The 2026 Sun Belt Conference football season is the 26th season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) as part of the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season will begin on September 4, 2026, and will conclude with the Conference Championship Game on December 4, 2026. The conference consists of 14 football members split into two divisions. The conference released its full season schedule on March 13, 2026.
Conference realignment Prior to the 2026–27 season, the Sun Belt saw one team depart the conference, while one new team joined the conference, keeping the overall total of teams at 14. Texas State University left the Sun Belt to join the Pac-12 Conference, which they had initially announced prior to the 2025 season. Louisiana Tech University joined the Sun Belt in 2026 after departing Conference USA. The move by Louisiana Tech was not initially approved by CUSA, and the school appeared in both the CUSA and Sun Belt's original schedules for 2026. Louisiana Tech initiated a lawsuit against CUSA, claiming that CUSA declined to facilitate a resolution despite numerous notices of Louisiana Tech's intent to depart the conference. The school and CUSA settled out of court a month later, allowing Louisiana Tech to officially move to the Sun Belt on July 1, while CUSA received an undisclosed amount in exit fees.
Preseason Preseason Media Poll The SBC released its preseason poll on July 13. James Madison was named the favorite to win the East Division, while Troy was named the favorite to win the West Division.
East 1 James Madison 94 (11) 2 Old Dominion 73 (1) 3 Marshall 67 4 Georgia Southern 53 (1) 5 Coastal Carolina 45 (1) 6 Appalachian State 43 7 Georgia State 17 West 1 Troy 96 (12) 2 Louisiana 75 (1) 3 Arkansas State 69 4 Louisiana Tech 55 5 Southern Miss 47 (1) 6 South Alabama 31 7 Louisiana–Monroe 19
Preseason All-Conference teams Offensive Player of the Year: Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (RS Senior, Marshall, quarterback) Defensive Player of the Year: Donnie Smith (Senior, Troy, defensive lineman) Special Teams Player of the Year: Evan Crenshaw (Senior, Troy, punter)
Position Player Team First Team Offense QB Carlos Del Rio-Wilson Marshall RB Kenyon Clay Arkansas State RB Devin Roche Old Dominion OL Tristian Smith Arkansas State OL Zach Greenberg James Madison OL AJ Vinson Louisiana–Monroe OL Tariq Montgomery Marshall OL Jalen Slappy Marshall TE Toby Payne Marshall WR Chauncy Cobb Arkansas State WR Shelton Sampson Jr. Louisiana WR Adrian Norton Marshall First Team Defense DL Aiden Benton Appalachian State DL MJ Stroud Georgia Southern DL Amar Thomas James Madison DL Donnie Smith Troy LB Colton Phares Appalachian State LB Noah Flemmings Louisiana–Monroe LB Kolbe Fields Louisiana Tech DB AG McGhee Arkansas State DB Ja’Marion Wayne Coastal Carolina DB Chance Gamble Georgia Southern DB Brent Gordon Jr. Louisiana DB Daytione Smith Marshall First Team Special Teams K Clune Van Andel Arkansas State P Evan Crenshaw Troy RS Chauncy Cobb Arkansas State AP Chauncy Cobb Arkansas State
Position Player Team Second Team Offense QB Goose Crowder Troy RB George Pettaway James Madison RB Keenan Phillips South Alabama OL Tyriq Poindexter Appalachian State OL Kaden Moreau Louisiana OL Ethan Hubbard South Alabama OL Kenton Jerido South Alabama OL Jordon Jones Troy TE Eli Finley Louisiana Tech WR Josh Dallas Georgia Southern WR Nic Trujillo Louisiana–Monroe WR Anthony Eager South Alabama Second Team Defense DL Anthony Bynum Georgia Southern DL Fitzgerald West Jr. Louisiana DL Braydin Ward Marshall DL Chris Forbes Old Dominion LB Tray Brown Coastal Carolina LB Brandon Tyson Georgia Southern LB Javae Gilmore Marshall DB Myles Woods Coastal Carolina DB Jabari Tiller Louisiana–Monroe DB Mario Easterly Old Dominion DB Zion Frink Old Dominion DB Justin Powe Troy Second Team Special Teams K Tripp Bryant Georgia Southern P Alex Smith Georgia Southern RS Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw Marshall AP Jordan Lovett Troy
Head Coaches On November 30, 2025, Coastal Carolina fired head coach Tim Beck. On December 11, 2025, the school announced Ryan Beard as the new head coach.
On December 6, 2025, Southern Miss head coach Charles Huff was announced as the new head coach of Memphis in the American Conference. On December 11, 2025, Blake Anderson was announced as Southern Miss's new head coach for 2026.
On December 6, 2025, James Madison head coach Bob Chesney was announced as the new head coach of UCLA in the Big Ten Conference. On the same day, James Madison announced Billy Napier as their new head coach.
