— By Bill Cornwell
Sun Belt Conference football and the league as a whole have momentum going into the 2026-27 athletics season, according to conference Commissioner Keith Gill
Gill, recent chairman of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, delivered an annual “State of the League” address last week during Sun Belt Football Media Days in New Orleans.
Gill said James Madison’s appearance in the College Football Playoff last year, along with Troy qualifying for this year’s College World Series, prove Sun Belt athletic programs can compete nationally.
“We have enjoyed the best four-year run in conference history, and I believe, the best four-year run of any peer conference,” Gill said. “But I firmly believe, after 50 years of tremendous growth and achievement, our best days are still ahead of us.”
Gill believes that the Sun Belt was fortunate to not have been negatively affected by continued movement of schools between conferences. The Sun Belt is welcoming Louisiana Tech this year as a replacement for Texas State, which left the league for the Pac-12 Conference.
Otherwise, the league’s 13 other members are holdovers.
“Louisiana Tech is an ideal fit for our conference, bringing a strong record of competitive success and a geographic fit that strengthens our footprint,” Gill said. “It reflects the qualities that make the Sun Belt strong — competitive excellence, passionate fan bases, regional rivalries and meaningful connections among like-minded institutions.
“Their addition renews in-state rivalries with ULM and Louisiana, creates compelling matchups with Southern Miss and Arkansas State, improves travel and gives fans more games that matter. They make us stronger in a myriad of ways.”
The Sun Belt is starting its 26th season of FBS football competition and Gill particularly likes the performance of its membership over the last decade.
“In the first 14 seasons of Sun Belt football, we produced three 10-win teams,” Gill said. “In the last 11 seasons, we’ve produced 22, including multiple 10-win teams in eight-straight seasons. And in those first 14 seasons, the league had 25 bowl participants. In the last 11 we have had 73, including averaging 10 bowl-eligible teams over the past three years.
“From 2022 to 2025, we earned 12 wins over autonomy conference football programs and led our peer conferences in Bowl Season participation each year. Over the last seven years, six Sun Belt teams have finished in the final College Football Playoff Top 25, and we’ve hosted ESPN’s College GameDay three times. GameDay comes to meaningful games with compelling matchups, which the Sun Belt delivers week after week.”
Gill noted there are concerns about the present and future of college sports with the growth of Name, Image and Likeness spending, revenue sharing and eligibility concerns, and said he has mixed feelings on potential expansion to what is currently a 12-team College Football Playoff.
“There’s significant discussion about the College Football Playoff and whether it should expand,” Gill said. “The Sun Belt could reasonably support the largest possible expansion to create more opportunities for our teams. But the issue is more complicated than that. We must understand how change could affect college football in general and the CFP over the long term.
“At this point, I don’t know the best CFP format, but I do know that once the impacts are fully understood, the best choice will become clear.”