Spring Meeting Ends: Sun Belt to remain at 11 and future bowl tie-ins possible

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 12^th program for now.

The Sun Belt Conference also has released it new official logo and branding on Sunday for the conference beginning July 1^st. 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 12^th 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 12^th 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 12^th team to the league and I’m pretty sure many of you are agreeing with me right now. A 12^th 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.

Liberty University a possible addition for the Sun Belt Conference in 2014

The flames have what it takes and needs to be on the FBS level, and that could happen with the Sun Belt Conference

We all know that college football is the driving force behind all the conference re-alignment, and it has not slow down yet. Several changes have taken place over the past week in the Sun Belt Conference and others that will make you say – what’s next?

Over the past week we have seen the Sun Belt Conference add two FCS powerhouses in Appalachian State and Georgia Southern; the SBC also added two former disbanded WAC football members New Mexico State and Idaho that are now independents and formers members of the Sun Belt Conference as well. All four of these teams will be added on July 1, 2014.

On today conference re-alignment took another twist with Western Kentucky announcing they are leaving the Sun Belt Conference for Conference USA beginning in 2014. WOW, big surprise Western Kentucky, lol! According to SBC Commissioner Karl Benson, the SBC was prepared and waiting for the moment to happen with Western Kentucky and there is no surprise on April fool day.

With Western Kentucky leaving, that creates an open spot in the Sun Belt Conference and a newly anticipated eastern division that will stage a conference championship game beginning in 2014. The Board of Directors and AD’s have work hard to create a 12 member conference in all sports and create a conference football championship game.  This is a move that I applaud the SBC for making over the past week. Now that WKU is leaving, that 12^th member will receive an invitation soon from the Sun Belt Conference, but the question still remains –who?

There are many speculations and rumors on who is next or at the top of the Sun Belt list to become the 12^th member. There are many reports that JMU (James Madison University) is the top favorite to become that 12^th. Then you have others that say LU (Liberty University) is the top favorite for the #12 spot. Your guess is better than mind.

Liberty University is a Christian program that would make an outstanding addition to the Sun Belt Conference in all sports. Liberty is located in Lynchburg, VA (Do the SBC want to expand to Virginia? I’m pretty sure they do for a quality program.) Liberty is located in the 65^th media market if that makes any difference, sounds ok to me; Liberty has over 12,000 residential students and over 75,000 online students, 220 Programs of Study with an 968 average APR. Liberty is expected to add a law school and medical school by 2014. There are 26 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans at Liberty.

Is Liberty ready for TV production-YES with a 20,000 seat stadium and is expected to expand to over 25,000 seats; their basketball arena holds 8,000 with a 3-court practice facility. Liberty has 6 NCAA D1 National Champions teams with 35 NCAA Championship appearances and 20 full funded scholarships teams. Not only that, Liberty has that cash to go with it.  Who wouldn’t be looking for a program like that?

Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson released a statement today saying he is confident in the Sun Belt future, and is prepared to add another program to the conference. In order to stage that conference football championship game in 2014 and have six eastern division members a new member must be added before June 1^st in order for them to declare they are moving up from FCS to FBS. Sun Belt will not have 12 all sports members in 2014 if they don’t add a program by June 1^st, unless they are willing to add another already FBS program; which I don’t know who that will be.

Liberty, James Madison, Jacksonville State, Sam Houston State, Lamar, Missouri State, and maybe a couple of Louisiana FCS programs are all possibilities at this point. So when will we know, that remain to be answered; but do expect an answer by the end of April or the beginning of May. 

Report: Western Kentucky is headed to CUSA

Over the past few days many reports and rumors have surfaced that Western Kentucky is headed to Conference USA a conference that would look like the old Sun Belt Conference soon.

It is reportedly that WKU will move all of it’s athletic programs to CUSA and a official announcement could come as early as Monday. I have learn today that a special called meeting has been called and scheduled with the Board of Regents on Monday; so this is a sign of truth for the Hilltoppers that want out of the Sun Belt Conference.

Western Kentucky has denied and continued to deny any communication with CUSA, however the silence didn’t last too long. Western Kentucky will be replacing Tulsa after they bolt CUSA for the un-named conference in 2014. Western Kentucky is not expected to leave early but will depart the SBC in 2014.

