2022 Sun Belt Conference football season explained

2022 Sun Belt Conference football season
Color:	0A2240
Color Text:	ffffff
League:	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport:	Football
Pixels:	200px
Duration:	September 2, 2022 – December 3, 2022
No Of Teams:	14
Draft:	2023 NFL draft
Draft Link:	2023 NFL draft
Top Pick:	OT Nick Saldiveri, Old Dominion
Picked By:	New Orleans Saints, 103rd overall
Season:	Regular season
Conf1:	East
Conf1 Champ:	Coastal Carolina James Madison
Conf2:	West
Conf2 Champ:	Troy South Alabama
Finals:	SBC Championship Game
Finals Link:	2022 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game
Finals Champ:	Troy
Finals Runner-Up:	Coastal Carolina
Finals Mvp:	QB Gunnar Watson, Troy
Prevseason Link:	2021 Sun Belt Conference football season
Prevseason Year:	2021
Nextseason Link:	2023 Sun Belt Conference football season
Nextseason Year:	2023

The 2022 Sun Belt Conference football season is the 22nd season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The season began on September 2, 2022, and will conclude with its conference championship game on December 3, 2022. It is part of the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The conference expanded to 14 football members for the 2022 season with the addition of 4 new member schools. The 14 members were divided into two divisions for play. The conference released its schedule on March 1, 2022.^[1]

Previous season

See main article: article and 2021 Sun Belt Conference football season.

The 2021 season saw Appalachian State win the East Division, while Louisiana won the West Division. In the Conference Championship game, Louisiana took victory by a score of 24–16. Louisiana advanced to the New Orleans Bowl, where they defeated Marshall.^[2] Appalachian State advanced to the Boca Raton Bowl, where they lost to Western Kentucky.^[3]

Coastal Carolina and Georgia State also reached bowl games, with both winning their games.

Conference expansion

Prior to the 2022 season, the SBC added four new schools as full members: Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss, previously from Conference USA, and James Madison, previously from the Colonial Athletic Association at the Division I FCS level. The initial intent was for the schools to begin playing in the conference starting no later that July 1, 2023.^[4] However, all four teams elected to join for the 2022 season, with the move officially announced with the release of the conference's 2022 schedule.

For the 2022 season, James Madison is ineligible for both the conference championship and for bowl games due to its transition from the FCS level to FBS level. Due to JMU meeting FBS scheduling requirements for the 2022 season, specifically five home games against FBS opponents, it was able to skip one year of the normal two-year transition process, making it eligible for both the SBC title and bowl games beginning with the 2023 season.^[5]

Preseason

Preseason Media Poll

The Sun Belt released its preseason poll on July 25. Appalachian State was named the favorite to win the East Division, while Louisiana was named the favorite to win the West Division.^[6]

East
1	Appalachian State	94 (10)
2	Coastal Carolina	77 (2)
3	Georgia State	68 (1)
4	Marshall	62
5	Georgia Southern	35 (1)
6	James Madison	31
7	Old Dominion	25

West
1	Louisiana	95 (12)
2	South Alabama	79 (2)
3	Troy	76
4	Texas State	41
5	Southern Miss	40
6	Arkansas State	37
7	Louisiana–Monroe	24

Preseason All-Conference teams

• Offensive Player of the Year: Grayson McCall (Redshirt Junior, Coastal Carolina quarterback)
• Defensive Player of the Year: Josaiah Stewart, (Sophomore, Coastal Carolina defensive lineman)

Position	Player	Team
First Team Offense
QB	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina
RB	Rasheen Ali	Marshall
RB	Camerun Peoples	Appalachian State
OL	Willie Lampkin	Coastal Carolina
OL	Dalton Cooper	Texas State
OL	Austin Stidham	Troy
OL	Malik Sumter	Georgia State
OL	Cooper Hodges	Appalachian State
TE	Zack Kuntz	Old Dominion
WR	Ali Jennings III	Old Dominion
WR	Kris Thornton	James Madison
WR	Tez Johnson	Troy
First Team Defense
DL	Josaiah Stewart	Coastal Carolina
DL	Javon Solomon	Troy
DL	Zi'Yon Hill-Green	Louisiana
DL	Will Choloh	Troy
LB	Carlton Martial	Troy
LB	Blake Carroll	Georgia State
LB	Kivon Bennett	Arkansas State
DB	Darrell Luter Jr.	South Alabama
DB	D'Jordan Strong	Coastal Carolina
DB	Antavious Lane	Georgia State
DB	Eric Garror	Louisiana
DB	Keith Gallmon Jr.	South Alabama
First Team Special Teams
K	Seth Keller	Texas State
P	Rhys Byrns	Louisiana
RS	Johnnie Lang	Arkansas State
AP	Chris Smith	Louisiana

