| 2002 Sun Belt Conference football season | |
| Color: |
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| League: | NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) |
| Sport: | football |
| Pixels: | 150px |
| Duration: | August 25, 2002 - November 30, 2002 |
| No Of Teams: | 7 |
| Draft: | 2003 NFL Draft |
| Draft Link: | 2003 NFL Draft |
| Top Pick: | Charles Tillman (Louisiana–Lafayette) |
| Picked By: | Chicago Bears, 35th overall |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champs: | North Texas |
| Second Place: | New Mexico State |
| Mvp: | Brandon Kennedy |
| Top Scorer: | Danny Smith (84 points) |
| Seasonslistnames: | Football |
| Prevseason Year: | 2001 |
| Nextseason Year: | 2003 |
The 2002 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 2nd college football season for the Sun Belt Conference. During the 2002 season, seven schools competed in Sun Belt football: Arkansas State, Idaho, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State and North Texas.[1]
The conference title was won by North Texas, in its second year as both a Sun Belt member, making them the first team to go back-to-back in Sun Belt Conference history.
Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season
| Team | Head coach | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | Sun Belt record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas State | Steve Roberts | 0 | 47–35–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | |
| Idaho | Tom Cable | 1 | 6–16 | 6–16 | 1–5 | |
| Louisiana–Lafayette | Rickey Bustle | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | |
| Louisiana–Monroe | Bobby Keasler | 3 | 86–59–2 | 8–25 | 2–4 | |
| Middle Tennessee | Andy McCollum | 3 | 17–16 | 17–16 | 5–1 | |
| New Mexico State | Tony Samuel | 5 | 19–37 | 19–37 | 4–2 | |
| North Texas | Darrell Dickey | 4 | 13–32 | 13–32 | 5–1 |
In 2002, the SBC placed one team in bowl games through their tie-ins: North Texas.[2] New Mexico State was also bowl-eligible but did not receive a bowl invitation.
Note: All times are local
2001 Sun Belt Player of the Year awards[3] [4]
| Award | Player | School | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Brandon Kennedy | North Texas | |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Danny Smith | Arkansas State | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Brandon Kennedy | North Texas | |
| Freshman of the Year | Paul Dombrowski | New Mexico State | |
| Newcomer of the Year | Jonathan Burke | Arkansas State | |
| Coach of the Year | Darrell Dickey | North Texas |
| Position | Player | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-team Offense | ||||
| QB | Brian Lindgren | Style = | Idaho | |
| RB | Danny Smith* | Style = | Arkansas State | |
| Kevin Galbreath* | Style = | North Texas | ||
| WR | Fred Stamps | Style = | UL Lafayette | |
| Mack Vincent | Style = | UL Monroe | ||
| TE | Jeff Muenchow* | Style = | North Texas | |
| OL | Shalimar Jackson* | Style = | New Mexico State | |
| Garry Johnson | Style = | Arkansas State | ||
| Brandon Westbrook | Style = | Middle Tennessee | ||
| J. R. Randle | Style = | North Texas | ||
| Nick Zuñiga | Style = | North Texas | ||
| First-team Defense | ||||
| DL | Brandon Kennedy* | Style = | North Texas | |
| John Bradley | Style = | Arkansas State | ||
| Corey Williams | Style = | Arkansas State | ||
| Darrell Daniels | Style = | North Texas | ||
| LB | Jordan Kramer | Style = | Idaho | |
| Taylor Casey | Style = | North Texas | ||
| Cody Spencer | Style = | North Texas | ||
| DB | Charles Tillman | Style = | UL Lafayette | |
| Siddeeq Shabazz | Style = | New Mexico State | ||
| Craig Jones | Style = | North Texas | ||
| Don McGee | Style = | North Texas | ||
| First-team Special Teams | ||||
| K | Dario Aguiniga* | Style = | New Mexico State | |
| P | Robert Billings | Style = | Middle Tennessee | |
| RS | James Hickenbotham | Style = | Arkansas State | |
| All-purpose | ReShard Lee | Style = | Middle Tennessee | |
| Position | Player | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second-team Offense | ||||
| QB | Paul Dombrowski | Style = | New Mexico State | |
| RB | Dwone Hicks | Style = | Middle Tennessee | |
| Bryant Jacobs | Style = | UL Monroe | ||
| WR | Josh Jelmberg | Style = | Idaho | |
| Tyrone Calico | Style = | Middle Tennessee | ||
| TE | Josh Joerg | Style = | UL Lafayette | |
| OL | John Crossley | Style = | Arkansas State | |
| Jonathon Raush | Style = | UL Lafayette | ||
| Glen Elarbee | Style = | Middle Tennessee | ||
| B. J. Van Briesen | Style = | New Mexico State | ||
| Matt Turney | Style = | North Texas | ||
| Second-team Defense | ||||
| DL | Walter Sampson | Style = | UL Lafayette | |
| John Thompson | Style = | UL Monroe | ||
| Adrian Awasom | Style = | North Texas | ||
| Chris McIver | Style = | North Texas | ||
| LB | Les Echols | Style = | Arkansas State | |
| Carlos Hughes | Style = | UL Monroe | ||
| Rich Glover | Style = | New Mexico State | ||
| DB | Chuck Allen | Style = | Arkansas State | |
| Jonathan Burke | Style = | Arkansas State | ||
| Chris Harris | Style = | UL Monroe | ||
| Jonas Buckles | Style = | North Texas | ||
| Second-team Special Teams | ||||
| K | Brian Kelly | Style = | Middle Tennessee | |
| P | Brad Kadlubar | Style = | North Texas | |
| RS | Cedric Thompson | Style = | Idaho | |
| All-purpose | JaMal Branch | Style = | North Texas | |