It will be the nation's best Group of 5 division. But in football, it's going to be more than that. The East Division in which ODU will play is going to be a bear in all sports. Hemphill, Ph.D., are working hard to get that done. Yes, I said, Athletic Director Wood Selig and President Brian O.
Some grabbed me as I was walking by and breathlessly asked if it really was possible to join the Sun Belt next season. "I can't wait," was the refrain I heard from most people. ODU fans can be a picky bunch, but as I wandered through the tailgate lots prior to last weekend's football game with Louisiana Tech, I could not find anyone who wasn't enthused about the move. App State is 33 rd among those receiving votes. While the ACC has one team ranked in the Top 25, the Sun Belt has two – No. In 2019, App State swept the Carolinas, beating both North and South Carolina on the road. What's it like to play in the Fun Belt? How about the first week of 2020, when three Sun Belt teams played at Big 12 teams and all three won.
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No wonder seven Sun Belt Conference games drew TV audiences of more than one million in 2020. App State won on a last-second field goal. The caliber of football is appealing, but it's the fans, and the noise they make, that draw in TV audiences.Ī few weeks ago, when Appalachian State upset Coastal Carolina on a Thursday night, 31,000 fans crammed into Kidd Brewer Stadium for a nationally televised game. The Sun Belt is known as the "Fun Belt," and that's in part because the league plays mid-week games on national TV. ODU is also joining a league with an identifiable national reputation. That means ODU finally will have what it has long desired – a home in the Football Bowl Subdivision with regional rivals that will matter to fans. Georgia State in Atlanta is the furthest from Norfolk, 9 hours away, but a stone's throw compared to Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. Three schools will be within driving distance of ODU. ODU will compete in the Sun Belt East Division, a more regionally focused group with more natural rivals that are closer to Norfolk than Conference USA's East Division. ODU, Marshall and Southern Miss all announced last week they are leaving Conference USA to join the Sun Belt.Īnother school will become the league's 14 th member late this week or early next. – I never would have dreamed of saying this a month ago, but when all the dust has settled, the Sun Belt Conference will emerge as the winner in the Group of 5 conference realignment skirmish of 2021.Īnd that means Old Dominion University's athletic program will also win. Georgia Southern plays the winner between Arkansas State and ULM on Thursday with the survivor playing Southern Miss.ĭavid Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger.NORFOLK, Va. Third-seeded Southern Miss will begin Sun Belt Tournament play, also in Pensacola, on Friday at 5 p.m. The Lady Eagles (20-9, 13-5) won their final five regular-season games to share the top spot in the standings with Texas State and James Madison. Now he's Southern Miss basketball's engineĪustin Crowley and Felipe Haase, the two primary figures of coach Jay Ladner's nine-transfer rebuild, led the Golden Eagles in scoring, with Haase potting 26 and Crowley adding 17 points.
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LOTT: He's the heart and soul of Southern Miss football - and it's time you met himĬARDONA: Juan Cardona lived in his car for two months. PROVING THEM WRONG: Where Southern Miss basketball teams rank in Sun Belt preseason polls in the quarterfinals against the Appalachian State and South Alabama winner.īy winning the regular season conference title, the Golden Eagles have already secured a spot if needed in the NIT Tournament. The Golden Eagles won't play until March 4 at 11:30 a.m. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Pensacola, Florida, as it chases an NCAA Tournament bid. The Golden Eagles (25-6, 14-4 SBC) entered Friday tied with Marshall in the standings, but the Thundering Herd lost at Old Dominion. Meanwhile, the Southern Miss women won a share of the Sun Belt title with a 69-64 victory at Louisiana in overtime on Friday night. Southern Miss men's basketball, coming off a 1-17 season in Conference USA, clinched the Sun Belt Conference championship in its first season as a member of the conference with a 79-69 victory at Texas State on Friday night.
The biggest turnaround in college basketball this season has been sealed with a ring.
View Gallery: Jay Ladner: A look at the Southern Miss men's basketball head coach
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