Position	Player	Team
Second Team Offense
QB	Chase Brice	Appalachian State
RB	Nate Noel	Appalachian State
RB	Tucker Gregg	Georgia State
OL	Travis Glover	Georgia State
OL	Kyle Hergel	Texas State
OL	Damion Daley	Appalachian State
OL	Pat Bartlett	Georgia State
OL	Nick Saldiveri	Old Dominion
TE	Aubry Payne	Georgia State
WR	Te'Vailance Hunt	Arkansas State
WR	Jalen Wayne	South Alabama
WR	Boogie Knight	Louisiana–Monroe
Second Team Defense
DL	Richard Jibunor	Troy
DL	Thomas Gore	Georgia State
DL	Jerrod Clark	Coastal Carolina
DL	Justin Ellis	Georgia Southern
LB	Nick Hampton	Appalachian State
LB	Abraham Beauplan	Marshall
LB	Andre Jones Jr.	Louisiana
LB	Trey Cobb	Appalachian State
DB	Steven Jones Jr.	Appalachian State
DB	Derrick Canteen	Georgia Southern
DB	Steven Gilmore	Marshall
DB	TJ Harris	Troy
Second Team Special Teams
K	Calum Sutherland	Louisiana–Monroe
P	Anthony Beck II	Georgia Southern
RS	Camron Harrell	Southern Miss
AP	Amare Jones	Georgia Southern

Individual awards

The following list contains Sun Belt players who were included on preseason watch lists for national awards.

Lott Trophy	none	^[7]
Dodd Trophy	none	^[8]
Maxwell Award	Nate Noel	Appalachian State	RB	^[9]
	Chase Brice	Appalachian State	QB
	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina	QB
	Rasheen Ali	Marshall	RB
	Blake Watson	Old Dominion	RB
Davey O'Brien Award	Chase Brice	Appalachian State	QB	^[10]
	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina	QB
Doak Walker Award	Rasheen Ali	Marshall	RB	^[11]
	Frank Gore Jr.	Southern Miss	RB
	Gerald Green	Georgia Southern	RB
	Tucker Gregg	Georgia State	RB
	Johnnie Lang	Arkansas State	RB
	Nate Noel	Appalachian State	RB
	Camerun Peoples	Appalachian State	RB
	Chris Smith	Louisiana	RB
	Kimani Vidal	Troy	RB
	Blake Watson	Old Dominion	RB
	Jalen White	Georgia Southern	RB
	Jamyest Williams	Georgia State	RB
Biletnikoff Award	Corey Gammage	Marshall	WR	^[12]
	Te'Vailance Hunt	Arkansas State	WR
	Ali Jennings III	Old Dominion	WR
John Mackey Award	Johnny Lumpkin	Louisiana	TE	^[13]
Rimington Trophy	Willie Lampkin	Coastal Carolina	C	^[14]
	Malik Sumter	Georgia State	C
	Jake Andrews	Troy	C
Butkus Award	Carlton Martial	Troy	LB	^[15]
Jim Thorpe Award	Steven Jones Jr.	Appalachian State	CB	^[16]
	Antavious Lane	Georgia State	S
	Darrell Luter Jr.	South Alabama	CB

	Steven Jones Jr.	Appalachian State	CB	^[17]
	Antavious Lane	Georgia State	S
	Darrell Luter Jr.	South Alabama	CB
	Carlton Martial	Troy	LB
	Javon Solomon	Troy	DE
	Josaiah Stewart	Coastal Carolina	DE
	D'Jordan Strong	Coastal Carolina	CB
Outland Trophy	Will Choloh	Troy	DT	^[18]
	A. J. Gillie	Louisiana	G
	Cooper Hodges	Appalachian State	OT
	Willie Lampkin	Coastal Carolina	C
	Austin Stidham	Troy	OT
	Malik Sumter	Georgia State	C
Lou Groza Award	Seth Keller	Texas State	K	^[19]
Ray Guy Award	Anthony Beck II	Georgia Southern	P	^[20]
	Ethan Duane	Old Dominion	P
	Jack Brooks	South Alabama	P
	Mason Hunt	Southern Miss	P
	Rhys Byrns	Louisiana	P
	Ryan Hanson	Arkansas State	P
Paul Hornung Award	Milan Tucker	Appalachian State	CB	^[21]
	Rasheen Ali	Marshall	RB
Wuerffel Trophy	Miller Gibbs	Appalachian State	TE	^[22]
	Eddie Smith	Arkansas State	S
	Chris Smith	Louisiana	RB
	Rasheen Ali	Marshall	RB
	Tyriek Bell	Marshall	LB
	B.R. Hatcher	Old Dominion	LS
	Keith Gallmon Jr.	South Alabama	S
	Swayze Bozeman	Southern Miss	LB
	Micah Hilts	Texas State	TE
	Craig Slocum Jr.	Troy	S

