Sun Belt Conference women's basketball tournament explained

Sun Belt women's basketball tournament
Optional Subheader:	Conference basketball championship
Sport:	Women's basketball
Conference:	Sun Belt Conference
Number Of Teams:	14
Format:	Single-elimination tournament
Current Stadium:	Pensacola Bay Center
Current Location:	Pensacola, Florida
Years:	1983–present
Most Recent:	2024
Current Champion:	Marshall
Most Championships:	Western Kentucky (9)
Television:	ESPN+
Website:	Sun Belt Women's Basketball

The Sun Belt Conference women's basketball tournament has been played every year since the 1982-83 academic year. The winner of the tournament is guaranteed an automatic berth into the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

In 2007, the Sun Belt received an at-large berth, as Louisiana–Lafayette (regular season champ of the West Division) received an invite to the national tournament despite losing in the conference tournament final. The following year, the Sun Belt received an at-large berth again, as Middle Tennessee State received an invite to the national tournament. In 2010, it happened again, as Little Rock received an at-large bid, having entered the conference tourney as a #1 seed, before losing to Middle Tennessee in double overtime.

The current tournament format, featuring all conference members, has been in place since the 2020–21 season. The tournament is being held in Pensacola, Florida through at least the 2024–25 season. First- and second-round games are played simultaneously at Hartsell Arena on the campus of Pensacola State College and the Pensacola Bay Center, with semifinals and finals at the Bay Center.^[1]

Champions by year

rowspa=2	Season	Tournament champion	Score	Runner-up	Game site
1983	Old Dominion	78–67	Western Kentucky	ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, Virginia
1984	Old Dominion	78–69	South Alabama
1985	Old Dominion	76–63	Western Kentucky
1986	Western Kentucky	69–61	Old Dominion	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky
1987	Old Dominion	64–61	South Alabama	ODU Fieldhouse
1988	UNC Charlotte	74–69	VCU	USF Sun Dome Tampa, Florida
1989	Western Kentucky	67–54	South Alabama	E. A. Diddle Arena
1990	Old Dominion	72–57	UAB	ODU Fieldhouse
1991	Western Kentucky	81–73	UAB	UAB Arena Birmingham, Alabama
1992	Western Kentucky	65–62	Arkansas State	E. A. Diddle Arena
1993	Western Kentucky	81–73	Louisiana Tech	Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, Louisiana
1994	Louisiana Tech	68–43	Western Kentucky	E. A. Diddle Arena
1995	Western Kentucky	71–68	Louisiana Tech
1996	Louisiana Tech	71–53	Western Kentucky	ASU Convocation Center Jonesboro, Arkansas
1997	Louisiana Tech	80–68	Western Kentucky	E. A. Diddle Arena
1998	Louisiana Tech	69–68	Western Kentucky	Thomas Assembly Center
1999	Louisiana Tech	84–60	FIU	ASU Convocation Center
2000	Louisiana Tech	97–94	Western Kentucky	E.A. Diddle Arena
2001	Louisiana Tech	67–55	Denver	Mitchell Center Mobile, Alabama
2002	FIU	66–49	North Texas	Lakefront Arena New Orleans, Louisiana
2003	Western Kentucky	86–83	Middle Tennessee	E.A. Diddle Arena
2004	Middle Tennessee	79–57	Western Kentucky
2005	Middle Tennessee	67–52	Louisiana-Lafayette	UNT Coliseum Denton, Texas
2006	Middle Tennessee	84–73	Western Kentucky	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
2007	Middle Tennessee	77–67	Louisiana-Lafayette	first round at campus sites; rest at Cajundome, Lafayette, Louisiana
2008	Western Kentucky	65–49	Middle Tennessee	first round games at higher seed; rest at Mitchell Center
2009	Middle Tennessee	74–54	UALR	Summit Arena Hot Springs, Arkansas
2010	Middle Tennessee	70–68^OT	UALR
2011	UALR	66–59	Western Kentucky
2012	UALR	71–70^OT	Middle Tennessee
2013	Middle Tennessee	53–48	UALR
2014	Western Kentucky	61–60	Arkansas State	Lakefront Arena
2015	UALR	78–72	Arkansas State
2016	Troy	61–60^OT	Little Rock
2017	Troy	78–64	Louisiana
2018	Little Rock	54–53	Texas State
2019	Little Rock	57–56	South Alabama	First three rounds: Campus sites Semifinals and final: Lakefront Arena
2020	Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021	Troy	73–65	Louisiana	Hartsell Arena – Select first-and second-round games Pensacola Bay Center – All remaining games (Pensacola, FL)^[2]
2022	UT Arlington	76–61	Troy	Pensacola Bay Center
2023	James Madison	81–51	Texas State
2024	Marshall	95–92^OT	James Madison
2025

Performance by school

Member	Winners	Winning Years
Western Kentucky		1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2003, 2008, 2014
Louisiana Tech		1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
Middle Tennessee		2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013
Little Rock		2011, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019
Old Dominion		1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1990
Troy		2016, 2017, 2021
Charlotte		1988
FIU		2002
James Madison		2023
Marshall		2024
UT Arlington		2022
TOTAL

• Current conference members as of the 2023–24 season are indicated in bold.

See also

• Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament

Notes and References

1. Pensacola Selected to Host 2021-25 Basketball Championships . Sun Belt Conference . March 3, 2020 . March 3, 2020.
2. Pensacola Selected to Host 2021-25 Basketball Championships . Sun Belt Conference . March 3, 2020 . March 3, 2020.