It is rumored as well that the Sun Belt Conference will invite James Madison Dukes as its newest member to replace Western Kentucky in a soon to be eastern division of the Sun Belt Conference. Other FCS candidates have been mention as well such as Liberty, Lamar, UT-Chattanooga and etc. However everyone believes James Madison is that leading candidate.

Stay Tuned! 

South Alabama & Troy hires new Men Basketball coaches this week

Coach Matthew Graves 

South Alabama has hired Butler assistant Matthew Graves and held a press conference on yesterday to introduce Graves. South Alabama head coach Ronnie Arrow retired at the beginning of the season, after only 10 games. Assistant Jeff Price took over the program as interim head coach, and did a great job to close out the Jags season with a 17-13 record.

Matthew Graves brings experience to South Alabama, having served on Butler MBB staff as an assistant. Coach Graves has helped Butler to two NCAA finals in recent years.

Welcome to South Alabama and the Sun Belt Conference.

Coach Phil Cunningham

Troy hires Western Kentucky Cunningham:

Troy has hired Phil Cunningham from rival Western Kentucky. Coach Cunningham was introduced in a news conference Tuesday at Trojan Arena to replace Don Maestri, who retired at the Sun Belt tournament after 31 seasons and 500 wins.

Cunningham spent five years as an assistant under Lefty Driesell at James Madison and Georgia State and worked for 12 seasons at Mississippi State. He spent one season at Western Kentucky.

Welcome to Troy Coach Cunningham. 

South Alabama campus editor tries to slam the Insider

I am writing this post just because I want to inform you my faithful followers about what is happening with your Insider. I do believe that I should keep you all informed.

During this off season I haven’t posted much, because I also write on politics and operate a Satellite radio network. However I am devoted to bringing you informed information always.

Recently, about a week about I posted here on the Insider about South Alabama football coach hiring two new assistants, which you will find below. I want to inform you on what’s happening. When I post here on my blog I also share what I post in other groups on other sites such as face book and twitter.

I recently posted my blog post in a South Alabama Jaguars group page on Face Book as I always did. When I share the post, I once again received questioning from a South Alabama on campus newspaper editor. That’s right once again, because it’s not the first time he has questioned me, and I will not call names, because that’s not of my character.

But I want to make sure am I right or wrong, and I would like to get some feed back from you my followers and visitors on this matter.  The last time I checked, I am a blogger and not a press service. I also thought I have a right to free speech as well and a right to my own opinion.

The young man questioned me and asks me why do I re-quote what al.com says in my posts on my blog, well maybe because al.com gets most of their info from South Alabama website as I do, but not all the time. Not only that he stated that the Athletics Department at South Alabama was very and highly upset with me, because I post about their program on my blog.

Let me clear up something here, I post on anything that is made public by the university itself. When South Alabama issue a news release or media release it becomes public and also if it’s posted on its website its public.

I also believe that I can re-quote a local newspaper if I mention them in my posts.

I also asked this young, why can’t South Alabama Athletics Department contact me and inform me that they are very upset with me and have a concern with me? He couldn’t and would not answer.

Once again it’s the hatred that comes from this campus and those that have a little authority and want South Alabama world to be centered around them only. For some time many fans of South Alabama have been in disagreement on how the Athletics Department is ran out there at South Alabama. And you see that constantly by all of the games that they hold on campus, when fans don’t even come out to support any of the teams.  The Mitchell Center is half empty at basketball games, and now they have football and the attendance there has drop heavily since the program started a few years ago.

Here at the Insider I created this blog to help bring more positive and informed news on what’s happening around the Sun Belt Conference. I am a supporter and fan of South Alabama sports. I live here in Mobile and always wanted South Alabama to have a football program in the FBS and glad that it has come to pass. But I see there are haters out there that don’t want to see you do well, and don’t want any attention taken away from them.

However I am glad that I am not that type of person and I will never be. I will continue to write here on my blog on whatever I feel I should write on with my opinions.

So the floor is now open, and you can share your thoughts!

Could Conference Expansion Be In The Plans For The Sun Belt Conference? It would help!

With the 2012 college football season almost over, the Sun Belt Conference will be preparing for a new slate of members in 2013. After 2013 will the SBC remain at 10 football members or will it improve its conference to 12 football members and improve it conference for the new playoff system.