Head coaches

• On September 26, 2021, Georgia Southern fired head coach Chad Lunsford after 5 seasons with the team. Former USC head coach Clay Helton was announced as his permanent replacement, with Helton taking over duties at the conclusion of the 2021 season.^[30]
• On November 21, 2021, Troy fired head coach Chip Lindsey after 4 seasons with the team. Troy hired Kentucky co-defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall as his replacement.^[31]
• On November 28, 2021, Louisiana head coach Billy Napier announced that he was leaving the team to take the head coach position at Florida in the Southeastern Conference. Louisiana promoted their co-offensive coordinator Michael Desormeaux to replace Napier.^[32]

Team	Head coach	Previous Job	Years at school	Overall record	Sun Belt record	Sun Belt titles
Appalachian State	Shawn Clark	Appalachian State (Off. Line Coach)	3			0
Arkansas State	Butch Jones	Alabama (assistant coach)	2			0
Coastal Carolina	Jamey Chadwell	Coastal Carolina (Off. Coordinator)	5			1
Georgia Southern	Clay Helton	USC	1			0
Georgia State	Shawn Elliott	South Carolina (Off. Line Coach)	6			0
James Madison	Curt Cignetti	Elon	4			0
Louisiana	Michael Desormeaux	Louisiana (Co-Off. Coordinator)	1			0
Louisiana–Monroe	Terry Bowden	Clemson (Grad. Assistant)	2			0
Marshall	Charles Huff	Alabama (associate head coach)	2			0
Old Dominion	Ricky Rahne	Penn State (Off. Coordinator)	3			0
South Alabama	Kane Wommack	Indiana (Def. Coordinator)	2			0
Southern Miss	Will Hall	Tulane (Off. Coordinator)	2			0
Texas State	Jake Spavital	West Virginia (Off. Coordinator)	4			0
Troy	Jon Sumrall	Kentucky (Co-Def. Coordinator)	1			0

Post-season changes

• On November 27, Texas State announced that they had fired head coach Jake Spavital. Spavital had posted a record of 13–35 over four years at the school.^[33] On December 7, Texas State announced Incarnate Word's head coach G. J. Kinne would take over as the new head coach for the 2023 season.^[34]
• On December 4, Jamey Chadwell announced that he was leaving Coastal Carolina to take over the head coaching position at Liberty. Coastal Carolina's defensive coordinator Chad Staggs took over as the interim head coach for the team's bowl game.^[35] Later on December 4, Coastal Carolina announced NC State offensive coordinator Tim Beck as the new head coach beginning in 2023.^[36]

Rankings

See also: 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.

	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
Appalachian State	AP	RV		RV	RV
	C	RV		RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Arkansas State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Coastal Carolina	AP						RV	RV			RV	RV	23	23	RV
	C	RV			RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	23	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Georgia Southern	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Georgia State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
James Madison	AP					RV	RV	25	RV						RV	RV
	C					RV	RV	RV							RV
	CFP	Not released
Louisiana	AP
	C	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Louisiana–Monroe	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Marshall	AP			RV													RV
	C			RV
	CFP	Not released
Old Dominion	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
South Alabama	AP									RV			RV	RV	RV	RV
	C									RV			RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Southern Miss	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Texas State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Troy	AP										RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	19
	C										RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	20
	CFP	Not released														24

Legend

		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

Schedule

Index to colors and formatting
Sun Belt member won
Sun Belt member lost
Sun Belt teams in bold

All times Central time.

Championship Game

Week 15 (Sun Belt Championship Game)

See also: 2022 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game.

Postseason

Bowl Games

See also: 2022–23 NCAA football bowl games.

Legend
	Sun Belt win
	Sun Belt loss

Bowl game	Date	Site	Television	Time (CST)	Sun Belt team	Opponent	Score	Attendance
Cure Bowl	December 16	Exploria Stadium • Orlando, FL	ESPN	2:30 p.m.	No. 24 Troy	No. 25 UTSA	W 18–12	11,911
LendingTree Bowl	December 17	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	ESPN	4:45 p.m.	Southern Miss	Rice	W 38–24	20,512
Myrtle Beach Bowl	December 19	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN	1:30 p.m.	Marshall	UConn	W 28–14	12,023
New Orleans Bowl	December 21	Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, LA	ESPN	8:00 p.m.	South Alabama	Western Kentucky	L 23–44	13,456
Independence Bowl	December 23	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	ESPN	2:00 p.m.	Louisiana	Houston	L 16–23	23,410
Camellia Bowl	December 27	Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL	ESPN	11:00 a.m.	Georgia Southern	Buffalo	L 21–23	15,322
Birmingham Bowl	December 27	Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL	ESPN	5:45 p.m.	Coastal Carolina	East Carolina	L 53–29

Rankings are from Final CFP rankings. All times Central Time Zone.

