–16 5–1 New Mexico State Tony Samuel 5 19–37 19–37 4–2 North Texas Darrell Dickey 4 13–32 13–32 5–1
Bowl games In 2002, the SBC placed one team in bowl games through their tie-ins: North Texas. New Mexico State was also bowl-eligible but did not receive a bowl invitation.
Note: All times are local Bowl Date SBC team (Record) Opponent (Record) Site TV Result Attendance New Orleans Bowl December 17 North Texas (7-5) Cincinnati (7-6) Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA ESPN2 W 24–19 19,024
Awards and honors Players of the Year
2002 Sun Belt Player of the Year awards AwardPlayerSchoolPlayer of the YearBrandon KennedyNorth TexasOffensive Player of the YearDanny SmithArkansas StateDefensive Player of the YearBrandon KennedyNorth TexasFreshman of the YearPaul DombrowskiNew Mexico StateNewcomer of the YearJonathan BurkeArkansas StateCoach of the YearDarrell DickeyNorth Texas
All-Conference teams
Position Player Team First-team Offense QB Brian Lindgren Idaho RB Danny Smith* Arkansas State Kevin Galbreath* North Texas WR Fred Stamps UL Lafayette Mack Vincent UL Monroe TE Jeff Muenchow* North Texas OL Shalimar Jackson* New Mexico State Garry Johnson Arkansas State Brandon Westbrook Middle Tennessee J. R. Randle North Texas Nick Zuñiga North Texas First-team Defense DL Brandon Kennedy* North Texas Jon Bradley Arkansas State Corey Williams Arkansas State Darrell Daniels North Texas LB Jordan Kramer Idaho Taylor Casey North Texas Cody Spencer North Texas DB Charles Tillman* UL Lafayette Siddeeq Shabazz* New Mexico State Craig Jones North Texas Don McGee North Texas First-team Special Teams K Dario Aguiniga* New Mexico State P Robert Billings Middle Tennessee RS James Hickenbotham Arkansas State All-purpose ReShard Lee Middle Tennessee * = Denotes unanimous selection
Position Player Team Second-team Offense QB Paul Dombrowski New Mexico State RB Dwone Hicks Middle Tennessee Bryant Jacobs UL Monroe WR Josh Jelmberg Idaho Tyrone Calico Middle Tennessee TE Josh Joerg UL Lafayette OL John Crossley Arkansas State Jonathon Raush UL Lafayette Glen Elarbee Middle Tennessee B. J. Van Briesen New Mexico State Matt Turney North Texas Second-team Defense DL Walter Sampson UL Lafayette John Thompson UL Monroe Adrian Awasom North Texas Chris McIver North Texas LB Les Echols Arkansas State Carlos Hughes UL Monroe Rich Glover New Mexico State DB Chuck Allen Arkansas State Jonathan Burke Arkansas State Chris Harris UL Monroe Jonas Buckles North Texas Second-team Special Teams K Brian Kelly Middle Tennessee P Brad Kadlubar North Texas RS Cedric Thompson Idaho All-purpose JaMal Branch North Texas
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