North Texas and Florida International will be departing for the C-USA and the Sun Belt Conference will be welcoming in its two newest members Texas State and Georgia State.  Both programs are moving up from the FCS, along with new member South Alabama that made the jump this season in 2012. 

Texas State will keep the Sun Belt Conference in the long star state territory and the conference will expand into the Peach State of Georgia with Georgia State.  However Texas State will not be along in Texas, they will have a new rivalry with UT-Arlington in basketball and all other sports except football. UT-Arlington will be joining the Sun Belt as a non-football member in 2013.

But is expansion still on the table for the Sun Belt to reach that 12 team football conference for a conference championship game.  Maybe so, we will see what’s ahead come the spring of 2013.

If the Sun Belt Conference does decide to expand to 12 teams in football who would it be to join the   new Sun Belt Conference? Let me share my take on possible candidates for membership in the SBC.

It’s no known secret that Georgia Southern wants to move up to FBS. This would be a great addition for the east division in the Sun Belt and a great mileage game for many schools in the Sun Belt Conference that would fall in the new east division, especially for lonely Florida Atlantic and also in-state member Georgia State, it also help the travel of Troy, South Alabama and Middle Tennessee.

Adding Lamar of Texas or McNeese State of Louisiana would be great for a west division, to help the travel of several possible western division members of Texas State, Arkansas State, ULM, ULL, Arkansas-Little Rock and Western Kentucky. But I would think they would have brought back New Mexico State as a established FBS program and can jump in immediately to help set up a western division.

The Sun Belt Conference needs to act quickly on conference expansion, with Florida Atlantic sitting in the Sun Shine state all along now. Commissioner Benson made it known to the WKU Herald, which it is possible that a school with the state of Florida maybe sought.  Just who would that may be? Nobody really knows yet but those on the inside of the conference administrations.

I do believe they should extend conference invitations to several FCS schools at the end of this season, and prepare for 2014. It’s time for us to look at the brighter days now in a big way. Hosting at Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game in 2014 season would be awesome and it would help the conference in so many ways moving forward.  I believe that’s what the player’s want, a division to play in and win and face off in a championship and move on to bowl games. I believe many coaches would desire the same as well as AD’s and Presidents.  A Football Championship Game will also bring in more generated revenue to support teams and the conference overall and more quality players.

Commissioner had this to say to WKU Herald back in May, “The additions of Georgia State and Texas State is part of a plan and a strategy the Sun Belt has in place to bring in quality universities to not only allow the Sun Belt to get bigger, but to get better,” Benson said. “We believe strongly that the additions of Georgia State and now Texas State have made the Sun Belt a better conference for the future.”

The Commissioner did not stop there with his comments and ideas about conference expansion. “If we were to lose two current members replaced by Georgia State and Texas State, that gets us back to 10 football universities,” he said. “Our goal would be to get to 12 members to be able to divide into divisions and to create some geographic efficiency with the membership in the west versus the membership in the east.”

Appalachian State is a known FCS school waiting on an invitation to move up, along with Jacksonville State. It will be surprising to see any action come this may during the spring meeting of the conference on expansion. Will they get it done in 2013 for 2014? We will be watching and waiting to see what comes next for the Sun Belt Conference.

South Alabama Men’s Basketball defeats No.25 Florida State in Season Opener

South Alabama Jaguars upset Florida State Seminoles, 76-71 in their season opener in Tallahassee. Their first win over a major conference team in a while.

South Alabama hands Florida State a upset 

South Alabama lead the game most of the time to go into half time with a lead, after they returned from the locker room South Alabama finished the game with a upset over Florida State. There have been years a speculation that the Jaguars would never beat a team such as the Seminoles but they pull an amazing upset on Friday against a top 25 NCAA Basketball team, a team that who won their conference ACC title last season.

South Alabama lead with three points shooting and Free throws in the game against Florida State.  The start in this game goes to Antoine Allen who shot 21 points in 23 minutes on the floor, Freddie Goldstein and Mychal Ammons were also game players in this upset over the Seminoles.

The entire team pulled together in this game and played well, I give them all credit. This is the team we should see at South, if the Jaguars keep this type of play in action on the court they do have a chance to compete for the conference title and maybe get a NCAA tournament birth.

South Alabama on Wednesday will face William Carey at home in the Mitchell Center.  They face one more top 25 team in New Mexico State on Dec. 4^th.

