NEW ORLEANS – Four Sun Belt Conference football teams have learned their postseason bowl destinations as the conference’s bowl partners made their official selections on Sunday.
The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl will feature the Arkansas State Red Wolves, the GoDaddy Bowl will host the Georgia Southern Eagles, the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl will welcome the Appalachian State Mountaineers and the AutoNation Cure Bowl will host the Georgia State Panthers.
With four postseason teams the Sun Belt tied its previous high of bowl teams as four teams also represented the conference in 2012.
Three teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) will be playing in their first bowl games this season and all come from the Sun Belt - Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Georgia State will all be playing in their first bowl games. Arkansas State will be playing in a postseason bowl game for its fifth consecutive season and it will be the second time they have played in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
“This was a competitive year with our four bowl representatives having impressive seasons and we know they will represent the Sun Belt very well,” said Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson. “Our bowl partners are excited to have these teams playing in their games with the great fan bases of these programs all having to travel less than 450 miles to their bowls.
“Without question, these four teams speak highly of the strength of the conference. Arkansas State has now played in five consecutive bowl games, while Georgia State is playing in a bowl game in only its third season in FBS, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern are both playing in games in just their second year in the FBS. Our membership has demonstrated its strength in football and we look forward to having another successful football postseason.”
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Arkansas State (9-3, 8-0 Sun Belt), winners of the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship, will face Louisiana Tech on Saturday, December 19. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. (CT) from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the game will air on ESPN.
GoDaddy Bowl
Georgia Southern (8-4, 6-2 Sun Belt) will play in its first FBS Bowl game when the Eagles play Bowling Green on Wednesday, December 23. The game will be played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. And kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT) on ESPN.
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
Appalachian State (10-2, 7-1) will makes its first FBS Bowl appearance against Ohio at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala. The game will air on ESPN starting at 4:30 p.m. (CT).
AutoNation Cure Bowl
Also making its first bowl appearance in program history is Georgia State (6-6, 5-3) as the Panthers will play San Jose State in the Orlando Citrus Bowl. CBS Sports Network will air the game live beginning at 6 p.m. (CT).