Sun Belt get's a little tough on school departures and looking to move forward!
Sun Belt
Conference held its Annual Spring Meeting this week in Destin, Florida, Commissioner
Karl Benson and company went through a normal meeting with very little getting
accomplish in my view. Conference Athletic Directors, Coaches and Presidents
all participated in the annual meeting including new conference members Appalachian
State, Georgia Southern, New Mexico State, Idaho, Texas State, Georgia State
and UT-Arlington. Here are some of the items that were on the agenda, discussed
and came with a decision.
In basketball
the conference will play 20 games and the basketball tournament will feature
the standard No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7 and so on format for women, but a
double-bye format for men.
The conference
tournaments will move from Hot Springs, Ark., to New Orleans Arena in New Orleans,
LA, and the tournament formats will remain the same with the top eight teams in
the league advancing to the tournament. There is no divisional play - and the
tournament beginning with a No. 1 seed vs. No. 8 seed, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3
vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5 first round. It will remain that way on the women's
side for 2014.
In football
the Sun Belt Conference has decided to play a eight conference game schedule
beginning in 2014, with 11 playing members on the rooster if the conference decides
against adding a 12th program for now.
The Sun Belt
Conference also has released it new official logo and branding on Sunday for
the conference beginning July 1st. The new logo will be represented
by each of the 11 programs of the Sun Belt Conference, which I think is a great
logo. It could have been better but it certainly will work. The new logo is
located at the left of this post.
We also have
learned that the Sun Belt Conference has extended its TV contract with Cox
Sports and Comcast Sports Southeast for one year. Sun Belt Network will air
seven high-definition football broadcasts as part of a minimum of 39 broadcasts
that the network will air. We should expect to see more programming on ESPN 3
as usual and where I live we will be excluded from watching because we don’t
have these networks and we are in the South Alabama media market. UMM!
We all want
to know about who the Sun Belt Conference will add as a 12th team
and if so when. According to today’s press conference with Commissioner Karl
Benson and Conference President Jack Hawkins, the league will remain at 11
members for now. “There is no urgency to add another program, per Benson.” So
we will not see a 12th team for now, maybe and again maybe in the
future but no guarantee. “There was and
will continue to be ongoing discussion about national realignment and the
membership options for the Sun Belt,” said Benson. “However, for the time being
we are moving the conference forward with our membership as is. The most
important thing to come out of the meeting regarding membership was that our
institutions are committed to taking the Sun Belt to the next level. With our
recent additions and the strength of our current members, the pieces are
already in place for us to take the next step as a stronger conference.”
The Sun Belt
Conference also updated its by-laws in regards to program departures. Sun Belt
teams no longer allowed early departures a program must give at least 12 months’
notice of departure. According to Benson the Commissioner, the league also
changed it exit fee but did not release any info on how much that would be. The
12 month early departure notice is non-negotiable.
Commissioner
Benson also stated at the press conference that the $12 million dollars coming
from the new College Playoff System will offset the loss of not having a
conference title game.
In case you may
already have heard the rumors, the Sun Belt Conference may add an additional
bowl game in 2014 is still possible. The new bowl game is possible and could be
played in Little Rock, AR. This would give the SBC three bowls –tie ins, at
least the Commissioner is confident in this matter.
Now, that all
of this is over for now at least this season, we move on and wait to see what
the conference do to be proactive and not reactive. Commissioner Benson is the
leader of the Sun Belt Conference along with the Conference President and
neither has seemed to be in a proactive mode, except looking to remain a FBS
but not a proactive conference that is looking to go to another level. In many
ways some may argue they have and is, and I might agree to some. But there is a
debate on how and when.
In my
opinion, I would have never passed up the opportunity of adding a 12th
team to the league and I’m pretty sure many of you are agreeing with me right
now. A 12th team would add so much value to the league in creating a
conference championship game in football. Also would have helped the league
continue a two divisional play in all other sports such as basketball and
football. It would have added additional revenue to the league in a
championship standpoint for football. As we all know football is where the
money is.
The fans was
looking and hoping for this creation with the Sun Belt Conference. Oh, but no
one in the conference leadership is telling us the fans or media on why they
decided against adding a program such as Liberty. Thought I forgot-NO! They
rejected Liberty saying they don’t fit the Sun Belt Conference. We as fans still
want answers on that…and on why? I have a few but I would rather wait and let
them tell you since they lead and I follow if they ever decide to do so.
Other news
and decision from the Sun Belt Conference Meeting:
There was
some changes and new appointments made in the conference leadership panel. You
would be surprised at this – LOL.
According to
the SBC website, The Sun Belt Conference also made appointments to significant
leadership positions at the meeting. There were several key positions that had
terms expire or were vacated, filling these positions are:
- Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Board of Managers - Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Troy Chancellor
- Bowl Championship Series (BCS) AD Advisory Group – Terry Mohajir, Arkansas State Athletic Director
- Sun Belt Conference President – Dr. Nick J. Bruno, Louisiana-Monroe President
- Sun Belt Conference Vice President – Dr. Denise M. Trauth, Texas State President
- Sun Belt Conference Treasurer – Dr. Joel E. Anderson, UALR Chancellor
- Sun Belt Conference Chair of Athletic Directors – Scott Farmer, Louisiana-Lafayette Athletic Director
- Sun Belt Conference Chair of Faculty Representatives – Fred Green, Troy Faculty Representative
Did you see
who is appointed to the Chair of Athletic Directors? – LOL Louisiana Lafayette
AD Scott Farmer. Scott Farmer is an AD in the Sun Belt that has acknowledged on
several occasions that he would like to take his programs to another conference
if possible. Basically he wants out of the Sun Belt Conference. And then you
have Dr. Nick J. Bruno appointed as the new Conference President – LOL I dare
comment on that one, only if you knew. What a joke SBC?
The Sun Belt
Conference developed a formula to distribute $600,000 in net revenue that was
produced from the Sun Belt Conference’s four bowl games in 2012. The revenue
will be distributed to the six football playing members eligible for end of
year revenue distribution – Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette,
Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Troy and Western Kentucky. Basically each
program will receive an estimated $100,000 in revenue from the bowl revenue.
BRANDING & NEW LOGO: The Sun Belt Conference having
unveiled a new logo and branding campaign, the league has committed $50,000 to
each institution to help implement the new logo for the upcoming academic year.
CONFERENCE
CHAMPIONSHIPS: The following sites were selected to host Sun Belt
Conference Championships for 2013-14:
Women’s Golf – Steelwood Country Club, Loxley, Ala.
Men’s Golf – Grand Bear Golf Course, Saucier, Miss.
Men’s and Women’s Tennis – City Park Tennis Center, New
Orleans, La.
The following sites were selected to host Sun Belt
Conference Championships for 2014-15:
Cross Country – South Alabama, Mobile, Ala.
Soccer – South Alabama, Mobile, Ala.
Volleyball – Texas State, San Marcos, Texas
Outdoor Track and Field – Louisiana-Lafayette, Lafayette,
La.
Softball – Texas State, San Marcos, Texas
Baseball – Troy, Troy, Ala.
Don’t anyone
ever get wrong on this, I love the Sun Belt Conference and I am a big fan of
the conference. I just want the conference to be a better conference for its
fan and become the best conference in the new group of five. I would love to
see this conference offer its members more in revenue and its fans a football
championship game. It would help recruiting and add additional revenue to the
league.
That is it for now on Spring Meetings for the Sun Belt
Conference, if anything else develops I will be sure to inform you. Moving on
now I will be releasing my Pre-Season Insider – All Sun Belt Team next month,
along with my player watch list plus much more stay tuned.
