Section 9 - The Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference
Formed in 1976 the Sun Belt Conference
quickly rose to the greatest heights of collegiate
athletics by sending a team to the NCAA Final
Four in the league’s first year of existence.
Fast forward 36 years and the league again
finds itself at the pinnacle of collegiate athletics
as a member of the 11 league alliance of the
Bowl Championship Series. Through it all, the
constant has always been success, progress
and academic excellence.
The Early Years
SUN BELT
CONFERENCE
601 Poydras Street, Suite 2355
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
The Sun Belt Conference was founded on August
4, 1976 with New Orleans, South Alabama,
Georgia State, Jacksonville, North CarolinaCharlotte and South Florida participating in
four men’s sports: basketball, golf, soccer and
tennis.
www.sunbeltsports.org
Phone: (504) 299-9066
The Sun Belt Conference began as a home for
some of the nation’s best independent men’s
basketball programs and the six team league
didn’t need long to prove that it was an emerging
power in college athletics.
Commissioner
Wright Waters
In the first season of the league, former member
North Carolina-Charlotte reached the pinnacle
of collegiate basketball by playing in the Final
Four. Along the way Charlotte defeated Central
Michigan, Syracuse and Michigan to advance
to the Final Four. Their miraculous run ended
with a 51-49 loss to eventual national champion
Marquette. Star forward Cedric Maxwell was
selected in the first round of the NBA Draft by
the Boston Celtics.
Associate Commissioner/
Chief Financial Officer
Bert Carter
Associate Commissioner/
Compliance
Dominick Giambrone, Jr.
Associate Commissioner/
Sports Administration
Dr. Kathy Keene
Associate Commissioner/
Media Relations
John McElwain
Maxwell was the first in a long line of great Sun
Belt men’s basketball stars, as 11 total players
have gone on to be first-round selections in the
NBA Draft. Those draftees include Dee Brown
(Jacksonville – Boston Celtics, 1990), Ervin
Johnson (New Orleans – Seattle Sonics, 1993),
Derek Fisher (UALR – Los Angeles Lakers,
1996) and Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky
University – Orlando Magic, 2008).
Assistant Commissioner/
Electronic Media
Travis Llewellyn
The Sun Belt Conference became one
of the first collegiate organizations to form
its own in-house regional television network
with conference game-of-the-week telecasts
beginning in January 1978. The next year, the
Sun Belt Conference became known as a leader
in college sports broadcasting by being the first
conference to sign a long-term contract with the
ESPN cable network. Since that time the Sun
Belt Conference has had every men’s basketball
championship game broadcasted live on ESPN
– making it the longest partnership between
ESPN and any collegiate athletic conference.
Director of Media Relations
Keith Nunez
Aside from men’s basketball, the Sun Belt
Conference would add additional sports during
the first 10 years of the league.
Chief Office Administrator
Chauntrell Shelby
Old Dominion won the first-ever Sun Belt
Conference women’s basketball tournament
in 1983, defeating WKU 78-67. ODU then
defeated St. John’s, Maryland, and Penn State
to reach the NCAA Final Four. Future Olympian
Anne Donovan of Old Dominion became the
first women’s recipient of the Naismith Trophy,
recognizing the nation’s finest player.
Assistant Commissioner/
Championships
Bryant Carter
Coordinator of Football Officials
Don Lucas
With trips to the Final Four in hand and
groundbreaking television deals the Sun Belt
Conference proved early on that success and
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progress were going to be the backbone of the
conference. But that was just the beginning
for the league. Future decades had change
in mind. Changes sparked new members,
additional sports and eventually the evolution
of the Sun Belt Conference as a member of the
Bowl Championship Series.
Sun Belt and American South Merger
American South Conference members Arkansas
State, Central Florida, Lamar, Louisiana Tech,
New Orleans, Southwestern Louisiana (now
Louisiana-Lafayette) and Texas-Pan American
joined UALR and existing Sun Belt Conference
members Jacksonville, South Alabama and
Western Kentucky when the two conferences
merged in 1991.
Louisiana Tech and WKU provided some of the
most noted women’s basketball teams of all
time during the decade. Both programs would
reach the national championship game in the
Women’s Final Four. Louisiana Tech would
make multiple appearances in the Women’s
Final Four during the 1990s. In 1993, Arkansas
State’s women’s basketball team defeated
George Washington, Marquette and SMU to win
the WNIT Tournament.
WKU would also add to its men’s basketball
legacy in the early 1990s with multiple trips to
the NCAA Sweet 16 and postseason rankings
in the national polls. New Orleans also strung
together a number of notable seasons in
postseason men’s basketball berths. Tim Floyd
was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year in
1993 after the Privateers reached No. 17 in the
national rankings.
The 1990s also saw the emergence of the Sun
Belt Conference as a power in college baseball.
In fact, the Sun Belt Conference has sent
multiple teams to the NCAA tournament each
year since 1988. The 23-year streak of having
two or more teams reach NCAA play is matched
by only four other conferences (ACC, Big West,
SEC, Pac-10).
Sun Belt Football and the 2000s
The year 2000 started off with a bang for the
Sun Belt Conference as Louisiana-Lafayette’s
baseball team defeated No. 1 ranked South
Carolina to advance to the College World
Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The Ragin’ Cajuns
posted victories against San Jose State and
Clemson before finishing third overall. Their
College World Series appearance is the only
one by a school while a member of the Sun
Belt Conference (New Orleans made it in 1984).
