Sun Belt announces divisions for 2018 football season

POINT CLEAR, Ala. – The Sun Belt Conference will split into two five-team divisions, broken up simply by east and west, starting in 2018.

The conference announced its divisions Tuesday after the end of its spring meetings.

Idaho plays its last season of football in the Sun Belt in 2017 and will return to the Big Sky in 2018.

The East Division will include Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State and Troy. The West Division will have Arkansas State, South Alabama, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State.

The winners of each division will meet in the championship game, which will be played at the home stadium of the team with the best College Football Playoff ranking. If no teams are ranked in the CFP selection committee, the conference will determine home field using a formula based on six computer ratings that were used in the old Bowl Championship Series standings.

Sun Belt administrators also approved a collaborative instant replay system for football that will be modeled on the Southeastern Conference’s setup and officials in a central location to review replays and assist instant replay officials at each game.

Updates to include how conference will determine home field in championship game if no teams are ranked by College Football Playoff selection committee.