NEW ORLEANS — The Sun Belt Conference presidents and chancellors conducted their Spring Meeting in Atlanta on Monday, June 6.
This was the first Board of Directors meeting that included the four new members—James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss—set to officially join the Sun Belt Conference for the 2022-23 academic year.
The Board approved Sun Belt Conference sponsorship of two additional sports—beach volleyball and women’s swimming & diving—by no later than the 2023-24 season, along with the exploration of field hockey sponsorship for the 2023-24 campaign.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette was approved as the host of the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship.
The CEOs reviewed projected financial results for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, and unanimously approved a proposed budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. Other financial matters addressed included long-term conference distribution planning, financial integration of new members and the conference’s strategic reserve position.
The CEOs also discussed how the Sun Belt can expand its partnership with ESPN.
At the recommendation of the Faculty Athletics Representatives (FARs), an academic assessment was approved and will be distributed to the member institutions this fall. The three-part assessment will include: a survey regarding factors that influence academic success, an in-depth staffing and salary analysis and a deep dive into APR & GSR data collection practices. The assessment will be delivered to campus in mid-September, with final reports to be provided during the spring semester.
The chair of the Athletic Directors, Bryan Maggard of Louisiana, joined the meeting to provide the AD Report from the Spring Meetings. Maggard shared the conference and athletic directors’ commitment to continue to enhance the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball programs and to capitalize on the recent success in baseball and softball, with multiple NCAA bids over the past two seasons in those sports. Strategic committees will be developed in the sports of men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball and softball. The conference will also continue to work to increase bowl opportunities for the Sun Belt membership for the fall 2022 bowl season.
Additional discussion included a pause in the Management Committee dialogue around College Football Playoff (CFP) expansion, a focus on the importance of maintaining the current governance structure of FBS football and a review of the 2021-22 Conference End-of-Year Report.
Highlights from the end-of-year report were the creation of the Title IX podcast in celebration of the 50
thAnniversary of Title IX; the implementation of all championship video productions from the Sun Belt Studio—apart from football and basketball; and the continued partnership with ESPN to create additional revenue and linear television opportunities and improve bowl matchups and experiences. The report also noted that Sun Belt Basketball Championships ticket sales in Pensacola, Fla., increased by 30 percent in 2022 and conference sponsorship revenue grew by 130 percent during the 2021-22 academic year.
Heading into the 2022-23 academic year, its first as a 14-member football conference, the Sun Belt continues to pace the FBS with a .649 bowl winning percentage since the dawn of the CFP era in 2014.