The pairing of ODU and James Madison fit what the Sun Belt wanted. But the league decided to look bigger as well, especially when the American Athletic Conference jumped to 14 members, putting C-USA on life support. In seeking members that fit in the footprint, Southern Miss and Marshall were the most appealing from the start. (Photo: Michael Wade / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Why add Old Dominion?Ĭhris Vannini, national college football writer: The Sun Belt felt it didn’t need to expand from its current setup of 10 football members and two non-football members unless it found value. The expected addition of James Madison will give the Monarchs a natural local rival as well. With the addition of Old Dominion, the Sun Belt will expand its footprint into Virginia. The Monarchs’ $49 million athletic budget was easily the largest in Conference USA, though that is heavily subsidized by student fees. Its football stadium was essentially rebuilt prior to the 2019 season at a cost of nearly $70 million. The Monarchs didn’t play in 2020 due to COVID-19, and this year’s team is 1-6 overall. The team went 10-3 in 2016 but has struggled since. The Monarch football team then moved up to the Football Bowl Subdivision level in 2014 as part of conference realignment. It’s been a quick rise for Old Dominion, whose football program was restarted in 2009, nearly 70 years after it was shut down in 1941. Southern Miss and ODU have said they will begin play in the Sun Belt no later than July 1, 2023. They were previously a member of the Sun Belt from 1982-91, before joining the Colonial Athletic Association and then C-USA. The Monarchs will move to the Sun Belt from Conference USA. The Action Network first reported ODU was official, and a source told The Athletic Tuesday night that the Monarchs had signed on to join the league. Southern Miss made its official announcement on Tuesday.Ī decision from Marshall is expected by the end of the week, and news on James Madison should come later next week. ODU is the second of an expected four teams to join the conference. The Monarchs will join the SBC no later than July 1, 2023. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.Old Dominion formally joined the Sun Belt following a unanimous vote of Sun Belt CEOs, the conference announced Wednesday. To win five games a year for the last three years, there was a lot of change we brought to the staff, and a lot of it wasn't comfortable." These kids have worked so hard, and they've done so much, and they've been through a lot. "That was as good a feeling as I ever had after a game," said Sumrall, who was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year earlier this week. McCall was 29 of 41 for 319 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He put up some good numbers but most came in the second half. DK Billingsley scored on runs of 8 and 33 yards in the first half.Ĭoastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall, a three-time SBC Player of the Year, saw action for the first time since injuring his foot on Nov. Watson directed the Trojans to points on six of the team's first seven possessions. Johnson-Sanders had four catches for an SBC championship-record 134 yards. Watson was 12 of 17 for 318 yards with touchdowns of 65 yards to Deshon Stoudemire and 67 and 36 yards to RaJae' Johnson-Sanders. Quarterback Gunnar Watson had perhaps his most efficient game of the season. We invest deeply in relationships with our players and care deeply about them." "I wanted them to understand that things weren't going to be the same and we were going to work harder than they'd ever worked. "A year ago today is the first time I had a team meeting here in this room with the guys about the direction we were about to take this thing," Sumrall said. Jon Sumrall won a conference title in his first season as the Trojans' head coach. The Troy Trojans have a pulse.” #RiseToBuild | #OneTROY ⚔️□ /BHoA2Dl9o3- Troy Trojans Football 7x⚔️ December 4, 2022 It was also the 10th consecutive victory for a Troy team that began the season with two losses in their first three games. It was the Trojans' first SBC championship game and a conference record seventh overall championship. Troy scored 31 unanswered points to start the game and cruised to a 45-26 victory over visiting Coastal Carolina before a crowd of 21,554 at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Trojans have themselves to thank for that. Troy’s first trip to the Sun Belt Football championship game didn't include much suspense.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |