Sun Belt announces updates to 2021 football schedule including bowl dates and times

NEW ORLEANS — Following a breakthrough season in which it paced all FBS conferences with 21 non-conference victories and had a pair of teams listed in the final AP Poll, Coaches Poll and College Football Playoff Rankings for the first time in conference history, the Sun Belt joins ESPN in announcing updates to its 2021 football schedule on Thursday.

The announcement includes both kickoff times and network designations for the majority of games during the first three weeks of the season, all midweek games throughout the 2021 campaign and the conference’s bowl lineup. 2021 marks the 10th-consecutive year that every Sun Belt home game will appear on an ESPN platform.

“This schedule showcases the strength of our football programs and our partnership with ESPN, as we aim to continue the momentum from our record-breaking 2020 season,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill. “We are excited about the increased linear opportunities provided by ESPN as we look to build upon the fact that more than 26 million viewers watched our football games in 2020.”

East Carolina at App State kicks off the Sun Belt’s linear appearances on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU. The game is 1-of-6 Sun Belt contests slated for ESPNU.

A matchup of teams that finished the 2020 season ranked No. 19 and No. 20 in the College Football Playoff Rankings—Louisiana and Texas—will air on FOX on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 3:30 p.m. CT.

A game that will occur under the Friday night lights on September 10—Kansas at Coastal Carolina—will air in primetime on ESPN2, with kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m. CT. The Jayhawks will be the first-ever Power 5 opponent to play on the “Surf Turf” inside Brooks Stadium.

A pair of marquee non-conference matchups, App State at Miami at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 11, and Coastal Carolina at Buffalo at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 18, will flex to either ESPN2 or ESPNU.

In midweek action, Ohio at Louisiana at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday, Sept. 16; Marshall at App State at 6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Sept. 23; and Georgia State at Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 4, will receive flagship billing on ESPN. App State at Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Oct. 12, and Coastal Carolina at App State at 6:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Oct. 20 will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Other ESPNU appearances include Army at Georgia State on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 11 a.m. CT; Coastal Carolina at Arkansas State on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 6:30 p.m. CT; Georgia Southern at South Alabama on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m. CT; Louisiana at Arkansas State on Thursday, Oct. 21, at 6:30 p.m. CT; and Troy at Coastal Carolina on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m. CT.

The 2021 Sun Belt Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 4, will air on ESPN—with the kickoff time to be announced at a later date. The game will feature the champions of the conference’s East and West Divisions and will be played at the site of the divisional winner with the best overall conference record.

The 2021 season will conclude with the Sun Belt guaranteed a minimum of five spots in postseason bowl games—the Cure Bowl, Lending Tree Bowl, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Myrtle Beach Bowl and Camellia Bowl.

The Cure Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., will kick off the Sun Belt’s bowl season on Friday, Dec. 17, at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2. A pair of Sun Belt programs will compete on Saturday, Dec. 18, with one team in the Lending Tree Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., at 4:45 p.m. CT on ESPN and another in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La., at 8:15 p.m. CT on ESPN.

The Myrtle Beach Bowl at Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C., will air on ESPN at 1:30 p.m. CT on Monday, Dec. 20, while the Camellia Bowl at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., will round out the Sun Belt’s guaranteed bowl assignments at 1:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 25, on ESPN.

The College Football Playoff also guarantees that a spot among the New Year’s Six bowl games will be awarded to the highest-ranked champion from the Group of Five conferences.

The Sun Belt has won 69 percent of its bowl games over the past five seasons—including 4-of-5 in 2020—to lead all FBS conferences.

2021 SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Thursday, September 2
The Citadel at Coastal Carolina, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT — ESPN+
East Carolina at App State, 7:30 p.m. ET/ 6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Saturday, September 4
Army at Georgia State, 12 p.m. ET/ 11 a.m. CT – ESPNU
ULM at Kentucky, 12 p.m. ET/ 11 a.m. CT – SECN
Louisiana at Texas, 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT – FOX
Gardner-Webb at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Central Arkansas at Arkansas State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Southern at Troy, 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Baylor at Texas State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Southern Miss at South Alabama, 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT – ESPN+

Friday, September 10
Kansas at Coastal Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Saturday, September 11
South Alabama at Bowling Green, 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT – ESPN+
App State at Miami, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN2 or ESPNU
Memphis at Arkansas State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Liberty at Troy, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Nicholls State at Louisiana, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Texas State at Florida International, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Georgia State at North Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN3

Thursday, September 16
Ohio at Louisiana, 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT – ESPN

Saturday, September 18
Coastal Carolina at Buffalo, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – ESPN2 or ESPNU
Elon at App State, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Georgia Southern at Arkansas, 4 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. CT – SECN
Arkansas State at Washington, 4:15 p.m. ET/3:15 p.m. CT – P12N
Charlotte at Georgia State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Incarnate Word at Texas State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Troy at Southern Miss, 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Alcorn State at South Alabama, 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Jackson State at ULM, 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT – ESPN3

Thursday, September 23
Marshall at App State, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN

Thursday, October 7
Coastal Carolina at Arkansas State, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Tuesday, October 12
App State at Louisiana, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Thursday, October 14
Georgia Southern at South Alabama, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Wednesday, October 20
Coastal Carolina at App State, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Thursday, October 21
Louisiana at Arkansas State, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Thursday, October 28
Troy at Coastal Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Thursday, November 4
Georgia State at Louisiana, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN

Saturday, December 4
Sun Belt Football Championship Game, TBA – ESPN

Friday, December 17
Cure Bowl, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Saturday, December 18
Lending Tree Bowl, 5:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. CT – ESPN
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, 9:15 p.m. ET/8:15 p.m. CT – ESPN

Monday, December 20
Myrtle Beach Bowl, 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT – ESPN

Saturday, December 25
Camellia Bowl, 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT – ESPN

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