Sun Belt sets football media days for July 15-16 in New Orleans

The Sun Belt Conference announced its 2026 football media days will be held July 15-16 at the New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District — the third consecutive year at the venue. ESPN+ will carry coverage of both days.

East Division programs appear Wednesday, July 15: App State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Marshall and Old Dominion. West Division programs follow Thursday, July 16: Arkansas State, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Troy and ULM.

The Sun Belt remains the only FBS conference still operating under a divisional format — seven teams in each division.

What's changed

Louisiana Tech joins as the Sun Belt’s 14th member effective July 1, 2026, replacing Texas State, which departed for the Pac-12. The Bulldogs return to the Sun Belt after a previous membership from 1991 to 2001 and slot into the West Division alongside Arkansas State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, Southern Miss and Troy. Head coach Sonny Cumbie enters his fifth year. The move required a legal settlement with Conference USA after a months-long dispute over exit terms — the departure cost exceeded $8 million.

Three head coaches make their Sun Belt media days debuts:

Billy Napier takes over at James Madison after Bob Chesney departed for UCLA. Napier returns to a conference he knows — he led Louisiana to four consecutive Sun Belt West division titles and back-to-back conference championships in 2020 and 2021 before leaving for Florida. He went 22-23 with the Gators before being fired in October 2025. His JMU deal is five years at a $500,000 base salary.

Ryan Beard arrives at Coastal Carolina from Missouri State, where he went 19-16 in three seasons and led the Bears to a bowl game in their first FBS season. He replaces Tim Beck, who was fired after going 20-18 in three years. Beard was 36 at the time of his hire.

Blake Anderson was promoted from offensive coordinator and interim head coach at Southern Miss after Charles Huff left for Memphis. Anderson is the 24th head coach in Southern Miss football history and previously served as head coach at Arkansas State and Utah State.

TV and broadcast

The Sun Belt’s exclusive media rights deal with ESPN runs through 2031. The original eight-year agreement, signed in 2018, was expanded in July 2021 and again in July 2022, adding roughly 6,000 Sun Belt events to ESPN platforms. Select games appear on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, with the majority of football games on ESPN+. The conference has not publicly disclosed per-school distribution figures.

Commissioner

Keith Gill enters his eighth year leading the conference. Gill, the first Black commissioner in FBS history, is also serving as chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee for the 2025-26 season. His contract runs through June 30, 2030.

Full 2026 coaching lineup

East Division

App State: Dowell Loggains (Year 2)

Coastal Carolina: Ryan Beard (new)

Georgia Southern: Clay Helton

Georgia State: Dell McGee

James Madison: Billy Napier (new)

Marshall: Tony Gibson

Old Dominion: Ricky Rahne

West Division

Arkansas State: Butch Jones

Louisiana: Michael Desormeaux

Louisiana Tech: Sonny Cumbie (new to Sun Belt)

South Alabama: Major Applewhite (Year 3)

Southern Miss: Blake Anderson (new)

Troy: Gerad Parker

ULM: Bryant Vincent