Florida International, New Orleans and South
Alabama also reached the NCAA post-season
that year.
The most noted news of the early 2000s though
was that the Sun Belt Conference began
sponsoring football at the Division I-A level (now
known as the Football Bowl Subdivision) in 2001
and an automatic bowl tie-in was formed for its
conference champion in the New Orleans Bowl.
Prior to the 2001 season only LouisianaLafayette had competed at the Division I-A level
for the entirety of its program’s history. New
members North Texas, Middle Tennessee and
New Mexico State would take on the task of
maturing into I-A programs along with Arkansas
State and football only members Idaho and
Louisiana-Monroe.
The conference’s automatic berth into the New
Orleans Bowl gave the league credibility, but
wins would be needed to show that the league
could contend at the highest level of the game.
North Texas carried that responsibility well in the
early years of Sun Belt Conference football. The
Mean Green would represent the league for four
consecutive seasons in the New Orleans Bowl.
One of the first shining moments in Sun Belt
football history came in the second New Orleans
Bowl in 2002 when North Texas defeated
Conference USA co-champion Cincinnati 24-19.
More memorable moments would soon follow,
but not before the league’s membership took
on additional changes. Utah State joined the
league briefly as a football playing member but
departed along with Idaho and New Mexico
State following the 2004 season. Troy joined
the league as a football only in 2004 and would
join as an all-sports member soon thereafter.
Florida Atlantic joined initially as a football
only member in 2005 and would also enter
competition in all sports a couple of years later.
FIU, a league member since the late 1990s,
began competition in football in 2005 and WKU,
a longtime league member, began competition
in 2009. Louisiana-Monroe, a founding member
of the football league, would join as all-sports
member as well.
As the Sun Belt Conference evolved with new
members and new found success – the league
earned two bowl berths for the first time in 2004
– the state of the Football Bowl Subdivision
would also evolve. The Sun Belt Conference
entered the ranks of the Bowl Championship
Series when the BCS restructured prior to the
2006 season.
The Sun Belt Conference now found itself as
one of 31 NCAA conferences that sponsor
multiple sports, but the league was now one of
only 11 to participate in the Bowl Championship
Series (BCS).
Because of its status as a member of the
Football Bowl Subdivision coalition, the Sun
Belt Conference has a permanent seat on the
NCAA’s 18-member Board of Directors. As a
result, the conference has a crucial voice on
some of the most pressing issues in college
athletics and will always have a role in the
implementation of any future NCAA legislation
and guidelines.
The conference continues to utilize television to
grow and promote the league and its member
institutions. The Sun Belt Conference signed
a new multi-year agreement with ESPN,
Inc. in January of 2009 that has resulted in
unprecedented national coverage for the league.
Additionally, ESPN televised the conference’s
men’s basketball championship game for the
31st straight season in 2011, marking its longest
affiliation with any conference in the country.
The conference’s regional television partnership
with Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS)
and Cox Sports Television (CST) enables live
telecasts of Sun Belt events to reach millions of
households. The addition of volleyball, baseball
and softball to the conference’s television
package has resulted in more national and
regional television exposure for the league than
at any time in its history.
Since the 2005 football season – the first season
following major college football realignment –
the Sun Belt Conference ranks fifth out of the
11 FBS conferences in postseason bowl game
winning percentage. In fact, the Sun Belt
Conference ranks ahead of noted “Big Six”
leagues – the Big 12, ACC and the Big Ten.
Furthermore, the Sun Belt Conference outpaces
its non-automatic qualifying BCS partners in the
WAC, Conference USA and the MAC.
The world has taken notice of the Sun Belt
Conference as well. Proof of that comes as
the league now has two automatic tie-ins to
postseason bowl games. The R+L Carriers New
Orleans Bowl recently extended its agreements
with the Sun Belt Conference ensuring that
a Sun Belt team will play in that bowl game
through 2013 (the league has sent a team to that
game every year since the game’s inception in
2001). The Sun Belt Conference also signed an
agreement with the GoDaddy.com Bowl, played
annually in Mobile, Alabama, that will ensure a
Sun Belt team plays in that bowl game through
2013.
The Sun Belt Conference has sent at least two
teams to the NCAA Baseball Tournament for 23
consecutive seasons. Additionally, the league
has sent three or more teams to the NCAAs in 8
of the last 13 seasons.
In women’s basketball, the Sun Belt Conference
has sent multiple teams to the Women’s NCAA
Basketball Championship in three of the last five
seasons. This past season UALR and Middle
Tennessee both represented the league in the
NCAA postseason. Additionally, 2011 Sun Belt
Conference Player of the Year Chastity Reed
from UALR was honored as an All-American and
was selected in the WNBA Draft. The league
has had five players selected in the WNBA Draft
in the last five years.
Once a home to noted men’s basketball coaches
like Gene Bartow, Tim Floyd, Wimp Sanderson,
Sonny Smith, Lee Rose, Cliff Ellis and Lou
Henson the Sun Belt Conference now boasts
noted names such as Mike Jarvis and John
Brady as league head coaches. As of this
year, Sun Belt men’s coaches had amassed a
total of 2,850 career victories (2,850-2,100, a
57.6 winning percentage). That number is good
enough to rank in the top five nationally for total
victories by a conference’s coaches. That’s
more wins than the 12 coaches in the SEC can
boast – they total 2,773 victories combined.
And is more than either the Big 12 Conference
(2,236) or Conference USA (2,257) with the
same number of schools.