South Alabama don’t worry about getting the big time media coverage, those mainstream networks is not focus on mid-majors like the Jaguars because it’s not a money maker for them. However you keep playing and keep defeating these over-rated teams that they put there, just because they have an awesome bank roll to fatten the pockets of the mainstream media outlets.

It’s the same way in football, all over-rated teams in the top 25, however it’s only because what that program have to offer in finance not play. Be encouraged Jags you are winners.

 

Troy beat Mississippi State on Friday in Their Season Opener

In a brand new arena in Troy, the Trojans of celebrates a 

Troy 56, Mississippi State 53 win on Friday.

 

Sun Belt Conference Troy Trojans also beat a major conference team on Friday, when Mississippi State came to town to open their first game of the season. Both teams and fans enjoyed the luxury of the brand new $40 Million arena.

 

Trojans celebrate win over  SEC Mississippi State

“You see stuff like that on TV all the time at the big colleges,” senior guard Emil Jones said. “To have it at home was real big.”

It spoiled Mississippi State coach Rick Ray’s debut and G.W. Carver graduate Craig Sword’s first college game.

Tevin Calhoun scored 12 points off the bench to lead Troy, while Jones and Williams added 10 each. Jalen Steele had 16 points, Trivante Bloodman 11 and Gavin Ware 10 for MSU.

On Monday, the Trojans will travel to face Texas A&M Aggies.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders holds off Alabama State hornets

Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball

In Murfeesboro, TN the Blue Raiders Jason Jones scored 19 points on 9-of-9 shooting and Middle Tennessee trampled Alabama State 97-53 in each team's season opener Friday night.

Middle Tennessee left no room for a victory from Alabama State Hornets, the Blue celebrated at home with a dominate victory.

James Gallman had 15 points for Middle Tennessee, including 5 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Blue Raiders were 11 of 27 from 3. The 97 points were the most for Middle Tennessee since dropping 109 points on Houston Baptist on Feb. 13, 2010.

South Alabama Men’s Basketball ready for the Court

South Alabama had a winning season last season, losing a few games in some close calls and there was some games where the players seems as though they just gave up.

After Middle Tennessee, South Alabama was the only team in the East Division to have a record above .500 overall (17-12), but at 8-8 in conference play, didn't give much pressure to the Blue Raiders in terms of division supremacy. In 2012-2013, Ronnie Arrow is hoping his squad will be able to rectify that. Like the Blue Raiders, the Jaguars are extremely potent up front. Last season South Alabama was the top rebounding team in the conference (39.7 pg) and the eighth best in the nation overall.

Junior forward Augustine Rubit (15.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg) is the major reason for the Jaguars strong inside game. Last season he connected on 71.3 percent of his shots as is scoring numbers jumped by two points per game from his freshman season, although his rebounding did drop by nearly the same amount in that time. Mychal Ammons (10.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg) is more of a swingman but can play both on the inside and outside effectively on both sides of the ball.

More consistent guard play could push the Jaguars to the next level. Freddie Goldstein (11.7 ppg) was the best scorer from the perimeter, while Trey Anderson (5.8 ppg, 3.1 apg) turned in the best numbers in terms of assists. TCU transfer Xavier Roberson is also an intriguing backcourt option after averaging 9.9 points per game in eight games last season.

South Alabama will begin its regular season on November 9^th against Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida.

Sun Belt Preseason Men's Basketball All-Conference Team

Basketball season is almost here and players of the year and possible conference champions are already being mention.

Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Tony Mitchell was named 2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year, while Middle Tennessee and North Texas were unanimous selections to win the SBC East and West Divisions, respectively, the league office announced Wednesday.

In conference games last season, Mitchell averaged a double-double and led the league in points per game (15.9), rebounds per game (11.8), three-point percentage (.471) and blocked shots (50). The sophomore forward also shot 58.1 percent from the field which placed second in the league.

MT was tabbed to win the SBC East after taking all 11 preseason first place votes. The Blue Raiders won the SBC Regular Season crown in 2011-12 with a 14-2 mark and earned votes in this year’s USA Today coaches’ preseason poll for the first time in program history.

North Texas was placed to finish first in the SBC West after receiving all 11 preseason first place votes.

The Blue Raiders return 10 of their top 12 leading scorers from last season, including Preseason All-SBC First Team selection Marcos Knight. The senior guard from Rentz, Ga., registered 11.8 points and 3.0 assists per game last year. His 1.6 assist:turnover ratio in conference play ranked third in the league.

