The 2025 Sun Belt Conference football season is the 25th season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) as part of the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on August 28, 2025, and will conclude with the Conference Championship Game on December 5, 2025. The conference consists of 14 football members split into two divisions. The conference released its full season schedule on February 28, 2025.
Preseason Preseason Media Poll The SBC released its preseason poll on July 21. James Madison was named the favorite to win the East Division, while Louisiana was named the favorite to win the West Division.
East 1 James Madison 94 (11) 2 Georgia Southern 76 (1) 3 Appalachian State 60 4 Coastal Carolina 49 (1) 5 Old Dominion 48 6 Marshall 42 (1) 7 Georgia State 23 West 1 Louisiana 86 (6) 2 Texas State 78 (6) 3 Arkansas State 64 (1) 4 South Alabama 50 (1) 5 Southern Miss 47 6 Troy 43 7 Louisiana–Monroe 24
Preseason All-Conference teams Offensive Player of the Year: Braylon Braxton (RS Senior, Southern Miss, quarterback) Defensive Player of the Year: Blayne Myrick (RS Junior, South Alabama, linebacker) Special Teams Player of the Year: Clune Van Andel (Junior, Arkansas State, kicker)
Position Player Team First Team Offense QB Braylon Braxton Southern Miss RB George Pettaway James Madison RB Kentrel Bullock South Alabama OL Nick Del Grande Coastal Carolina OL Caleb Cook Georgia Southern OL Pichon Wimbley Georgia Southern OL Pat McMurtrie James Madison OL Zach Barlev Old Dominion TE Toby Payne Marshall WR Corey Rucker Arkansas State WR Josh Dallas Georgia Southern WR Ted Hurst Georgia State First Team Defense DL Bryan Whitehead Arkansas State DL Latrell Bullard Georgia Southern DL Jordan Lawson Louisiana DL Kevontay Wells Louisiana–Monroe DL Brodarius Lewis Southern Miss LB Brendan Harrington Georgia Southern LB Jason Henderson Old Dominion LB Blayne Myrick South Alabama DB Chance Gamble Georgia Southern DB Jacob Thomas James Madison DB Tyree Skipper Louisiana DB Josh Moten Southern Miss First Team Special Teams K Clune Van Andel Arkansas State P Alex Smith Georgia Southern RS Ian Foster Southern Miss AP Ja'Quez Cross Arkansas State
Position Player Team Second Team Offense QB Alonza Barnett III James Madison RB Ja'Quez Cross Arkansas State RB Bill Davis Louisiana OL Jax Harrington Louisiana OL George Jackson Louisiana OL Jalen Slappy Marshall OL Jordan Davis South Alabama OL Eli Russ Troy TE Kyirin Heath Southern Miss WR Dalton Stroman Appalachian State WR Jameson Tucker Coastal Carolina WR Dalen Cobb Georgia Southern Second Team Defense DL Henry Bryant Georgia State DL Immanuel Bush James Madison DL Kris Trinidad Old Dominion DL Luis Medina Troy LB Shane Bruce Coastal Carolina LB Trent Hendrick James Madison LB Cameron Whitfield Louisiana LB Koa Naotala Old Dominion DB Tracy Hill Jr. Georgia Southern DB DJ Barksdale James Madison DB Wesley Miller South Alabama DB Devin Lafayette Troy Second Team Special Teams K Scott Taylor Renfroe Troy P Aleksi Pulkkinen South Alabama RS Ja'Quez Cross Arkansas State AP George Pettaway James Madison
Head coaches On October 20, 2024, 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, 2024, 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. On December 2, 2024, 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, 2024, Marshall announced Tony Gibson as their new head coach for the 2025 season. Gibson had previously the defensive coordinator at NC State. Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Sun Belt record Sun Belt titles Appalachian State Dowell Loggains South Carolina (Offensive coordinator/QBs coach) 1 0 Arkansas State Butch Jones Alabama (assistant coach) 5 0 Coastal Carolina Tim Beck NC State (offensive coordinator) 3 0 Georgia Southern Clay Helton USC (head coach) 4 0 Georgia State Dell McGee Georgia (RB coach/run game coordinator) 2 0 James Madison Bob Chesney Holy Cross (head coach) 2 0 Louisiana Michael Desormeaux Louisiana (co-offensive coordinator) 4 0 Louisiana–Monroe Bryant Vincent New Mexico (offensive coordinator) 2 0 Marshall Tony Gibson NC State (Defensive coordinator/Linebackers coach) 1 0 Old Dominion Ricky Rahne Penn State (offensive coordinator) 6 0 South Alabama Major Applewhite South Alabama (offensive coordinator) 2 0 Southern Miss Charles Huff Marshall (head coach) 1 1 Texas State G. J. Kinne Incarnate Word (head coach) 3 0 Troy Gerad Parker Notre Dame (offensive coordinator) 2 0
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Final Appalachian State AP C CFP Not released Arkansas State AP C CFP Not released Coastal Carolina AP C CFP Not released Georgia Southern AP C CFP Not released Georgia State AP C CFP Not released James Madison AP RV RV NR RV RV RV 24 21 20 19 19 19C RV RV RV 25 22 21 19 19 20 CFP Not released 25 24 Louisiana AP RV NR C CFP Not released Louisiana–Monroe AP C CFP Not released Marshall AP C CFP Not released Old Dominion AP RVC RV NR RV RV RV CFP Not released South Alabama AP C CFP Not released Southern Miss AP C CFP Not released Texas State AP C CFP Not released Troy AP C 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 2025 schedule was released on February 28, 2025.
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 16 Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL ESPN 8:00 p.m. Troy Jacksonville State L 13–17 15,721 Cure Bowl December 17 Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPN 4:00 p.m. Old Dominion South Florida W 24–10 15,036 68 Ventures Bowl December 17 Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL ESPN 7:30 p.m. Louisiana Delaware L 13–20 17,234 Xbox Bowl December 18 Ford Center at The Star • Frisco, TX ESPN2 8:00 p.m. Arkansas State Missouri State W 34–28 7,782 New Orleans Bowl December 23 Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, LA ESPN 4:30 p.m. Southern Miss Western Kentucky L 16–27 16,693 Birmingham Bowl December 29 Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL ESPN 1:00 p.m. Georgia Southern Appalachian State GASO 29–10 12,092 Independence Bowl December 30 Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA ESPN 1:00 p.m. Coastal Carolina Louisiana Tech L 14–23 30,298 Armed Forces Bowl January 2, 2026 Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX ESPN 12:00 p.m. Texas State Rice College Football Playoff bowl games College Football Playoff (First round) December 20 Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR TNT 6:30 p.m. James Madison Oregon L 34–51 55,124
Sun Belt records vs. other conferences 2025–2026 records against non-conference foes:
Regular season Power Four ConferencesRecordACC1–3Big 120–2Big Ten0–3Notre Dame0–0SEC 0–9Power 4 Total1–17Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican 2–6C-USA 6–3Independents (Excluding Notre Dame) 0–0MAC 2–1Mountain West 0–2Pac-12 2–0Other FBS Total 12–12FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision 14–0Total Non-Conference Record 27–29
Sun Belt vs Power 4 matchups This is a list of games the Sun Belt has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.
Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score August 30 ACC Coastal Carolina Virginia Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA L 7–48 August 30 SEC Georgia State Ole Miss Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS L 7–63 August 30 SEC Marshall Georgia Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA L 7–45 August 30 Big Ten Old Dominion Indiana Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN L 14–27 August 30 SEC Mississippi State Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS L 17–34 September 5 ACC James Madison Louisville L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium • Louisville, KY L 14–28 September 6 Big Ten Georgia Southern USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 20–59 September 6 SEC Arkansas State Arkansas War Memorial Stadium • Fayetteville, AR L 14–56 September 6 SEC Louisiana–Monroe Alabama Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL L 0–73 September 6 ACC Troy Clemson Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC L 16–27 September 13 ACC Old Dominion Virginia Tech Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA W 45–26 September 13 Big 12 Iowa State Arkansas State Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR L 16–24 September 13 SEC Louisiana Missouri Faurot Field • Columbia, MO L 10–52 September 13 SEC South Alabama Auburn Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL L 15–31 September 13 Big 12 Texas State Arizona State Mountain America Stadium • Tempe, AZ L 15–34 September 20 SEC Georgia State Vanderbilt FirstBank Stadium • Nashville, TN L 21–70 October 4 Big Ten Louisiana–Monroe Northwestern Martin Stadium • Evanston, IL 'L 7–42 November 22 SEC Coastal Carolina South Carolina Williams–Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC L 7–51
Sun Belt vs other FBS matchups The following games include Sun Belt teams competing against teams from the American, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, or Pac-12.
Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score August 29 American Appalachian State Charlotte Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC W 34–11 August 30 Mountain West Georgia Southern Fresno State Valley Children's Stadium • Fresno, CA L 14–42 August 30 American Rice Louisiana Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA L 12–14 August 30 MAC Eastern Michigan Texas State UFCU Stadium • San Marcos, TX W 52–27 September 6 American Memphis Georgia State Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA L 16–38 September 6 C-USA Missouri State Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV L 20–21 September 6 American Tulane South Alabama Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL L 31–33 September 6 American Texas State UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX W 43–36 September 13 American East Carolina Coastal Carolina Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC L 0–38 September 13 C-USA Jacksonville State Georgia Southern Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA W 41–34 September 13 American Memphis Troy Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL L 7–28 September 20 C-USA James Madison Liberty Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA W 31–13 September 20 C-USA Marshall Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN W 42–28 September 20 C-USA Arkansas State Kennesaw State Fifth Third Stadium • Kennesaw, GA L 21–28 September 20 MAC Louisiana Eastern Michigan Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, MI L 31–34 September 20 C-USA Louisiana–Monroe UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX W 31–25 September 20 C-USA Southern Miss Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA L 20–30 September 20 MAC Troy Buffalo UB Stadium • Buffalo, NY W 21–17 September 27 Mountain West Appalachian State Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID L 14–47 September 27 C-USA Liberty Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA W 21–7 September 27 American South Alabama North Texas DATCU Stadium • Denton, TX L 22–36 September 27 C-USA Jacksonville State Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS W 42–25 October 4 Pac-12 Oregon State Appalachian State Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC W 27–23 November 22 Pac-12 Washington State James Madison Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA W 24–20
Sun Belt vs. FCS matchups