One of the nation’s all-time greatest softball
programs resides in the Sun Belt Conference
as Louisiana-Lafayette has advanced to the
NCAA Women’s College World Series on
five occasions. Most recently, the Ragin’
Cajuns played in the annual WCWS in 2008.
Additionally, the Sun Belt Conference led the
nation in highest total attendance and average
attendance per session for its 2011 Softball
Championship held in Lafayette.
A record three Sun Belt Conference women’s
golf teams were selected to participate in the
2011 NCAA Regional Championship as Denver,
North Texas and FIU competed in the field.
Not to be outdone, three Sun Belt men’s golf
teams were selected to the NCAA Regional
Championships as North Texas, Middle
Tennessee and Denver represented the league.
The Sun Belt Conference has sent at least two
teams to the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship
for 12 consecutive seasons.
Sun Belt Academic Excellence and Noted
Alumni
The Sun Belt Conference comprises 12
institutions of higher learning while sponsoring
19 championship sports for men and women.
Each of the 19 sports has seen numerous team
and individual accomplishments, but in the
realm of academic excellence nearly every Sun
Belt Conference school is currently graduating
its student-athletes at a rate higher than its
respective school’s student body.
Over 90% of Sun Belt Conference teams
earned a multiyear Academic Progress Rate
of over 925 as the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) recently announced. The
Academic Progress Rate is a real-time measure
of eligibility and retention of student-athletes
competing on every Division I sports team. The
Division I Board of Directors set cut scores of
925 and 900 (out of 1,000) as a threshold for
teams to meet or face possible immediate and
historical sanctions. In total, 92.4% of Sun Belt
Conference teams earned a multiyear APR
score over 925. Seven institutions had 100%
of their programs score above the 925 mark,
those institutions are: UALR, Denver, LouisianaLafayette, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Troy
and Western Kentucky. Arkansas State, Florida
Atlantic and FIU all had 94% of their programs
score above the 925 mark.
Prominent Sun Belt alumni include former
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice (Denver), NFL Hall of Fame football player
“Mean” Joe Greene (North Texas) former AllStar baseball player Luis Gonzalez (South
Alabama), former All-Star baseball player Mike
Lowell (2007 MLB World Series MVP, FIU),
former member of the United States Senate
and House of Representatives John Breaux
(Louisiana-Lafayette), country music superstar
Tim McGraw (Louisiana-Monroe), and actor
Andy Garcia (FIU).
The conference’s first 35 years have also
produced numerous individual national
champions along with Olympic track medalists
including Earl Bell, Tom Hill and Al Joyner
(Arkansas State), Hollis Conway (LouisianaLafayette), and Tayna Lawrence (FIU). Old
Dominion’s Anne Donovan, who received the
Naismith Trophy recognizing the nation’s top
women’s basketball player in 1983, helped the
United States win the Olympic gold medal in
1984 and helped the Lady Monarchs capture the
national championship in 1985.
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Conference
Overall
W-L
Pct. .Home. AwayNeutral Streak. W-L. Pct.. Home AwayNeutral
FIU *
6-2 .750 3-1 3-1 0-0 L1 7-6 .538 3-2 3-4 1-0 Troy *
6-2 .750 3-1 3-1 0-0 W2 8-5 .615 4-1 3-4 1-0 Middle Tennessee 5-3 .625 2-2 3-1 0-0 W3 6-7 .462 3-3 3-3 0-1 ULM 4-4 .500 3-1 1-3 0-0 L1 5-7 .417 4-2 1-5 0-0 Arkansas State 4-4 .500 3-1 1-3 0-0 L2 4-8 .333 3-2 1-6 0-0 Florida Atlantic 3-5 .375 2-2 1-3 0-0 L2 4-8 .333 2-3 2-5 0-0 North Texas 3-5 .375 0-4 3-1 0-0 L1 3-9 .250 0-6 3-3 0-0 Louisiana-Lafayette 3-5 .375 1-3 2-2 0-0 L5 3-9 .250 1-4 2-5 0-0 Western Kentucky 2-6 .250 0-4 2-2 0-0 L1 2-10 .167 0-5 2-5 0-0 *Sun Belt Conference Champions
ALL-SUN BELT
CONFERENCE TEAMS
Player of the Year: T.Y. Hilton (FIU, Jr., WR)
Offensive Player of the Year: Bobby Rainey
(WKU, Jr., RB)
Defensive Player of the Year: Jamari Lattimore
(Middle Tennessee, Sr., DL)
Freshman of the Year: Corey Robinson (Troy,
Fr., QB)
Coach of the Year: Mario Cristobal, FIU
First Team All-Sun Belt Conference
Offense
Ryan Aplin (Arkansas State, So., QB)
Lance Dunbar (North Texas, Jr., RB)
Bobby Rainey (WKU, Jr., RB)
T.Y. Hilton (FIU, Jr., WR)
Jerrel Jernigan (Troy, Sr., WR)
Ladarius Green (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., TE)
Brad Serini (FIU, Sr., OL)
Tyler Clark (Troy, Sr., OL)
Victor Gill (North Texas, Sr., OL)
Derek Newton (Arkansas State, Sr., OL)
Esteban Santiago (North Texas, Sr., OL)
Defense
Bryan Hall (Arkansas State, Sr., DL)
Jamari Lattimore (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DL)
Jonathan Massaquoi (Troy, So., DL)
Jarvis Wilson (FIU, Sr., DL)
Demario Davis (Arkansas State, Jr., LB)
Toronto Smith (FIU, Sr., LB)
Craig Robertson (North Texas, Sr., LB)