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) 2 0 Arkansas State Butch Jones Alabama (assistant coach) 6 0 Coastal Carolina Ryan Beard Missouri State (head coach) 1 0 Georgia Southern Clay Helton USC (head coach) 5 0 Georgia State Dell McGee Georgia (RB coach/run game coordinator) 3 0 James Madison Billy Napier Florida (head coach) 1 0 Louisiana Michael Desormeaux Louisiana (co-offensive coordinator) 5 0 Louisiana–Monroe Bryant Vincent New Mexico (offensive coordinator) 3 0 Louisiana Tech Sonny Cumbie Texas Tech (offensive coordinator/interim head coach) 5 0 Marshall Tony Gibson NC State (Defensive coordinator/Linebackers coach) 2 0 Old Dominion Ricky Rahne Penn State (offensive coordinator) 7 0 South Alabama Major Applewhite South Alabama (offensive coordinator) 3 0 Southern Miss Blake Anderson Southern Miss (offensive coordinator) 1 0 Troy Gerad Parker Notre Dame (offensive coordinator) 3 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 RV RV C RV RV CFP Not released Louisiana AP C CFP Not released Louisiana–Monroe AP C CFP Not released Louisiana Tech AP C CFP Not released Marshall AP C CFP Not released Old Dominion AP C CFP Not released South Alabama AP C CFP Not released Southern Miss 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 Source:
AP -
Coaches -
CFP -
Schedule The 2026 schedule was released on February 13, 2026.
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 - Conference championship
Sun Belt records vs. other conferences 2026–2027 records against non-conference foes, including bowl games:
Regular season Power Four ConferencesRecordACC0–3Big 120–5Big Ten0–2Notre Dame0–0SEC0–5Power 5 Total0–16Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican5–6CUSA6–2Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)0–1MAC1–0Mountain West1–0Pac-121–1Other FBS Total14–10FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision12–1Total Non-Conference Record26–27
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 September 5 Big 12 Coastal Carolina West Virginia Milan Puskar Stadium • Morgantown, WV L 24–31 September 5 Big Ten Marshall No. 18 Penn State Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA L 0–45 September 5 SEC Louisiana–Monroe Mississippi State Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS L 13–62 September 12 ACC Old Dominion Virginia Tech Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA L 21–44 September 12 SEC Louisiana Tech No. 9 LSU Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA L 14–45 September 12 ACC Georgia Southern Clemson Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC L 7–22 September 12 SEC Southern Miss Auburn Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL L 8–43 September 12 Big Ten Louisiana No. 14 USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA L 30–49 September 19 SEC Troy No. 20 Missouri Faurot Field • Columbia, MO L 17–27 September 19 Big 12 Louisiana Tech Baylor McLane Stadium • Waco, TX L 19–36 September 19 Big 12 Georgia State UCF Acrisure Bounce House • Orlando, FL L 30–44 September 19 Big 12 Arkansas State TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX L 7–31 September 26 Big 12 No. 25 Houston Georgia Southern Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA L 28–42 September 26 ACC Appalachian State NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC L 31–41 September 26 SEC South Alabama Kentucky Kroger Field • Lexington, KY L 21–45
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 September 5 C-USA Liberty James Madison Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA W 20–13 September 5 American Arkansas State Memphis Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium • Memphis, TN L 24–42 September 5 C-USA Sam Houston Troy Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL W 24–21 September 12 American Appalachian State East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC W 27–24 September 12 American Louisiana–Monroe UAB Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL L 20–26 September 12 American South Alabama Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA L 24–28 September 12 C-USA Georgia State Kennesaw State Fifth Third Stadium • Kennesaw, GA W 31–17 September 12 C-USA Middle Tennessee Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV W 28–26 September 19 C-USA Coastal Carolina Delaware Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE L 14–22 September 19 American East Carolina Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA L 17–20 September 19 American Charlotte Appalachian State Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC W 26–21 September 19 C-USA Marshall Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO W 30–24 September 19 MAC Ohio South Alabama Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL W 41–35 September 19 C-USA Georgia Southern Jacksonville State AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, AL L 27–31 September 19 American UAB Louisiana Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA W 21–14 September 19 Pac-12 James Madison San Diego State Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, CA W 26–13 September 24 C-USA Liberty Coastal Carolina Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC September 26 American Louisiana Charlotte Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC W 34–7 September 26 American Florida Atlantic Louisiana–Monroe Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA L 17–45 September 26 American Southern Miss Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA L 21–24 September 26 Mountain West Northern Illinois Georgia State Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA W 35–14 September 26 C-USA Kennesaw State Arkansas State Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR W 17–14 September 26 Pac-12 Troy Utah State Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT L 10–21 October 3 American Army Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA W 31–29
Sun Belt vs FBS independents matchups The following regular season games include Sun Belt teams competing against FBS Independents, which only includes UConn for 2026.
Date Visitor Home Site Score September 19 UConn Southern Miss Renasant Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS L 20–48 November 14 James Madison UConn Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT November 21 Old Dominion UConn Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT
Sun Belt vs. FCS matchups The following games include Sun Belt teams competing against FCS schools.