The 2024 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 24th season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The season began on August 31, 2024, and concluded with the Conference Championship Game on December 7, 2024. The season was part of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The conference consisted of 14 football member split into two divisions. The conference released its full season schedule on March 1, 2024.
Preseason
Preseason Media Poll The SBC released its preseason poll on July 22. Appalachian State was named the favorite to win the East Division, while Texas State was named the favorite to win the West Division.
East 1 Appalachian State 96 (12) 2 James Madison 79 (2) 3 Coastal Carolina 67 4 Georgia Southern 50 5 Marshall 49 6 Old Dominion 32 7 Georgia State 19 West 1 Texas State 92 (9) 2 Troy 68 (4) 3 Louisiana 66 (1) 4 Arkansas State 65 5 South Alabama 54 6 Southern Miss 31 7 Louisiana–Monroe 16
Preseason All-Conference teams Offensive Player of the Year: Joey Aguilar (Senior, Appalachian State quarterback) Defensive Player of the Year: Jason Henderson (Senior, Old Dominion, linebacker)
Position Player Team First Team Offense QB Joey Aguilar Appalachian State QB Jordan McCloud Texas State RB Jalen White Georgia Southern RB Ismail Mahdi Texas State OL Jacob Bayer Arkansas State OL Makilan Thomas Arkansas State OL Cole Potts James Madison OL A. J. Gillie Georgia Southern OL Daniel King Troy TE Eli Wilson Appalachian State WR Kaedin Robinson Appalachian State WR Derwin Burgess Jr Georgia Southern WR Joey Hobert Texas State First Team Defense DL Santana Hopper Appalachian State DL Nate Martey Arkansas State DL Justin Rhodes Georgia Southern DL Isaac Walker Georgia Southern LB Nate Johnson Appalachian State LB Marques Watson-Trent Georgia Southern LB Jason Henderson Old Dominion LB Ben Bell Texas State DB Jordan Favors Appalachian State DB Ethan Johnson Appalachian State DB Gavin Pringle Georgia Southern DB Jaden Voisin South Alabama First Team Special Teams K Mason Shipley Texas State P Ryan Hanson James Madison RS Zylan Perry Louisiana AP Ismail Mahdi Texas State
Position Player Team Second Team Offense QB Jaylen Raynor Arkansas State RB Kanye Roberts Appalachian State RB Ja'Quez Cross Arkansas State OL Chandler Strong Georgia Southern OL Pichon Wimbley Georgia Southern OL Tyshawn Wyatt James Madison OL Logan Osburn Marshall OL Eli Russ Troy TE Kendall Karr Coastal Carolina WR Courtney Jackson Arkansas State WR Corey Rucker Arkansas State WR Jamaal Pritchett South Alabama WR Kole Wilson Texas State Second Team Defense DL Will Whitson Coastal Carolina DL Eric O'Neill James Madison DL Jordan Lawson Louisiana DL Denzel Lowry Old Domimion DL Wy'Kevious Thomas South Alabama LB Charles Willekes Arkansas State LB Kevin Swint Georgia Southern LB Jordan Veneziale Georgia State LB KC Ossai Louisiana DB T. J. Smith Georgia Southern DB Chauncey Logan James Madison DB Tyrone Lewis Jr. Louisiana DB Kaleb Culp Texas State Second Team Special Teams K Michael Hughes Appalachian State P Robert Cole Troy RS DeAndre Buchanan Georgia Southern AP Ja'Quez Cross Arkansas State
Head coaches On November 26, 2023, Louisiana–Monroe announced that it had fired head coach Terry Bowden after 3 seasons with the team. On December 5, 2023, the school announced that former UAB head coach Bryant Vincent would take over as the new head coach for 2024. On November 30, 2023, James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti announced that he would leave the school to take the head coach position at Indiana for the 2024 season. Assistant head coach and offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski was named the acting head coach for James Madison's bowl game. On December 7, 2023, the school announced that Bob Chesney would become the new head coach for 2024. Chesney had previously been head coach at Holy Cross. On December 8. 2023, Troy head coach Jon Sumrall was announced as the new head coach of Tulane in the American Athletic Conference for the 2024 season. The school's defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato was named the interim head coach. On December 18, 2023, Troy announced Gerad Parker as the new head coach for 2024. Parker was previously the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame. On January 15, South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack was hired as the defensive coordinator at Alabama. South Alabama promoted their offensive coordinator Major Applewhite to the head coach position to replace Wommack. On February 15, Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott resigned from his position to join South Carolina as a Tight Ends coach On February 23, Georgia State named Dell McGee as the new head coach. McGee had previously been the running backs coach at Georgia.
Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Sun Belt record Sun Belt titles Appalachian State Shawn Clark Appalachian State (OL coach) 5 0 Arkansas State Butch Jones Alabama (assistant coach) 4 0 Coastal Carolina Tim Beck NC State (offensive coordinator) 2 0 Georgia Southern Clay Helton USC (head coach) 3 0 Georgia State Dell McGee Georgia (RB coach/run game coordinator) 1 0 James Madison Bob Chesney Holy Cross (head coach) 1 0 Louisiana Michael Desormeaux Louisiana (co-offensive coordinator) 3 0 Louisiana–Monroe Bryant Vincent New Mexico (offensive coordinator) 1 0 Marshall Charles Huff Alabama (associate head coach) 4 0 Old Dominion Ricky Rahne Penn State (offensive coordinator) 5 0 South Alabama Major Applewhite South Alabama (offensive coordinator) 1 0 Southern Miss Will Hall Tulane (offensive coordinator) 4 0 Texas State G. J. Kinne Incarnate Word (head coach) 2 0 Troy Gerad Parker Notre Dame (offensive coordinator) 1 0
Mid-season changes On October 20, Southern Miss announced that they had fired head coach Will Hall after starting the season with a 1–6 record. Assistant head coach Reed Stringer was named the interim head coach. On December 8, Southern Miss announced that they had hired Charles Huff away from Marshall to be their head coach in 2025. Marshall's associate head coach Telly Lockette was named the interim head coach for Marshall's bowl game.