M.D. Jennings (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)
Anthony Gaitor (FIU, Sr., DB)
Rod Issac (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DB)
Jeremy Kellem (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DB)
Special Teams
Alan Gendreau (Middle Tennessee, Jr., K)
Mickey Groody (Florida Atlantic, R-Jr., P)
T.Y. Hilton (FIU, Jr., Return Specialist)
Jerrel Jernigan (Troy, Sr., All Purpose)
Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference
Offense
Corey Robinson (Troy, Fr., QB)
Phillip Tanner (Middle Tennessee, Sr., RB)
Darriet Perry (FIU, Jr., RB)
Lester Jean (Florida Atlantic, Sr., WR)
Luther Ambrose (Louisiana-Monroe, Jr., WR)
Rob Housler (Florida Atlantic, R-Sr., TE)
Tom Castilaw (Arkansas State, Sr., OL)
Sifa Etu (Arkansas State, Sr., OL)
Ian Burks (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr., OL)
Mark Fisher (Middle Tennessee, Sr., OL)
James Brown (Troy, Jr., OL)
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Defense
Dorvus Woods (Arkansas State, Jr., DL)
Tourek Williams (FIU, So., DL)
Ken Dorsey (Louisiana-Monroe, Jr., DL)
Mario Addison (Troy, Sr., DL)
Javon McKinnon (Arkansas State, Sr., LB)
Michael Lockley (Florida Atlantic, R-Sr., LB)
Thomas Majors (WKU, Sr., LB)
Marcus Bartels (Florida Atlantic, R-Jr., DB)
Tavious Polo (Florida Atlantic, R-Sr., DB)
Jonathan Cyprien (FIU, So., DB)
Darius Prelow (Louisiana-Monroe, Jr., DB)
Special Teams
Zach Olen (North Texas, Fr., K)
Josh Davis (Middle Tennessee, Fr., P)
Jerrel Jernigan (Troy, Sr., Return Specialist)
T.Y. Hilton (FIU, Jr., All-Purpose)
Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt Confernece
Dwayne Frampton (Arkansas State, Jr., WR);
Allen Muse (Arkansas State, So., WR); Tarvoris
Hill (Florida Atlantic, R-Sr., DB); Jeff Van Camp
(Florida Atlantic, R-Sr., QB); Greg Ellingson
(FIU, Sr., WR); Winston Fraser (FIU, R-So.,
LB); Orkeys Auriene (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr.,
DB); Spencer Ortego (Louisiana-Lafayette,
Sr., P); Kolton Browning (ULM, R-Fr., QB);
Cameron Blakes (ULM, So., LB); Eric Russel
(Middle Tennessee, Junior, RS); Dwight Smith
(Middle Tennessee, Sr., DL); Brelan Chancellor
(North Texas, Fr. RS); Will Goggans (Troy,
Jr., P); Michael Taylor (Troy, Jr., K); Orlando
Misaalefua (WKU, Sr., LB); Mychal Patterson
(WKU, Sr., OL)
BOWL RESULTS
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, La.
December 18, 2010 (ESPN)
Troy 48, Ohio 21
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
December 26, 2010 (ESPN)
FIU 34, Toledo 32
GoDaddy.com Bowl
Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala.
January 6, 2011 (ESPN)
Miami (OH) 35, Middle Tennessee 21
Streak
W1
W3
L1
L1
L3
L3
L2
W1
L1
2010 Sun Belt Conference
Player of the Week Archives
September 6
Offense:Lester Jean (Florida Atlantic, Sr., WR)
Defense: M.D. Jennings (Arkansas State, Sr., DB)
Special Teams: Michael Lockley (FAU, Sr., DL)
September 13
Offense: Ryan Aplin (Arkansas State, So., QB)
Defense: Maurice Rolle (Louisiana, Jr., DB)
Jonathan Massaquoi (Troy, So., DE)
Special Teams: Jerrel Jernigan (Troy, Sr., KR)
September 20
Offense: Ryan Aplin (Arkansas State, So., QB)
Corey Robinson (Troy, Fr., QB)
Defense: Anthony Gaitor (FIU, Sr., DB)
Special Teams: Josh Davis (MTSU, Fr., P)
September 27
Offense: Jerrel Jernigan (Troy, Sr., WR)
Defense: Jamari Lattimore (MTSU, Sr., DE)
Special Teams: Alan Gendreau (MTSU, Jr., K)
October 4
Offense:Chris Masson (Louisiana, Jr., QB)
Defense: Javon McKinnon (Arkansas St, Sr., LB)
Special Teams: Jermaine Rogers (Louisiana, Sr., DT)
October 11
Offense: Corey Robinson (Troy, Fr., QB)
Defense:Kanorris Davis (Troy, So., LB)
Special Teams:Zach Olen (North Texas, Fr., K)
October 18
Offense: Kawaun Jakes (WKU, So., QB)
Defense: Adrian Hills (Arkansas State., Jr., DB))
Special Teams: Jerrel Jernigan (Troy, Sr., WR/KR)
October 25
Offense: Levi Brown (Troy, Sr., QB)
Defense: Demario Davis (ASU, So., LB)
Special Teams: Casey Tinius (WKU, Jr., PK)
November 1
Offense: Lance Dunbar (North Texas, Jr., RB)
Defense: Darius Prelow (Louisiana-Monroe, DB)
Special Teams:Brett Baer (Louisiana, So., K)
Zach Olen (North Texas, Fr., K)
November 8
Offense: T.Y. Hilton (FIU, Jr., WR)
Defense: Demario Davis (Arkansas State, Jr., LB)
Special Teams: T.Y. Hilton (FIU, Jr., KR)
November 15
Offense: Lance Dunbar (North Texas, Jr., RB)
Defense: Anthony Gaitor (FIU, Sr., DB)
Special Teams: Zach Olen (North Texas, Fr., K)
November 22
Offense: Kolton Browning (ULM, Fr., QB)
Defense: Rod Issac (Middle Tennessee, Sr., DB)
Special Teams: Bar’ee Boyd (WKU, Fr., LB)
November 29
Offense: Lance Dunbar (North Texas, Jr., RB)
Defense: Darin Davis (Middle Tennessee, Jr., LB)
Special Teams: Cooper Gerami (Louisiana, Fr., SS)
Brelan Chancellor (North Texas, Fr., WR)
December 6
Offense: Corey Robinson (Troy, Fr., QB)
Defense: Jamari Lattimore (MTSU, Sr., DE)
Special Teams: Sam Sellers (Troy, Sr., DB)
SCORING OFFENSE
GTDXP2XP
DXPFGSafPts
Avg.
