“With Texas State’s recent announcement of its planned departure from the Sun Belt Conference, I want to personally take a moment to thank the Bobcat staff for their collaboration and leadership through a transformative era in college athletics from the COVID-19 pandemic to name, image and likeness to the most recent round of realignment. 
 
Since expanding to 14 football-playing members, the Sun Belt Conference has experienced the best three-year stretch in the conference’s nearly 50-year history.
 
Over the span, the league has led all non-autonomy conferences in football postseason representation for three-straight years—including leading the nation with 12 bowl teams in 2023; set a conference record with a non-autonomy leading 37 NCAA postseason and bowl berths during the 2023-24 season—when it was a multi-bid league in women’s soccer, men’s soccer, volleyball, football, softball and baseball; and established itself as a power player as 1-of-5 conferences with multiple appearances in NCAA Division I national championship finals in 2024-25.  
 
I will continue to update our stakeholders on developments whenever possible as we work to ensure the sustained rise of the Sun Belt Conference—a collection of like-minded, regional rivals with winning football traditions, passionate fanbases and enduring commitments to excellence in all sports.

The Sun Belt Conference is RISING, and our best days are ahead.”