Selection of teams

• Bowl eligible (7): Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Marshall, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Troy
• Bowl ineligible (7): Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana–Monroe, Old Dominion, Texas State

Sun Belt Records against other conferences

2022–2023 records against non-conference foes:

Regular season

Power Five Conferences	Record
ACC	1–5
Big 12	0–2
Big Ten	1–2
BYU/Notre Dame	1–0
Pac-12	0–1
SEC	1–2
Power 5 Total	4–12
Other FBS Conferences	Record
American	1–2
C–USA	4–3
Independents (Excluding BYU/Notre Dame)	2–3
MAC	4–1
Mountain West	0–1
Other FBS Total	11–10
FCS Opponents	Record
Football Championship Subdivision	13–0
Total Non-Conference Record	28–22

Postseason

Power Five Conferences	Record
ACC	0–0
Big 12	0–0
Big Ten	0–0
BYU/Notre Dame	0–0
Pac-12	0–0
SEC	0–0
Power 5 Total	0–0
Other FBS Conferences	Record
American	0–2
C–USA	2–1
Independents (Excluding BYU/Notre Dame)	1–0
MAC	0–1
Mountain West	0–0
Other FBS Total	3–4
Total Bowl Record	3–4

Sun Belt vs Power 5 matchups

This is a list of games the Sun Belt has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, BYU, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 2	ACC	Virginia Tech	Old Dominion	S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA	W 20–17
September 3	ACC	North Carolina	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	L 61–63
September 3	SEC	Troy	No. 21 Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	L 10–28
September 3	SEC	Georgia State	South Carolina	Williams–Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	L 14–35
September 3	Big 12	Louisiana–Monroe	Texas	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX	L 10–52
September 10	Big Ten	Arkansas State	No. 3 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	L 12–45
September 10	ACC	Southern Miss	No. 15 Miami (FL)	Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL	L 7–30
September 10	ACC	North Carolina	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	L 28–35
September 10	Independent	Marshall	No. 8 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN	W 26–21
September 10	SEC	Appalachian State	No. 6 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	W 17–14
September 10	Big Ten	Georgia Southern	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	W 45–42
September 17	Big 12	Texas State	No. 17 Baylor	McLane Stadium • Waco, TX	L 7–42
September 17	Pac-12	South Alabama	UCLA	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA	L 31–32
September 17	ACC	Old Dominion	Virginia	Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA	L 14–16
September 17	SEC	Louisiana–Monroe	No. 2 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL	L 7–63
November 5	ACC	James Madison	Louisville	Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	L 10–34
November 19	ACC	Louisiana	Florida State	Daok Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	L 17–49
November 19	ACC	Coastal Carolina	Virginia	Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA

Sun Belt vs Group of Five matchups

The following games include Sun Belt teams competing against teams from the American, C-USA, MAC, or Mountain West.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 3	Mountain West	Texas State	Nevada	Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV	L 14–38
September 3	C-USA	Middle Tennessee	James Madison	Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA	W 44–7
September 10	MAC	South Alabama	Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI	W 38–24
September 10	American	Old Dominion	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	L 21–39
September 10	MAC	Eastern Michigan	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	W 49–21
September 10	C-USA	FIU	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	W 41–12
September 17	MAC	Buffalo	Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	W 38–26
September 17	C-USA	Georgia Southern	UAB	Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL	L 21–35
September 17	MAC	Marshall	Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH	L 31–34 ^OT
September 17	American	Arkansas State	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN (Paint Bucket Bowl)	L 32–44
September 17	C-USA	Charlotte	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	L 41–42
September 17	C-USA	Louisiana	Rice	Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	L 21–33
September 24	MAC	Ball State	Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	W 34–23
September 24	C-USA	Louisiana Tech	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	W 38–14
September 24	American	Southern Miss	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA (Battle for the Bell)	W 27–24
October 1	C-USA	Troy	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY	W 34–27

Sun Belt vs FBS independents matchups

The following games include Sun Belt teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes Army, Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn, or UMass.

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 3	Army	Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	W 38–28
September 3	Liberty	Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS	L 27–29 ^4OT
October 1	Georgia State	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	W 31–14
October 1	Liberty	Old Dominion	S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA	L 24–38
October 22	Louisiana–Monroe	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	L 24–48
November 12	UMass	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	W 35–33
November 12	Army	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	W 10–9

Sun Belt vs FCS matchups

The following games include Sun Belt teams competing against FCS schools.