1. Troy ............................. 13 56 17 50 3
0
0 443 34.1
2. Arkansas State ............ 12 47 12 42 0
0
0 360 30.0
3. FIU ............................... 13 46 17 45 1
0
0 374 28.8
4. Middle Tennessee ....... 13 45 10 44 0
0
0 344 26.5
5. North Texas ................. 12 35 15 32 0
0
0 287 23.9
6. WKU ............................ 12 36 8
30 1
0
1 274 22.8
7. Louisiana-Lafayette ..... 12 35 8
34 0
0
0 268 22.3
8. Louisiana-Monroe ........ 12 32 8
26 3
0
1 250 20.8
9. Florida Atlantic ............. 12 26 8
22 0
0
0 202 16.8
TOTAL DEFENSE G Rush PassPlays
1. FIU .............................. 13 2193 2603 862 2. Louisiana-Monroe ....... 12 1909 2631 804 3. WKU ........................... 12 2127 2435 763 4. Middle Tennessee ...... 13 2443 2587 980 5. North Texas ................ 12 2219 2515 801 6. Louisiana-Lafayette .... 12 1951 2842 812 7. Florida Atlantic ............ 12 2443 2373 861 8. Troy ............................ 13 2148 3180 914 9. Arkansas State ........... 12 2473 2762 889 SCORING DEFENSE
GTDXP2XP
DXPFGSafPts
Avg.
1. FIU .................................13 45 13 42 2
0
0 355 27.3
2. Middle Tennessee .........13 47 13 44 0
0
0 365 28.1
3. Florida Atlantic ...............12 43 16 39 1
0
2 351 29.2
4. North Texas ...................12 45 14 44 0
0
0 356 29.7
5. Troy ...............................13 53 8
51 0
0
0 393 30.2
6. Arkansas State ..............12 45 18 37 4
0
0 369 30.8
7. Louisiana-Monroe ..........12 49 16 47 0
0
0 389 32.4
8. WKU ..............................12 54 7
51 1
0
0 398 33.2
9. Louisiana-Lafayette .......12 54 23 49 1
0
0 444 37.0
KICKOFF RETURNS
G Ret Yds TD Avg
1. Middle Tennessee .................. 13 54 1356 1 25.1
2. North Texas ............................ 12 58 1409 2 24.3
3. FIU .......................................... 13 60 1334 2 22.2
4. Louisiana-Monroe ................... 12 65 1432 0 22.0
5. Arkansas State ....................... 12 56 1198 0 21.4
6. WKU ....................................... 12 62 1306 1 21.1
7. Florida Atlantic ........................ 12 56 1116 0 19.9
8. Troy ........................................ 13 54 957 1 17.7
9. Louisiana-Lafayette ................ 12 69 1217 1 17.6
PASS OFFENSE
GCmp
1. Troy ............................. 13 340 2. Arkansas State ............ 12 263 3. Louisiana-Lafayette ..... 12 229 4. Louisiana-Monroe ........ 12 247 5. Florida Atlantic ............. 12 193 6. FIU ............................... 13 234 7. Middle Tennessee ....... 13 226 8. North Texas ................. 12 182 9. WKU ............................ 12 151 PASS DEFENSE
G
1. Florida Atlantic ............. 12 2. Middle Tennessee ....... 13 3. FIU ............................... 13 4. WKU ............................ 12 5. North Texas ................. 12 6. Louisiana-Monroe ........ 12 7. Arkansas State ............ 12 8. Louisiana-Lafayette ..... 12 9. Troy ............................. 13 YdsAvg/P
4796 5.6 4540 5.6 4562 6.0 5030 5.1 4734 5.9 4793 5.9 4816 5.6 5328 5.8 5235 5.9 Att
528 435 436 401 342 384 384 316 295 Int
15 12 15 14 14 14 24 9
6
Pct
64.4 60.5 52.5 61.6 56.4 60.9 58.9 57.6 51.2 Yds Avg TDYds/G
3859 7.3 33 296.8
3052 7.0 23 254.3
3000 6.9 18 250.0
2720 6.8 18 226.7
2500 7.3 17 208.3
2698 7.0 16 207.5
2485 6.5 9 191.2
2077 6.6 16 173.1
1722 5.8 11 143.5
PUNT RETURNS
G Ret Yds TD Avg.
