Sun Belt works on better reputation

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Tennessean.com article

Sun Belt works on better reputation

Happy with growth, says perception is problem

By MARY FOSTER

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — The Sun Belt Conference kicked off its football media days yesterday by bragging about all its sports.

The conference, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary beginning this season, is one of only 11 NCAA conferences to participate in Division I-A football and basketball and sponsors 19 sports in all.

"This is a very exciting time for our league," Commissioner Wright Waters said.

The Sun Belt was founded as a basketball league. The idea was to build a powerhouse conference in the Southeast and in the first year then-member Charlotte went to the NCAA Final Four.

It wasn't until Waters took over in February 1999 that the league began growing in earnest.

Before that there was no financial reserve, fans were dissatisfied and the member teams were scattered from Denver to Miami, Waters said.

When asked to become the commissioner Waters had one big demand: "It doesn't work if you aren't serious about football," he said.

The league assured him it was serious about the sport.

Sun Belt football has grown. It now has both a national and regional television contract and the conference winner hosts the New Orleans Bowl.

"We have made light-year improvement in what we're doing in football," Waters said.

The Sun Belt has produced the nation's past two top running backs — North Texas' Jamario Thomas (2004) and Patrick Cobbs (2003). Last season, for the first time, the Sun Belt had two teams receive bowl bids — Troy at the Silicon Valley Classic and North Texas in the New Orleans Bowl.

It's success that is frequently overlooked, to Waters' chagrin.

"The biggest problem we've got is perception," Waters said. "We need more high-profile wins."

The league needs more football upsets against big-time opponents such as Troy's 24-14 victory over then No. 19 Missouri last season.

"When Troy beat Missouri last year people looked up and said, 'They might be pretty good after all.' "

The Sun Belt must also improve attendance at games. Last season it ranked 10th out of 11 Division I-A conferences, averaging just more than 18,000 a game. That was up from 14,252 in 2003. Wright believes it will climb again this season.

"I think we can be as good as anybody outside the top five leagues," Waters said.

The Sun Belt won't have the reputation or glamour of those five, Waters realizes, but he believes it will continue to grow.

"There are more teams in Division I-A that look like us than look like Southern California," he said. •