Post-season changes On December 2, Appalachian State announced that they had fired head coach Shawn Clark. On December 7, Appalachian State announced Dowell Loggains as the new head coach. Loggains had previously been the offensive coordinator at South Carolina. On December 8, Marshall announced Tony Gibson as their new head coach for the 2025 season. Gibson had previously the defensive coordinator at NC State.
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Final Appalachian State AP RV RV C RV RV CFP Not released Arkansas State AP C CFP Not released Coastal Carolina AP C RV CFP Not released Georgia Southern AP C CFP Not released Georgia State AP C CFP Not released James Madison AP RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Louisiana AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Louisiana–Monroe AP C CFP Not released Marshall AP RV RVC RV RV CFP Not released Old Dominion AP C CFP Not released South Alabama AP C CFP Not released Southern Miss AP C CFP Not released Texas State AP C RV RV RV CFP Not released Troy AP C RV CFP Not released
+ Legend Improvement in ranking Drop in ranking Not ranked previous week No change in ranking from previous week RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
Schedule The 2024 schedule was released on March 1, 2024
Index to colors and formattingSun Belt member wonSun Belt member lostSun Belt teams in bold
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Championship Game
Postseason Bowl Games
Legend Sun Belt win Sun Belt loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (CST)Sun Belt teamOpponentScoreAttendance Salute to Veterans Bowl December 14 Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL ESPN 8:00 p.m. South Alabama Western Michigan W 30–23 12,021 Boca Raton Bowl December 18 FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL ESPN 4:30 p.m. James Madison Western Kentucky W 27–17 15,808 New Orleans Bowl December 19 Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, LA ESPN2 6:00 p.m. Georgia Southern Sam Houston L 26–31 13,151 Myrtle Beach Bowl December 23 Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC ESPN 10:00 a.m. Coastal Carolina UTSA L 15–44 8,164 68 Ventures Bowl December 26 Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL ESPN 8:00 p.m. Arkansas State Bowling Green W 38–31 19,582 New Mexico Bowl December 28 University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM ESPN 1:15 p.m. Louisiana TCU L 3–34 22,827 First Responder Bowl January 3, 2025 Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPN 3:00 p.m. Texas State North Texas W 30–28 28,725
Marshall was originally selected to play in the Independence Bowl against Army. However, Marshall later opted out of the bowl game due to a large number of players entering the NCAA transfer portal, preventing Marshall from being able to field a full team for the bowl.
Head-to-head matchups 2024 Sun Belt head-to-head matchupsTeamAppalachian StateArkansas StateCoastal CarolinaGeorgia SouthernGeorgia StateJames MadisonLouisianaMarshallOld DominionSouth AlabamaSouthern MissTexas StateTroyUL Monroe vs. Appalachian State — × 38–24 29–20 26–33 20–34 34–24 52–37 20–28 48–14 × × × × vs. Arkansas State × — × × 20–27 × 55–19 × 40–32 16–18 28–44 41–9 31–34 21–28 vs. Coastal Carolina24–38 × — 29–9 27–48 39–7 34–24 31–19 37–45 × × × 38–24 × vs. Georgia Southern20–29 × 9–29 — 21–38 14–28 × 23–24 47–19 30–34 × × 28–20 × vs. Georgia State33–26 27–20 48–27 38–21 — 38–7 × 35–20 21–14 × × 44–52 × × vs. James Madison34–20 × 7–39 28–14 7–38 — × 35–33 32–35 × 15–32 × × 21–19 vs. Louisiana24–34 19–55 24–34 × × × — × × 24–22 13–23 17–23 30–51 23–37 vs. Marshall37–52 × 19–31 24–23 20–35 33–35 × — 35–42 × 3–37 × × 23–28 vs. Old Dominion28–20 32–40 45–37 19–47 14–21 35–32 × 42–35 — × × 14–24 × × vs. South Alabama14–48 18–16 × 34–30 × × 22–24 × × — 14–35 45–38 9–25 17–46 vs. Southern Miss × 44–28 × × × 32–15 23–13 37–3 × 35–14 — 58–3 52–20 38–21 vs. Texas State × 9–41 × × 52–44 × 23–17 × 24–14 38–45 3–58 — 17–38 17–38 vs. Troy × 34–31 24–38 20–28 × × 51–30 × × 25–9 20–52 38–17 — 13–9 vs. UL Monroe × 28–21 × × × 19–21 37–23 28–23 × 46–17 21–38 38–17 9–13 —Total 3–5 5–3 3–5 6–2 1–7 4–4 7–1 7–1 4–4 5–3 0–8 5–3 3–5 3–5APPARSTCCUGASOGASTJMUULMRSHODUUSAUSMTXSTTROYULM × – Matchup not played in 2024 Updated after the season.
Sun Belt records vs other conferences
2024–2025 records against non-conference foes:
Power 4 Conferences RecordACC2–5Big Ten0–3Big 120–2Notre Dame0–0SEC1–6Power 4 Total3–16Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican6–5C-USA2–2Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)0–1MAC3–1Mountain West1–2Pac-120–0Other FBS Total12–11FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision13–0Total Non-Conference Record28–27
Sun Belt vs Power 5 matchups This is a list of games the Sun Belt has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.