1. Troy ........................................ 13 26 309 1 11.9
2. Louisiana-Lafayette ................ 12 11 91 0 8.3
3. WKU ....................................... 12 16 130 1 8.1
4. Florida Atlantic ........................ 12 23 149 0 6.5
5. Middle Tennessee .................. 13 27 174 0 6.4
6. FIU .......................................... 13 29 183 0 6.3
7. Arkansas State ....................... 12 16 97 0 6.1
8. Louisiana-Monroe ................... 12 20 71 0 3.5
9. North Texas ............................ 12 13 43 0 3.3
Att Cmp
197 325 225 391 211 387 210 337 187 328 199 366 193 337 230 367 247 427 Int
11 11 15 8
8
12 11 14 14 Pct
60.6 57.5 54.5 62.3 57.0 54.4 57.3 62.7 57.8 Yds Avg TDYds/G
2373 7.3 16 197.8
2587 6.6 19 199.0
2603 6.7 19 200.2
2435 7.2 16 202.9
2515 7.7 20 209.6
2631 7.2 21 219.2
2762 8.2 24 230.2
2842 7.7 26 236.8
3180 7.4 23 244.6
PASS EFFICIENCY G
1. Troy .............................. 13 2. Arkansas State ............. 12 3. FIU ................................ 13 4. Louisiana-Monroe ......... 12 5. Florida Atlantic .............. 12 6. North Texas .................. 12 7. Louisiana-Lafayette ...... 12 8. WKU ............................. 12 9. Middle Tennessee ........ 13 RUSHING OFFENSE
G
1. North Texas ............................ 12 2. FIU .......................................... 13 3. Middle Tennessee .................. 13 4. WKU ....................................... 12 5. Troy ........................................ 13 6. Arkansas State ....................... 12 7. Louisiana-Monroe ................... 12 8. Louisiana-Lafayette ................ 12 9. Florida Atlantic ........................ 12 Att
489 522 525 500 469 420 473 414 399 Yds Avg TD Yds/G
2426 5.0 17 202.2
2438 4.7 26 187.5
2350 4.5 32 180.8
2096 4.2 21 174.7
2036 4.3 21 156.6
1789 4.3 23 149.1
1444 3.1 13 120.3
1207 2.9 14 100.6
1131 2.8 8
94.2
RUSHING DEFENSE
G
1. Louisiana-Monroe ................... 12 2. Louisiana-Lafayette ................ 12 3. Troy ........................................ 13 4. FIU .......................................... 13 5. WKU ....................................... 12 6. North Texas ............................ 12 7. Middle Tennessee .................. 13 8. Florida Atlantic ........................ 12 9. Arkansas State ....................... 12 Att
438 445 487 475 426 473 589 536 552 Yds Avg TD Yds/G
1909 4.4 23 159.1
1951 4.4 23 162.6
2148 4.4 26 165.2
2193 4.6 25 168.7
2127 5.0 34 177.2
2219 4.7 23 184.9
2443 4.1 25 187.9
2443 4.6 24 203.6
2473 4.5 21 206.1
TOTAL OFFENSE G RushPass Plays
1. Troy .............................13 2036 3859 997 2. Arkansas State ............12 1789 3052 855 3. FIU ...............................13 2438 2698 906 4. North Texas .................12 2426 2077 805 5. Middle Tennessee .......13 2350 2485 909 6. Louisiana-Lafayette .....12 1207 3000 850 7. Louisiana-Monroe ........12 1444 2720 874 8. WKU ............................12 2096 1722 795 9. Florida Atlantic .............12 1131 2500 741 Yds Avg/P
5895 5.9 4841 5.7 5136 5.7 4503 5.6 4835 5.3 4207 4.9 4164 4.8 3818 4.8 3631 4.9 TD Yds/G
54 453.5
46 403.4
42 395.1
33 375.2
41 371.9
32 350.6
31 347.0
32 318.2
25 302.6
TD Yds/G
44 368.9
44 378.3
50 380.2
44 386.9
43 394.5
49 399.4
40 401.3
49 409.8
45 436.2
Att Cmp Pct Int Yds TD Effic.