Picked to finish second in the SBC East was South Alabama under the direction of 14th-year head coach Ronnie Arrow. The Jaguars return seven letterwinners and their top three scorers from last year’s 17-12 squad, with Preseason All-SBC First Team selection Augustine Rubit leading the way.

Rubit, a junior forward from Houston, Texas, earned All-SBC First Team accolades last year and was the only Jaguar to start all 29 games. He led the league in rebounding for the second consecutive season and ranked 38th in the nation with 9.2 per game. He also returns as the league’s leading scorer after dropping in 15.2 points a game last season, second best in the conference.

After leading UALR to a first-place finish in the SBC West last season, sophomore Will Neighbour inked his name on the Preseason All-SBC First Team. In his rookie season, the big man poured in 10.5 points per game while pulling down 5.3 rebounds. He also proved his shooting accuracy by knocking down 81.5 percent from the free throw line and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Neighbour was a Second Team All-SBC selection last season and will look to lead a young UALR team that welcomes nine newcomers. The Trojans are guided by 10th-year head coach Steve Shields and are projected to finish third in the SBC West as they return three letterwinners.

Arkansas State senior guard Trey Finn rounded out the Preseason All-SBC First Team after sinking 11.6 points per game last season for the Red Wolves. Finn tallied 21 double-digit scoring games last season and also brought down 5.3 rebounds per game. He started 29 of 30 contests for ASU and connected on a team-high 61 three-pointers while shooting 45.9 percent from long-range.

Under the direction of fifth-year head coach John Brady, ASU was picked to finish second in the SBC West Division. The Red Wolves return four starters from last year’s team, including leading scorer and Preseason All-SBC Third Team selection Marcus Hooten.

Defending SBC Tournament champions WKU was tabbed for a third place finish in the SBC East and returns 63.3 percent of its scoring from last season. The Hilltoppers knocked off Mississippi Valley State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season and have won at least one game in its last three NCAA Tournament appearances (2008, 09, 12).

WKU returns four starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s team, including Preseason All-SBC Second Team selection George Fant. The Hilltoppers have made it to at least the SBC Tournament semifinals in eight consecutive seasons.

The SBC will have two regular-season nationally televised games on ESPN2 in addition to the SBC Championship finals in Hot Springs on March 11. Florida Atlantic will travel to Indiana on Dec. 21 in the first nationally televised game, and either WKU at MT or UALR at NT will be aired on ESPN2 on Jan. 26.

Four SBC contests will be nationally televised on ESPNU, and an additional eight matchups can be seen on ESPN3.com. The Sun Belt Network will air seven regular-season games and the SBC Championship quarterfinals and semifinals.

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference First Team

 ■Will Neighbour (UALR, Jr., Forward)

 ■Trey Finn (Arkansas State, Sr., Guard)

 ■Marcos Knight (Middle Tennessee, Sr., Guard)  

 ■Tony Mitchell (North Texas, So., Forward)

 ■Augustine Rubit (South Alabama, Jr., Forward)

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Second Team

 ■Brandon Peterson (Arkansas State, Sr., Forward)

 ■Greg Gantt (Florida Atlantic, Sr., Guard)

 ■JT Sulton (Middle Tennessee, Sr., Forward)

 ■Bruce Massey (Middle Tennessee, Sr., Guard)

 ■George Fant (WKU, So., Forward)

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Third Team

 ■Marcus Hooten (Arkansas State, Sr., Guard)

 ■Raymond Cintron (Middle Tennessee, Sr., Guard)

 ■Javier Carter (South Alabama, Sr., Forward)

 ■Freddie Goldstein (South Alabama, Sr., Guard)

 ■T.J. Price (WKU, So., Guard)

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year

 ■Tony Mitchell (North Texas, So., Forward)

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

(First place votes in parentheses)

EAST DIVISION

1. Middle Tennessee – 65 points (11)

2. South Alabama – 51 points

3. WKU – 47 points

4. Florida Atlantic – 29 points

5. Troy – 22 points

6. FIU – 17 points

WEST DIVISION

1. North Texas – 55 points (11)
2. Arkansas State – 40 points
3. UALR – 33 points
4. Louisiana-Lafayette – 24 points
5. Louisiana-Monroe – 13 points