Welcome to the Sun Belt: How do NMSU, Idaho, App. State., and Georgia Southern Fit In?

With the news that Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Idaho (football only), and New Mexico State will officially be joining the Sun Belt Conference for the 2014 season, it is officially time to look at how this affects the teams involved as well as the conference in general.


Appalachian State:
This is the result of many years of hard work from the team from Boone, North Carolina. The Mountaineers have been preparing tirelessly for this intended move with many believing that the Sun Belt was the best fit from the beginning despite geographic distances. The Mountaineers have a rabid fan base with a recent tradition that is second to none on the FCS level. Appalachian State may be the most prepared of any FCS team to make the jump to the FBS level since Akron made the just FCS-FBS jump in 1987.

• Nickname: Mountaineers
• Football Established: 1928
• Attendance (3 yr avg.): 26,094 (108% capacity)
• Shortest Road Trip: 2,476 miles (Idaho)
• Longest Road Trip: 296 miles (Georgia State) 
• Number of Sports at the University: 20 (Baseball, Men’s Basketball, Men’s Cross Country, Football, Men’s Golf, Men’s Soccer, Men’s Tennis, Men’s Indoor Track and Field, Men’s Outdoor Track and Field, Wrestling, Women’s Basketball, Women’s Cross Country, Field Hockey, Women’s Golf, Women’s Soccer, Softball, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Indoor Track and Field, Women’s Outdoor Track and Field, Volleyball)
• Head Coach & Salary: Scott Satterfield (1st season, 0-0) $225,000 per year. 
• Athletic Director: Charlie Cobb
• Athletic Budget: $14.5 Million
• Website: http://www.goasu.com/
• Pros: Rabid fan base has been desperate to play versus the big boys of the FBS and finally get that wish, regional and national media exposure, possibility to make more money with bowl tie-in money that is split between the Sun Belt Conference members, stadium currently fits FBS guidelines and has the ability to be expanded if the need arises, conference affiliation improvement (the Southern Conference is a good conference but does not have the name recognition of the Sun Belt Conference).
• Cons: Geography is an issue with the Mountaineers being more east than any team  currently in the Sun Belt, the long road of moving a team from the FCS to FBS, worry that the fan base will drop off if the program struggles like any team making the transition does, the beginning cost to get not just football but other sports to the level of their conference foes.

Georgia Southern:
Along the lines of Appalachian State, the Georgia Southern Eagles have been building for a move to the FBS level for many years. The Eagles are another well attended football program that is on the verge of breaking through on a nation scale with the right opportunity. Georgia Southern is also one of the teams with the right facilities and people in charge to make a great transition to the FBS level.

• Nickname: Eagles
• Football Established: 1924
• Attendance (3 yr avg.): 17,938 (99% capacity)
• Shortest Trip: 209 miles (Georgia State)
• Longest Trip: 2,629 miles (Idaho)
• Number of Sports at the University: 15 (Football, Baseball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Volleyball, Men’s Cross Country, Women’s Cross Country, Women’s Golf, Men’s Golf, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, Men’s Tennis, Men’s Track, Sand Volleyball, Softball, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Track)
• Head Coach & Salary: Jeff Monken (3 seasons, 31-12) $450,000 per season with incentives
• Athletic Director: Tom Kleinlein
• Athletic Budget: $12 Million
• Website: http://www.georgiastatesports.com/
• Pros: National exposure, television money on the FBS level (the Sun Belt should be able to negotiate a better TV deal with ESPN/CBS/NBC to make the schools more money, a jump in conference prestige from the Southern Conference to the Sun Belt, the facilities are on par for the most part with the majority of the Sun Belt.
• Cons: The cost involved in making a move to the FBS is tough to swallow at first with the stadium upgrades and facility upgrades always needed (not extreme but still needed), The immediate need to jump the stadium capacity over the 20,000 seat range will cost money, the struggle of playing on a higher level has resulted in many teams struggling and losing part of the fan base. 