340 528 15 64.4 3859 33 140.7
263 435 12 60.5 3052 23 131.3
234 384 14 60.9 2698 16 126.4
247 401 14 61.6 2720 18 126.4
193 342 14 56.4 2500 17 126.1
182 316 9 57.6 2077 16 123.8
229 436 15 52.5 3000 18 117.1
151 295 6 51.2 1722 11 108.5
226 384 24 58.9 2485 9 108.4
.................................. ....... |—–Gained—–| |——Lost——|
TURNOVER MARGINGFumInt TotFum IntTotMarPer/G
1. FIU ....................................13 10 15 25 7 14 21 +4 0.31
2. WKU .................................12 9 8 17 8
6 14 +3 0.25
3. Arkansas State .................12 14 11 25 12 12 24 +1 0.08
4. Troy ..................................13 16 14 30 15 15 30 +0 0.00
5. North Texas ......................12 7 8 15 9
9 18 -3 -0.25
Louisiana-Lafayette ............12 8 14 22 10 15 25 -3 -0.25
7.Louisiana-Monroe ..............12 7 12 19 11 14 25 -6 -0.50
8. Florida Atlantic ..................12 6 11 17 12 14 26 -9 -0.75
9. Middle Tennessee ............13 8 11 19 14 24 38 -19 -1.46
SACKS BY
G Sacks
1. Troy ............................. 13 40 2. Middle Tennessee ....... 13 34 3. FIU ............................... 13 33 4. Arkansas State ............ 12 27 5. Louisiana-Monroe ........ 12 24 6. Florida Atlantic ............. 12 20 7. Louisiana-Lafayette ..... 12 17 North Texas ................. 12 17 9. WKU ............................ 12 12 RED ZONE OFFENSE G
1. Arkansas State ............. 12 2. FIU ................................ 13 3. North Texas .................. 12 4. Troy .............................. 13 5. WKU ............................. 12 6. Middle Tennessee ........ 13 7. Louisiana-Monroe ......... 12 8. Louisiana-Lafayette ...... 12 9. Florida Atlantic .............. 12 RZ
44-50 45-52 29-35 46-56 29-36 33-42 27-35 26-36 18-26 Yds
268
222
215
209
138
137
115
149
67
Pct. TDs R/P FG-AT Fum Int Dwns
88.0 34 22-12 10-16 0 0
0 0
86.5 31 23-8 14-15 0 2
4 0
82.9 18 11-7 11-13 1 2
1 0
82.1 33 17-16 13-15 2 3
2 1
80.6 24 19-5 5-7 2 0
2 1
78.6 26 23-3 7-8 3 2
2 1
77.1 20 11-9 7-9 1 2
2 1
72.2 19 11-8 7-8 2 1
4 2
69.2 11 6-5 7-9 0 2
4 0
170
170
RUSHING
Team
1. Rainey, Bobby............WKU 2. Dunbar, Lance............NT 3. Morris, Alfred..............FAU 4. Tanner, Phillip.............MT 5. Perry, Darriet..............FIU 6. Mallary,Darrian...........FIU 7. DuJuan Harris.............TROY Yr
JR JR JR SR JR SO SR G
12 12 12 13 13 13 12 PASSING AVERAGE/GAME
Team Yr G
1. Corey Robinson....... TROY FR 13 2. Aplin, Ryan.............. ASU SO 12 3. Browning, Kolton..... ULM FR 12 4. VanCamp, Jeff......... FAU SR 12 5. Masson, Chris.......... ULL JR 9 6. Carroll, Wes............. FIU JR 13 7. Jakes, Kawaun........ WKU SO 12 TOTAL OFFENSE
TeamYr
1. Aplin, Ryan....................... ASU SO 2. Corey Robinson............... TROY FR 3. Browning, Kolton.............. ULM FR 4. Masson, Chris.................. ULL JR 5. Carroll, Wes...................... FIU JR 6. VanCamp, Jeff................. FAU SR 7. Jakes, Kawaun................. WKU SO RECEPTIONS/GAME
Team
1. Jerrel Jernigan........TROY 2. Frampton, D............ASU 3. Ambrose, Luther.....ULM 4. Jean, Lester............FAU 5. Hilton, T.Y...............FIU 6. Green, Ladarius......ULL 7. Tebiarus Gill...........TROY Yr
SR JR JR SR JR JR SR ALL PURPOSE
Team
1. Hilton, T.Y...................FIU 2. Jerrel Jernigan............TROY 3. Dunbar, Lance............NT 4. Rainey, Bobby............WKU 5. McNeal, Willie.............WKU 6. Chancellor, B..............NT 7. Ambrose, Luther.........ULM Cm-Att--Int
321 - 505 - 15 249 - 407 - 11 234 - 378 - 12 192 - 335 - 13 148 - 280 - 6 226 - 367 - 14 149 - 291 - 6 Pct Yds TDLng Avg/G
63.6 3726 28 79 286.6
61.2 2934 21 65 244.5
61.9 2552 18 82 212.7
57.3 2459 17 80 204.9
52.9 1842 11 82 204.7
61.6 2623 16 67 201.8
51.2 1680 10 53 140.0
G Rush PassPlays TotalYds/G
12 477 2934 545 3411 284.2
13 -100 3726 553 3626 278.9
12 385 2552 549 2937 244.8
9
24 1842 327 1866 207.3
13 -8 2623 424 2615 201.2
12 -189 2459 390 2270 189.2
12 200 1680 387 1880 156.7
GRec
13 84 12 69 12 65 12 64 13 59 10 44 13 52 Yr
JR SR JR JR FR FR JR INTERCEPTIONS
Team Yr
1. L. Madden...................TROY JR 2. Issac, Rod...................MT SR Jennings, M.D.............ASU SR Brooks, Derrius...........WKU JR Ibe, Alex......................ULM SR Stokes, Lionel.............ULL JR Auriene, Orkeys..........ULL SR PASSING EFFICIENCY
Team Yr G
1. Corey Robinson...... TROY FR 13 2. Dodge, Riley........... NT SO 11 3. Aplin, Ryan............. ASU SO 12 4. Carroll, Wes............ FIU JR 13 5. Browning, Kolton.... ULM FR 12 6. VanCamp, Jeff........ FAU SR 12 7. Masson, Chris......... ULL JR 9 171
171
Att Yds Avg TDYds/GLong
340 1649 4.8 15 59 137.4
274 1553 5.7 13 83 129.4
227 928 4.1 7 38 77.3
160 928 5.8 13 56 71.4
170 839 4.9 16 74 64.5
122 679 5.6 2 56 52.2
97 603 6.2 6 50 50.2
Yds TD Avg/C Avg/G Rec/G
822 6 9.8 63.2 6.5
738 6 10.7 61.5 5.8
752 6 11.6 62.7 5.4
988 8 15.4 82.3 5.3
848 5 14.4 65.2 4.5
794 7 18.0 79.4 4.4
578 6 11.1 44.5 4.0
G Rush
13 282 13 322 12 1553 12 1649 12 70 9
0
12 13 Rec PR KR YdsAvg/G
848 126 833 2089 160.7
822 306 630 2080 160.0
332 0 0 1885 157.1
230 0 0 1879 156.6
360 10 968 1408 117.3
12 10 923 945 105.0
752 0 395 1160 96.7
G Int Yds TD Int/GLong
11 3
39 0 16 0.27
12 3 100 1 70 0.25
12 3
95 0 42 0.25
12 3
62 1 62 0.25
12 3
18 0 20 0.25
12 3
0 0
0 0.25
12 3
0 0
0 0.25
Cmp-Att-Int
321 - 505 - 15 106 - 176 - 4 249 - 407 - 11 226 - 367 - 14 234 - 378 - 12 192 - 335 - 13 148 - 280 - 6 Pct. Yds TDLong
63.6 3726 28 79 60.2 1212 11 66 61.2 2934 21 65 61.6 2623 16 67 61.9 2552 18 82 57.3 2459 17 80 52.9 1842 11 82 Effic.