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 3	Norfolk State	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV	W 55–3
September 3	Nicholls	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL	W 48–7
September 3	Morgan State	Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	W 59–7
September 3	Grambling State	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	W 58–3
September 3	Southeastern Louisiana	Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA (Cypress Mug)	W 24–7
September 10	Norfolk State	James Madison	Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA	W 63–7
September 10	Gardner-Webb	Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	W 31–27
September 10	Alabama A&M	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL	W 38–17
September 10	Nicholls	Louisiana–Monroe	JPS Field at Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	W 35–7
September 17	Northwestern State	Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS	W 64–10
September 24	Houston Christian	Texas State	Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX	W 34–0
October 1	The Citadel	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	W 49–0
October 1	Gardner-Webb	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV	W 28–7
October 29	Robert Morris	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC	W 42–3

Home game attendance

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Total	Average	% of Capacity
style=	Appalachian State	Kidd Brewer Stadium			40,168 †	34,406	33,248	30,789	31,757	32,501	32,096	234,965	33,566	111.8%
style=	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium	30,406	17,893	18,172	20,083†	11,714	14,354	9,376		91,592	15,265	50.2%
style=	Coastal Carolina	Brooks Stadium	21,000	21,165	12,261	13,372	18,756	16,814	21,224 †	16,203	119,795	17,113	81.4%
style=	Georgia Southern	Paulson Stadium	25,000	15,183	18,434	18,738†	17,084	16,153	18,683		104,275	17,379	69.5%	-	style=	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium		17,687	16,433	13,467	20,109†	16,203	12,241		96,140	16,023	65.8%
style=	James Madison	Bridgeforth Stadium		23,074	23,928	25,188	26,159 †	20,055	19,393		137,804	22,967	92.3%
style=	Louisiana	Cajun Field		16,812	18,079	20,671†	15,017	7,888	11,512		89,979	14,997	36.2%
style=	Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium		13,536	19,077†	18,448	11,376	4,465			66,902	13,380	58.4%
style=	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium		24,607	19,845	19,905	24,954†	24,312	17,427		131,131	21,855	57.1%
style=	Old Dominion	S. B. Ballard Stadium		21,944 †	20,655	18,368	20,162	18,327	21,934		121,390	20,232	92.1%	-	style=	South Alabama	Hancock Whitney Stadium		15,101	17,939	15,459	25,450 †	14,518	11,407		99,874	16,645	65.4%
style=	Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium		24,051	26,202	25,765	27,332†	22,128	24,032		150,787	25,131	69.8%	-	style=	Texas State	Jim Wacker Field at Bobcat Stadium		18,757	16,237	25,613†	16,318	13,287	15,035		105,247	17,541	58.4%
style=	Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium		26,189	27,514	26,017	23,480	31,010 †	23,864		158,074	26,346	86.4%

Bold – At or Exceeded capacity
†Season High

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week		Offensive				Defensive				Special Teams
		Player	Team	Position		Player	Team	Position		Player	Team	Position
Week 1 (September 5)^[37]		Chase Brice	Appalachian State	QB		Jason Henderson	Old Dominion	LB		Eric Garror	Louisiana	RS
Week 2 (September 12)^[38]		Kyle Vantrease	Georgia Southern	QB		Jalen McLeod	Appalachian State	LB		Matthew McDoom	Coastal Carolina	RS
Week 3 (September 19)^[39]		Christian Horn	Appalachian State	WR		Nick Ross	Appalachian State	DB		Natrone Brooks	Southern Miss	RS
Week 4 (September 26)^[40]		Todd Centeio	James Madison	QB		Carlton Martial	Troy	LB		Caullin Lacy	South Alabama	RS
Week 5 (October 3)^[41]		Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina	QB		Carlton Martial (2)	Troy	LB		Johnnie Lang Jr.	Arkansas State	RS
Week 6 (October 10)^[42]		Todd Centeio (2)	James Madison	QB		Troy Spears	Texas State	S		Seth Keller	Texas State	K
Week 7 (October 17)^[43]		Kyle Vantrease (2)	Georgia Southern	QB		Tre Hawkins	Old Dominion	DB		Kenneth Almendares	Louisiana	K
Week 8 (October 24)^[44]		Ben Woolridge	Louisiana	QB		Owen Porter	Marshall	DL		Mike Rivers	Troy	P
Week 9 (October 31)^[45]		La'Damian Webb	South Alabama	RB		Shane Bruce	Coastal Carolina	LB		Evan Crenshaw	Coastal Carolina	P
Week 10 (November 7)^[46]		La'Damian Webb (2)	South Alabama	RB		Carlton Martial (3)	Troy	LB		Rece Verhoff	Marshall	K
Week 11 (November 14)^[47]		Todd Centeio (3)	James Madison	QB		Carlton Martial (4)	Troy	LB		Kenneth Almendares (2)	Louisiana	K
Week 12 (November 21)^[48]		Kimani Vidal	Troy	RB		Jaden Voisin	South Alabama	DB		Seth Keller (2)	Texas State	K
Week 13 (November 28)^[49]		Todd Centeio (4)	James Madison	QB		Reddy Steward	Troy	DB		Alex Raynor	Georgia Southern	K