Idaho:

One of the marriages of necessity that came about from the Sun Belt wanting 12 football teams and Idaho understanding that independence for a small program is nearly impossible in football. This could end up being something long term but has the look and feel of Idaho’s original Sun Belt membership which ended with the Vandals leaving to join the now defunct WAC. A great move for the Vandals and looks like it will save a football program that had to seriously look at a drop to the FCS level if not chosen.

• Nickname: Vandals
• Football Established: 1893
• Attendance (3 yr avg.): 12,430
• Shortest Trip: 1,506 Miles (New Mexico State)
• Longest Trip: 2,476 Miles (Appalachian State)
• Number of Sports at the University: Only Football Joining
• Head Coach & Salary: Paul Petrino (First season, 0-0) $390,000 per season
• Athletic Director: Dr. Rob Spear
• Athletic Budget: $15.1 Million
• Website: www.govandals.com/
• Pros: Conference affiliation that has been desperately needed since the end of the WAC, some exposure and TV deal after being independent for the 2013 season, a reset to the football program after the troubles with player and attendance, being selected as a football only team allows them to join a WCC type conference in other sports similar to BYU while getting conference support in football. 
• Cons: Geography is very difficult but it is only for one sport and 4 conference road games per season, going from the WAC to the rebuilding Sun Belt is a bit of a downgrade but a necessity with the dissolution of the WAC, attendance problems continue to plague the football program. 

New Mexico State:

The Aggies prayers were answered for the most part with the invitation from the Sun Belt to join the conference. The Aggies are currently an independent for the 2013 season and will join the Sun Belt in football only after the invitation. A situation similar to BYU could also be the go-to decision for the Aggies as travel for the sports other than football would be way too substantial for a full move to the Sun Belt although it did work for a while in New Mexico State’s previous time with the Sun Belt.

• Nickname: Aggies
• Football Established: 1893
• Attendance (3 yr avg.): 15,097
• Shortest Trip: 635 Miles (Texas State)
• Longest Trip: 1,662 Miles (Appalachian State)
• Number of Sports at the University: Only Football Joining
• Head Coach & Salary: Doug Martin (First season, 29-53 overall head coaching record) $390,000 per season
• Athletic Director: McKinley Boston
• Athletic Budget: $15.4 Million
• Website: http://www.nmstatesports.com
• Pros: Conference affiliation that has been desperately needed, the Aggies could not survive for very long as an independent and the move to the Sun Belt helps both sides at least for the short term with a long term hope for the Mountain West Conference, stability in general as there has been a nervous anticipation in Las Cruces about the future of the athletics in general for the school.
• Cons: Geography as the Aggies are no closer than 600 miles from the nearest Sun Belt football program (Texas State), travel will be a problem but is not that big of a deal as NMSU only has to travel in 4 Sun Belt football games per season.

While the Sun Belt is helping out four teams with conference invitations, the Sun Belt is not doing it out of the kindness of their hearts. Sun Belt Commissioner  Karl Benson has a plan for the Sun Belt that includes a yearly conference title game in an undisclosed location (New Orleans?) on a yearly basis and a group of teams that wants to be with the Sun Belt. Including Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, the Sun Belt has added 5 teams in the last 5 years from the FCS ranks while losing 5 teams to Conference USA with a pending move WKU to CUSA in 2014. Benson is working to bring together a group of young but improving programs that can make a new name for the conference while gaining even more exposure to the stalwarts of the conference including Arkansas State, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, and Troy. With the pending move of WKU to CUSA, Benson and company will need to add at least one more program with James Madison University being the most likely pick.

Time will tell but the Sun Belt seems to be taking their defections in stride and finally has a front office that is dedicated to making the conference not just an also ran in football and other sports. Some of the Sun Belt teams that have left for CUSA may end regretting that decision within the next 5 years as the Sun Belt seems to be group of young teams that have the ability to become forces in the future with a solid conference that has a plan for the future.