What Sun Belt Conference does

The Sun Belt Conference is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) collegiate athletic conference founded in 1976 and headquartered at 1500 Sugar Bowl Drive in New Orleans, Louisiana. It organizes and governs intercollegiate athletic competition among 14 member universities across the southeastern United States, with Louisiana Tech officially joining effective July 2026 (replacing Texas State, which departed for the Pac-12). The conference administers football, men's and women's basketball, and other sports, producing regular-season schedules, conference championships, and postseason bowl eligibility for its members. Marquee events such as the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Basketball Championships are run as 26-game, week-long tournaments at dedicated venues like the Pensacola Bay Center.

The conference's revenue model is built on three pillars: media rights (anchored by a flagship broadcast partnership with ESPN covering linear networks and ESPN+, delivering 52+ hours of live coverage per championship event plus year-round regular-season games), corporate sponsorships (exemplified by the Air Force Reserve as presenting sponsor of the 2026 basketball championships, brokered via Van Wagner), and NCAA distributions/member fees tied to postseason participation. There is no direct consumer pricing; revenue accrues to the league office and is redistributed to member institutions. Operations are run by a small central staff of 11-50 employees based in the New Orleans Superdome offices.

A strategic ecosystem is being built around member institutions through partnerships such as the Scout NIL and Financial Infrastructure Platform (announced May 2026), which provides customized revenue-sharing distribution, data modeling, financial literacy training, tax support, and a secure player wallet app to student-athletes — positioning the conference to monetize the post-NCAA NIL landscape. The conference is privately held, not publicly traded, and is governed by its member institutions rather than outside investors.

Name

Sun Belt Conference

Legal name

Sun Belt Conference

Website

https://sunbeltsports.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Sun Belt Conference is an NCAA Division I FBS collegiate athletic conference, founded in 1976 and headquartered in New Orleans, that organizes competition, championships, and media rights among 14 member universities across the southeastern United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collegiate Athletic Conference

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Collegiate Athletic Conferences & Associations (MPAKACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Athletics Fundraising, Sponsorships & NIL Support (EDALAIAN)

Keywords

• Collegiate athletics
• Athletic conference
• NCAA Division I
• Intercollegiate competition
• College sports

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Sun Belt Conference is an NCAA Division I FBS collegiate athletic conference that organizes and administers intercollegiate athletic competition—including football, men's and women's basketball, and other sports—for its 14 member universities and colleges in the southeastern United States. It stages annual conference championships (such as the 26-game Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Basketball Championships at the Pensacola Bay Center) and supplies member institutions with national media exposure via an ESPN broadcast partnership, championship infrastructure, sponsorship opportunities, and NIL/financial infrastructure support through platform partner Scout.

Product overview

The Sun Belt Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that organizes and manages college sports competitions across multiple institutions. The conference operates sports events including football schedules, basketball championships, and various tournaments. The organization also facilitates partnerships for member institutions, such as the Scout NIL and Financial Infrastructure Platform partnership and Air Force Reserve sponsorships for championship events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sun Belt Conference Membership Membership affiliation in the NCAA Division I FBS Sun Belt Conference for 14 member universities and colleges in the southeastern United States, providing structured conference athletic competition, championship event participation, NCAA postseason eligibility, central media rights representation, and unified sponsorship and NIL infrastructure. Customers are university presidents and athletic directors governing each member institution.
• Sun Belt Basketball Championships Annual men's and women's basketball championship tournament for member institutions, hosted at designated regional venues such as the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida. The 2026 edition featured a 26-game format with more than 52 hours of live coverage airing on ESPN linear networks and ESPN+, sponsored by Air Force Reserve and Visit Pensacola. Tickets, sponsorship packages, and broadcast rights are monetized through this event product.
• Sun Belt Football Season Schedule Annual football season schedule across the conference's 14 member institutions, generating nationally televised games on ESPN platforms. The 2026-27 schedule reflects the addition of Louisiana Tech and returns the conference to 14 members, producing matchups such as the featured James Madison versus Troy championship game. Broadcast rights and game inventory are sold through the ESPN partnership.
• Sun Belt Conference Merchandise Conference-branded merchandise sold to consumers and fans, referenced in the firm's short description as part of its offering alongside news, results, statistics, and championship information.

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• ScoutcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 8 May 2026Scout is designated as the official NIL and Financial Infrastructure Platform sponsor of the Sun Belt Conference. Scout provides customized revenue-sharing distribution, data modeling, financial literacy training, tax support, and a secure player wallet app to Sun Belt member institutions and their student-athletes. Several Sun Belt members already partner with Scout, which currently serves nearly 35 programs and more than 10,000 college athletes across the collegiate landscape.
• Air Force ReserveflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 3 March 2026The Air Force Reserve is the presenting sponsor of the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Basketball Championships. Van Wagner secured this partnership through a national agreement with the Air Force Reserve. The Air Force Reserve receives prominent branding during the 26-game tournament running March 3-9 at the Pensacola Bay Center, with over 52 hours of live coverage airing on ESPN linear networks and ESPN+.
• ESPNflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerESPN serves as the primary broadcast partner for Sun Belt Conference championships and regular season games. The partnership provides national television exposure through ESPN linear networks and ESPN+ streaming, including over 52 hours of live coverage for basketball championships and Friday night broadcasts of championship games.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Conference USA: Another NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five conference. Most directly comparable because Louisiana Tech just moved from CUSA to the Sun Belt, indicating both conferences compete for the same membership pool and operate under similar media-rights economics.
• American Athletic Conference (AAC): NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five conference with a similar ESPN-driven media-rights structure and footprint. Comparable scale and member profile, often grouped with the Sun Belt in 'Group of Five' media-rights discussions.
• Mid-American Conference (MAC): NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five conference. Operates with similar membership size and ESPN distribution, making it a direct structural peer for media-rights valuation and championship economics.
• Mountain West Conference: NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five conference with comparable membership scale and broadcast footprint. Often benchmarks alongside the Sun Belt in Group of Five media-rights and CFP access discussions.

Broad incumbents

• Southeastern Conference (SEC): Dominant NCAA power conference operating in the same southeastern US geography. Represents the upper bound of conference valuation and the gravitational pull that could poach Sun Belt members.
• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC): Power conference with southeastern US footprint. Comparable in broadcast partnership structure (ESPN) but with materially higher media-rights value, representing aspirational benchmark and competitive threat for Sun Belt membership.
• Big 12 Conference: Power conference with aggressive recent expansion. Comparable as a conference operator at the FBS level, though with substantially larger media-rights deals that pressure Group of Five members to seek upward mobility.
• Pac-12 Conference: Power conference that absorbed Texas State from the Sun Belt in 2026. Directly relevant as the recent acquirer of a Sun Belt member and a benchmark for how rebuilding conferences pursue expansion.
• Big Ten Conference: Largest NCAA power conference by membership and revenue. Sets the upper bound for media-rights valuation in college sports and represents long-term competitive threat as expansion continues.

Others

• NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association): Governing body for collegiate athletics including the Sun Belt. Comparable as the regulatory and structural umbrella under which the conference operates, including rules around NIL, revenue sharing, and championship eligibility.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sunbelt
• Facebookfacebook.com/sunbeltconference
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sun-belt-conference

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sun Belt Conference