College Football: What if realignment forced the Group of Five to contract?
By Zach Bigalke
Sun Belt Conference
- EAST
- FIU Panthers
- Florida Atlantic Owls
- Georgia Southern Eagles
- Georgia State Panthers
- South Alabama Jaguars
- South Florida Bulls
- Troy Trojans
- UAB Blazers
- UCF Knights
- WEST
- Houston Cougars
- Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns
- Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
- Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
- Rice Owls
- Southern Miss Golden Eagles
- Texas State Bobcats
- Tulane Green Wave
For its entire history, the Sun Belt has been the caboose of the FBS hierarchy. The league has been a stepping stone for teams transitioning from the FCS ranks into the top subdivision. It is the last conference to adopt a title game to determine its champion. Its fluctuating membership reads like a rogue’s gallery of both the upwardly mobile and a handful of college football afterthoughts.
Given its geographic footprint in the same recruiting-rich territory as the SEC, ACC, and Big 12, the Sun Belt should be a solid brand instead of something to snicker about when uttered. This would fortify the conference from a forgettable conference into one that could quickly grow into the preeminent mid-major among a Group of Four.
How would this league work?
This league spans some of the best recruiting ground in the country. Its membership would be bookended by Texas and Florida, the two states whose members draw the most interest in every round of realignment.
The two divisions would revolve around those two states. The West would include three Texas squads, four from Louisiana, and Southern Miss. The East would envelop three Alabama programs, two in Georgia, and four Florida schools.
The one issue is the imbalance, with the East hosting nine schools and the West just eight. Either the East schools would have to play one fewer non-conference game, or they would refrain from playing a full round-robin divisional schedule. It is the one hang-up with the plan, though the likelihood of at least one Florida school departing for a Power Five league is still also likely. The expanded membership mitigates that possibility.