Sun Belt individual awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the Sun Belt Conference football coaches at the end of the season.^[50]

Award	Player	School
Player of the Year	Grayson McCall	Coastal Carolina
Offensive Player of the Year	Todd Centeio	James Madison
Defensive Player of the Year	Carlton Martial	Troy
Freshman Player of the Year	Jared Brown	Coastal Carolina
Newcomer of the Year	Todd Centeio	James Madison
Coach of the Year	Jon Sumrall	Troy

All-Conference teams

The following players were selected as part of the Sun Belt's All-Conference Teams.

Position	Player	Team
First Team Offense
WR	Jamari Thrash	style=	Georgia State
WR	Kris Thornton	style=	James Madison
WR	Ali Jennings III	style=	Old Dominion
OL	Cooper Hodges	style=	Appalachian State
OL	Austin Stidham	style=	Troy
OL	Willie Lampkin	style=	Coastal Carolina
OL	Jake Andrews	style=	Troy
OL	Anderson Hardy	style=	Appalachian State
TE	Seydou Traore	style=	Arkansas State
QB	Grayson McCall	style=	Coastal Carolina
RB	Khalan Laborn	style=	Marshall
RB	La'Damian Webb	style=	South Alabama
First Team Defense
DL	T.J. Jackson	style=	Troy
DL	Zi'Yon Hill-Green	style=	Louisiana
DL	Owen Porter	style=	Marshall
DL	Will Choloh	style=	Troy
DL	Isaac Ukwu	style=	James Madison
LB	Carlton Martial	style=	Troy
LB	Jason Henderson	style=	Old Dominion
LB	Nick Hampton	style=	Appalachian State
DB	Yam Banks	style=	South Alabama
DB	Micah Abraham	style=	Marshall
DB	Reddy Steward	style=	Troy
DB	Bralen Trahan	style=	Louisiana
First Team Specialists
K	Dominic Zvada	style=	Arkansas State
P	Rhys Byrns	style=	Louisiana
RS	Eric Garror	style=	Louisiana
AP	Frank Gore Jr.	style=	Southern Miss

Position	Player	Team
Second Team Offense
WR	Jalen Wayne	style=	South Alabama
WR	Tyrone Howell	style=	Louisiana–Monroe
WR	Khaleb Hood	style=	Georgia Southern
OL	Khalil Crowder	style=	Georgia Southern
OL	Pat Bartlett	style=	Georgia State
OL	Nick Saldiveri	style=	Old Dominion
OL	Malik Sumter	style=	Georgia State
OL	Nick Kidwell	style=	James Madison
TE	Henry Pearson	style=	Appalachian State
QB	Todd Centeio	style=	James Madison
RB	Kimani Vidal	style=	Troy
RB	Frank Gore Jr.	style=	Southern Miss
Second Team Defense
DL	Levi Bell	style=	Texas State
DL	James Carpenter	style=	James Madison
DL	Richard Jibunor	style=	Troy
DL	Jamare Edwards	style=	James Madison
DL	Josaiah Stewart	style=	Coastal Carolina
LB	Marques Watson-Trent	style=	Georgia Southern
LB	Andre Jones Jr.	style=	Louisiana
LB	Jourdan Quibodeaux	style=	Louisiana
DB	Steven Jones Jr.	style=	Appalachian State
DB	Quavian White	style=	Georgia State
DB	Steven Gilmore	style=	Marshall
DB	Lance Boykin	style=	Coastal Carolina
Second Team Specialists
K	Diego Guajardo	style=	South Alabama
P	Devyn McCormick	style=	Louisiana–Monroe
RS	Johnnie Lang Jr.	style=	Arkansas State
AP	Johnnie Lang Jr.	style=	Arkansas State

