This is a list of yearly Sun Belt Conference football champions. Co-champions are listed in alphabetical order. From 2001 to 2017, there had not been a tie breaker for conference champions. Since 2018, an outright conference champion is determined by the Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game.
Schools are listed by their current athletic branding, not necessarily what they used in a given season.
| Year | Champions | Conference record | Overall record | Bowl result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Middle Tennessee | 5–1 | 8–3 | |
| North Texas | 5–1 | 5–7 | L New Orleans Bowl 20–45 vs. Colorado State | |
| 2002 | North Texas | 6–0 | 8–5 | W New Orleans Bowl 25–19 vs. Cincinnati |
| 2003 | North Texas | 7–0 | 9–4 | L New Orleans Bowl 17–27 vs. Memphis |
| 2004 | North Texas | 7–0 | 7–5 | L New Orleans Bowl 10–31 vs. Southern Miss |
| 2005 | Arkansas State | 5–2 | 6–6 | L New Orleans Bowl 19–31 vs. Southern Miss |
| Louisiana | 5–2 | 6–5 | ||
| Louisiana-Monroe | 5–2 | 5–6 | ||
| 2006 | Middle Tennessee | 6–1 | 7–6 | |
| Troy | 6–1 | 8–5 | W New Orleans Bowl 41–17 vs. Rice | |
| 2007 | Florida Atlantic | 6–1 | 8–5 | W New Orleans Bowl 44–27 vs. Memphis |
| Troy | 6–1 | 8–4 | ||
| 2008 | Troy | 6–1 | 8–5 | L New Orleans Bowl 27–30 vs. Southern Miss |
| 2009 | Troy | 8–0 | 9–4 | L GMAC Bowl 41–44 vs. Central Michigan |
| 2010 | FIU | 6–2 | 7–6 | W Little Caesars Pizza Bowl 34–32 vs. Toledo |
| Troy | 6–2 | 8–5 | W New Orleans Bowl 48–21 vs. Ohio | |
| 2011 | Arkansas State | 8–0 | 10–3 | L GoDaddy.com Bowl 20–38 vs. Northern Illinois |
| 2012 | Arkansas State | 7–1 | 10–3 | W GoDaddy.com Bowl 17–13 vs. Kent State |
| 2013 | Arkansas State | 5–2 | 7–5 | W GoDaddy Bowl 23–20 vs. Ball State |
| 5–2 | 8–4 | W New Orleans Bowl 24–21 vs. Tulane | ||
| 2014 | 8–0 | 9–3 | ||
| 2015 | Arkansas State | 8–0 | 9–3 | L New Orleans Bowl 28–47 vs. Louisiana Tech |
| 2016 | Appalachian State | 7–1 | 9–3 | W Camellia Bowl 31–28 vs. Toledo |
| Arkansas State | 7–1 | 8–5 | W Cure Bowl 31–13 vs. UCF | |
| 2017 | Troy | 7–1 | 10–2 | W New Orleans Bowl 50–30 vs. North Texas |
| Appalachian State | 7–1 | 8–4 | W Dollar General Bowl 34–0 vs. Toledo |