137.9
134.2
133.4
128.4
128.0
128.0
116.8
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE
Team Yr
1. Jerrel Jernigan............TROY SR 2. Jones, Travis..............FAU FR 3. Russell, Eric................MT JR 4. Hilton, T.Y...................FIU JR G Ret Yds TDAvgLong
13 23 306 1 75 13.3
12 13 111 0 22 8.5
13 24 163 0 26 6.8
13 20 126 0 27 6.3
KICK RETURN AVERAGE
Team Yr
1. Hilton, T.Y...................FIU JR 2. Chancellor, B.-............NT FR 3. Russell, Eric................MT JR G Ret Yds TD AvgLong
13 29 833 2 95 28.7
9 33 923 2 93 28.0
13 32 842 1 97 26.3
PUNTING
Team Yr
1. Groody, Mickey...........FAU JR 2. Davis, Josh.................MT FR 3. Will Goggans..............TROY JR 4. Sullivent, N.................ASU JR 5. Brakefield, H...............WKU FR 6. Ortego, Spencer.........ULL SR 7. Deans, Trent...............NT SO GPunt
12 69 13 58 13 64 11 43 12 71 12 72 10 26 SCORING
Team Yr
1. Dunbar, Lance............NT JR 2. Michael Taylor............TROY JR 3. Rainey, Bobby............WKU JR 4. Perry, Darriet..............FIU JR Griffin, Jack.................FIU SO 6. Olen, Zach..................NT FR 7. Tanner, Phillip.............MT SR G TD XPT FG2XP PtsPts/G
12 16 0
0
0 96 8.0
13 0
17 50 0 101 7.8
12 15 0
0
0 90 7.5
13 16 0
0
0 96 7.4
13 0
17 45 0 96 7.4
9
0
13 21 0 60 6.7
13 13 0
0
0 78 6.0
FIELD GOALS
Team Yr
1. Olen, Zach..................NT FR 2. Griffin, Jack.................FIU SO Michael Taylor...........TROY JR 4. Gendreau, Alan..........MT JR 5. Jabour, Radi...............ULM JR 6. Baer, Brett..................ULL SO 7. Tinius, Casey..............WKU JR G
9
13 13 13 12 12 11 Yds AvgLong
3153 73 45.7
2475 78 42.7
2702 70 42.2
1749 61 40.7
2872 62 40.5
2885 55 40.1
1031 50 39.7
FGFGAPct.FG/G
13 15 86.7 1.44
17 20 85.0 1.31
17 22 77.3 1.31
10 12 83.3 0.77
8
10 80.0 0.67
7
7 100.0 0.58
6
15 40.0 0.55
TACKLES (All positions)
Team Yr G Pos Solo Ast TotAvg/GSacks
1. Robertson, C.................NT 2. Lockley, M......................FAU 3. Eugene, Malik................FAU 4. Cyprien, Jonath.............FIU 5. Majors, Thomas............WKU 6. Bartels, Marcus.............FAU 7. Kellem, Jeremy..............MT 8. McKinnon, Javon...........ASU 9. Smith, Toronto...............FIU Xavier Lamb..................TROY Jennings, M.D.................ASU 12.McCray, Kelcie.............ASU 13. Herrold, Nathan...........ASU 14. Beard, Ryan................WKU 15. Edwards, Jason...........ULM SR SR SR SO SR JR SR SR SR JR SR JR SO JR JR 12 12 12 13 12 12 13 12 13 13 12 12 12 11 12 LB LB LB RB LB DB LB LB LB DB DB LB DB LB 79 44 33 65 61 56 69 52 52 51 38 47 35 45 49 54 75 72 48 43 47 39 43 39 40 46 32 43 26 26 133 119 105 113 104 103 108 95 91 91 84 79 78 71 75 11.1 9.9 8.8 8.7 8.7 8.6 8.3 7.9 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.6 6.5 6.5 6.2 Previous Sun Belt Champions
2001
North Texas
Middle Tennessee
2002
North Texas
2003
North Texas
2004
North Texas
2005 Arkansas State
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
2006Troy
Middle Tennessee
2007
Florida Atlantic
Troy
2008Troy
2009Troy
2010FIU
Troy
2.0
2.0
0.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
4.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
2.0