Position	Player	Team
Third Team Offense
WR	Jason Brownlee	style=	Southern Miss
WR	Sam Pinckney	style=	Coastal Carolina
WR	Michael Jefferson	style=	Louisiana
OL	James Jackson	style=	South Alabama
OL	Kyle Hergel	style=	Texas State
OL	Caleb Kelly	style=	Georgia Southern
OL	Isaiah Helms	style=	Appalachian State
OL	Antwine Loper	style=	Coastal Carolina
TE	Jacob Jenkins	style=	Coastal Carolina
QB	Kyle Vantrease	style=	Georgia Southern
RB	Percy Agyei-Obese	style=	James Madison
RB	Jalen White	style=	Georgia Southern
Third Team Defense
DL	Kivon Bennett	style=	Arkansas State
DL	Jerrod Clark	style=	Coastal Carolina
DL	Justin Ellis	style=	Georgia Southern
DL	Javon Solomon	style=	Troy
LB	Taurus Jones	style=	James Madison
LB	JT Killen	style=	Coastal Carolina
LB	Santrell Latham	style=	Southern Miss
DB	Jay Stanley	style=	Southern Miss
DB	Malik Shorts	style=	Southern Miss
DB	Darrell Luter Jr.	style=	South Alabama
DB	Antavious Lane	style=	Georgia State
DB	Derrick Canteen	style=	Georgia Southern
Third Team Specialists
K	Briggs Bourgeois	style=	Southern Miss
P	Mason Hunt	style=	Southern Miss
RS	Milan Tucker	style=	Appalachian State
AP	La'Damian Webb	style=	South Alabama

NFL draft

The following list includes all Sun Belt players who were drafted in the 2023 NFL draft.

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team
Nick Saldiveri	OT	Old Dominion	4	1	103	New Orleans Saints
Jake Andrews	C	Troy	4	5	107	New England Patriots
Darrell Luter Jr.	CB	South Alabama	5	20	155	San Francisco 49ers
Nick Hampton	LB	Appalachian State	5	26	161	Los Angeles Rams
Eric Scott Jr.	CB	Southern Miss	6	1	178	Dallas Cowboys
Tre Hawkins III	CB	Old Dominion	6	32	209	New York Giants
Zack Kuntz	TE	Old Dominion	7	3	220	New York Jets
Cooper Hodges	OT	Appalachian State	7	9	226	Jacksonville Jaguars
Andre Jones Jr.	LB	Louisiana	7	16	233	Washington Commanders

