The Sun Belt Conference is making room for more.
Two of the most dominant programs in the Football Championship Subdivision are moving up to Football Bowl Subdivision with the addition of Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, but the Sun Belt didn’t stop there Wednesday. Idaho and New Mexico State also announced they have accepted an invitation to join the conference next year in football only.
Idaho’s state board of education voted unanimously Wednesday to accept the league’s invitation to join, while New Mexico’s move is pending approval by the state’s board of regents,
The additions will bring the conference’s total number of football-playing schools to 12 for the 2014 season. They will join Arkansas State, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State,Troy and Western Kentucky.
The addition of Georgia Southern and Appalachian State also will bring the conference’s total number of basketball-playing schools to 12 in 2014, joining UALR, Arkansas State, Texas-Arlington, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy and Western Kentucky.
The addition of Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, both members of the Southern Conference, brings two schools with storied football histories to the conference. Georgia Southern’s football team has won 10 Southern Conference titles and six FCS or Division I-AA national championships since 1985. Appalachian State has won 10 conference titles and three national championships.
Both schools are scheduled to begin playing Sun Belt games and will be revenue-sharing members of the conference in 2014 and eligible for the Sun Belt Conference title, but they will not be eligible to play in a bowl game until 2015.
Georgia Southern President Brooks Keel called it a “milestone” day for the school.
“This decision was made with the long-term interest of our university in mind,” Keel said. “The Sun Belt will provide our student-athletes with an outstanding opportunity to compete at a highest level, and we are excited to contribute to the conference’s success both on and off the field.”
Appalachian State joined NCAA Division I in 1970 and has been a member of the Southern Conference since 1971. The Mountaineers have competed at the FCS level since 1982 and won an unprecedented three consecutive national championships in 2005-2007.
Appalachian State’s most memorable victory came in 2007, when it pulled off a 34-32 upset over No. 5 Michigan, marking the first time an FCS program defeated a nationally ranked FBS opponent.
“Our student-athletes have earned the opportunity to participate at this level of collegiate athletics, and we welcome the new academic and athletic relationships that will develop as a result of this partnership,” Appalachian State Chancellor Kenneth Peacock said.
The 2013 football schedules for Georgia Southern and Appalachian State will not change, but neither team will be eligible to win the Southern Conference championship or participate in the FCS playoffs.
Some Georgia Southern and Appalachian State sports teams won’t participate in the Sun Belt Conference. Appalachian State’s field hockey team will continue to compete in the NorPac Field Hockey Conference and its men’s soccer and wrestling teams will stay in the Southern Conference. Georgia Southern officials said it’s unclear in which conference its men’s soccer team will participate.
Idaho had been a member of the Western Athletic Conference, which has lost most of its football-playing members, and had been searching for a conference to join. The Vandals were 1-11 last season, with their only victory coming against New Mexico State.
Idaho, which will play next season as an independent, was a football-only member of the Sun Belt in 2001-2005 before joining the WAC. Idaho’s other sports are moving to the Big Sky Conference.
New Mexico State went 1-11 last season and hasn’t appeared in a bowl game since 1960. The Aggies played eight years in the WAC and will play as an independent this fall after the conference gave up trying to field a football league in 2013.
Changing landscape
The Sun Belt Conference will add four schools for the 2014-2015 academic year. Appalachian State and Georgia Southern will be all-sports members while Idaho and New Mexico State will be football-only members. Here is list of the Sun Belt Conference members as of 2014: SCHOOL CITY Appalachian State+ Boone, N.C. Arkansas State Jonesboro Georgia Southern+ Statesboro, Ga. Georgia State Atlanta Idaho* Moscow, Idaho Louisiana-Lafayette Lafayette, La. Louisiana-Monroe Monroe, La. New Mexico State Las Cruces, N.M. South Alabama Mobile, Ala. Texas-Arlington^ Arlington, Texas Texas State San Marcos, Texas Troy Troy, Ala. UALR^ Little Rock Western Kentucky Bowling Green, Ky. +All-sports member in 2014 Football-only member in 2014 ^Nonfootball member
Sports, Pages 21 on 03/28/2013