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sun Belt Releases 2022 Football Schedule, Including Four New Members. March 1, 2022. March 12, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
2. Web site: No. 23 Louisiana Wins Third-Straight Bowl Game, Secures Program-Record 13-Win Season in R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. December 19, 2021. March 12, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
3. Western Kentucky Tops Appalachian State, 59-38, in the 2021 Roofclaim.Com Boca Raton Bowl . Rose . Parry . roofclaimbocaratonbowl.com . December 18, 2021 . December 18, 2021.
4. Web site: Sun Belt expansion: Marshall follows Southern Miss, Old Dominion in joining league from Conference USA. October 30, 2021. March 13, 2022. CBSSports.com. CBS Interactive. Sallee, Barrett. Jeyarajah, Shehan.
5. Web site: James Madison will join Sun Belt in all sports starting in fall 2022. February 2, 2022. March 13, 2022. Chris. Vannini. theathletic.com. The Athletic Media Company.
6. Web site: Sun Belt Announces Football Preseason Awards & Poll. July 25, 2022. August 13, 2022. Sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
7. Web site: LOTT IMPACT® TROPHY ANNOUNCES 2022 WATCH LIST. May 19, 2022. July 30, 2022.
8. Web site: Dodd Trophy Releases 2022 Preseason Watch List. July 12, 2022. July 30, 2022.
9. Web site: 2022 Maxwell Award Watch List Recipients – Maxwell Football Club. July 30, 2022.
10. Web site: Davey O’Brien Award Announces 2022 Preseason Watch List - 35 of nation’s top returning quarterbacks honored on initial list. July 19, 2022. July 30, 2022.
11. Web site: 2022 Doak Walker Award Candidates. July 21, 2022. July 30, 2022.
12. Web site: 2022 Biletnikoff Award Watch List. July 21, 2022. July 30, 2022.
13. Web site: 2022 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released. July 22, 2022. July 30, 2022.
14. Web site: Rimington Trophy Press Release. July 22, 2022. July 30, 2022.
15. Web site: Butkus Award 38th Season Watch List Announced. thebutkusaward.com. The Butkus Award. July 25, 2022. July 30, 2022.
16. Web site: 2022 PAYCOM JIM THORPE AWARD WATCH LIST . July 25, 2022. July 30, 2022.
17. Web site: 2022 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List unveiled. sportswriters.net. FWWA. July 26, 2022. July 30, 2022.
18. Web site: 2022 Outland Trophy Watch List unveiled. sportswriters.net. FWWA. July 26, 2022. July 30, 2022.
19. Web site: Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Announces 2022 Preseason Watch List. July 27, 2022. July 30, 2022.
20. Web site: 2022 Watchlist. July 27, 2022. July 30, 2022.
21. Web site: 52 PLAYERS FROM 10 CONFERENCES, PLUS 3 INDEPENDENTS, NAMED TO 2022 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST. July 28, 2022. July 30, 2022.
22. Web site: Wuerffel Trophy Unveils Watch List For 2022 . July 28, 2022. July 30, 2022. Brassell, Tom. wuerffeltrophy.org.
23. Web site: Walter Camp 2022 Player of Year Preseason Watch List. waltercamp.org. Walter Camp Football Foundation. Al. Carbone. July 29, 2022. July 30, 2022.
24. Web site: 2022 Bednarik Award Watch List. August 1, 2022. August 5, 2022. Maxwell Football Club.
25. Web site: Rotary Lombardi Award®, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Houston, is pleased to announce the 77 players who will compete for this year’s coveted award.. August 1, 2022. August 5, 2022. Rotary Lombardi Award.
26. Web site: THE PATRICK MANNELLY AWARD 2022 WATCHLIST . August 6, 2022 . August 2, 2022.
27. Web site: Allstate Sugar Bowl Announces Manning Award Watch List, National Honor Recognizes Top Quarterback in Country After Bowls . August 22, 2022. August 22, 2022.
28. Web site: Polynesian College Football Player of the Year 2022 watch list. August 18, 2022. August 19, 2022. polynesianfootballhof.org. Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
29. Web site: The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Unveils 2022 Watch List. August 24, 2022. August 24, 2022.
30. Web site: Clay Helton Named Head Football Coach of Georgia Southern Eagles. November 2, 2021. Georgia Southern University Athletics. en.
31. Web site: Troy hires Jon Sumrall as head football coach. December 3, 2021. December 4, 2021. Creg. Stephenson. al.com. Advance Local Media LLC..
32. Web site: ESPN. Scarborough. Alex. Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns promote Michael Desormeaux to head football coach. December 5, 2021. December 22, 2021.
33. Web site: Texas State fires football coach Jake Spavital after 4 years. Adam. Rittenburg. November 27, 2022. November 27, 2022. espn.com. ESPN.
34. Web site: Welcome G.J. Kinne. December 7, 2022. December 7, 2022. txst.com. Texas State University.
35. Web site: Liberty hires Jamey Chadwell; sides agree to 7-year deal, sources say. Pete. Thamel. December 4, 2022. December 5, 2022. espn.com. ESPN.
36. Web site: Coastal Carolina hires NC State OC Tim Beck as coach. Pete. Thamel. December 4, 2022. December 15, 2022. espn.com. ESPN.
37. Web site: App State's Brice, Old Dominion's Henderson & Louisiana's Garror Claim First Sun Belt Weekly Honors. September 5, 2022. September 5, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
38. Web site: Georgia Southern's Vantrease, App State's McLeod & Coastal Carolina's McDoom Earn Sun Belt Weekly Accolades. September 12, 2022. September 12, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
39. Web site: App State's Horn & Ross & Southern Miss' Brooks Claim Sun Belt Weekly Awards. September 19, 2022. September 20, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
40. Web site: James Madison's Centeio, Troy's Martial & South Alabama's Lacy Earn Sun Belt Weekly Honors. September 26, 2022. September 26, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
41. Web site: Coastal Carolina's McCall, Troy's Martial & Arkansas State's Lang Jr. Claim Sun Belt Weekly Accolades. October 3, 2022. October 8, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
42. Web site: James Madison's Centeio & Texas State's Spears & Keller Earn Sun Belt Weekly Awards . October 10, 2022. October 11, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
43. Web site: Georgia Southern's Vantrease, Old Dominion's Hawkins & Louisiana's Almendares Claim Sun Belt Weekly Accolades. October 17, 2022. October 17, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
44. Web site: Louisiana's Wooldridge, Marshall's Porter & Troy's Rivers Earn Sun Belt Weekly Awards. October 24, 2022. October 25, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
45. Web site: South Alabama's Webb & Coastal Carolina's Bruce & Crenshaw Claim Sun Belt Weekly Honors. October 31, 2022. November 1, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
46. Web site: South Alabama's Webb, Troy's Martial & Marshall's Verhoff Earn Sun Belt Weekly Accolades. November 7, 2022. November 8, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
47. Web site: James Madison's Centeio, Troy's Martial & Louisiana's Almendares Secure Sun Belt Weekly Honors. November 15, 2022. November 15, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
48. Web site: Troy's Vidal, South Alabama's Voisin & Texas State's Keller Reap Sun Belt Weekly Accolades. November 21, 2022. November 21, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
49. Web site: James Madison's Centeio, Troy's Steward & Georgia Southern's Raynor Earn Sun Belt Weekly Awards. November 28, 2022. November 28, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.
50. Web site: Sun Belt Announces 2022 Football Postseason Awards & All-Conference Teams. December 1, 2022. December 1, 2022. sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference.