Sun Belt bowl partners finalize dates, times and network designations

NEW ORLEANS – All five of the Sun Belt Conference’s bowl partners have finalized dates, kick times and network designations as announced Thursday.

The Sun Belt maintains primary partnerships with five total bowl games: the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Mobile Alabama Bowl, Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, AutoNation Cure Bowl and the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. Additionally, the College Football Playoff guarantees that a spot among the New Year’s Six bowl games will be given to the highest-ranked champion from the Group of Five conferences.

The winner of the Sun Belt Football Championship Game, if not selected for inclusion in the College Football Playoff, will automatically be placed in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

The Sun Belt will look to continue its postseason success in its 2019 bowl games as the league has the highest bowl game winning percentage over the last three seasons among all Football Bowl Subdivision conferences, winning nearly 70 percent of its games.

The AutoNation Cure Bowl will be the first of the Sun Belt’s bowls to kickoff as CBS Sports Network will carry the game that starts at 1:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 21. New for this year, the game will be played at Orlando City Stadium after having been played at Camping World Stadium the past four seasons. The Sun Belt’s representative will be pitted against a team from the American Athletic Conference.

The Raycom Media Camellia Bowl and R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl will also be played on Dec. 21

The Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala. will once again host the Camellia Bowl with kickoff coming at 4:30 p.m. CT and ESPN providing the live coverage. The Sun Belt has played in all five editions of the game with a team from the Mid-American Conference being the scheduled opponent.

The New Orleans Bowl has been home to a Sun Belt team since its inception in 2001 and this year’s Sun Belt Champion will visit the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for an 8 p.m. CT kickoff live on ESPN. The Sun Belt has won the New Orleans Bowl the last two years and holds an 8-2 record over the last 10 seasons. The league will once again play a team from Conference USA.

New Year’s Eve will see a Sun Belt team in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl in Tucson, Ariz. The game will once again be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with a kickoff time set for 3:30 p.m. CT. The Sun Belt will be participating in the game for the fourth consecutive season and will face a team from the Mountain West Conference.

Rounding out the Sun Belt bowl season will be the Mobile Alabama Bowl on Jan. 6. The annual game played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. The Sun Belt has sent a team to the game every season since 2009 and the game became the Sun Belt’s second bowl partner in 2010. The game is annually played against an opponent from the Mid-American Conference. The Sun Belt has won the bowl four consecutive years.

The second edition of the Sun Belt Football Championship Game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 7 on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The site of the championship will once again be played at the home venue of the division champion with highest winning percentage in conference games.

2019 SUN BELT FOOTBALL BOWL LINEUP

Saturday, December 21
AutoNation Cure Bowl – 1:30 p.m.
CBS Sports Network – Orlando City Stadium – Orlando, Fla.

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl – 4:30 p.m.
ESPN – Cramton Bowl – Montgomery, Ala.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – 8 p.m.
ESPN – Mercedes-Benz Superdome – New Orleans, La.

Tuesday, December 31
NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl – 3:30 p.m.
CBS Sports Network – Arizona Stadium – Tucson, Ariz.

Monday, January 6
Mobile Alabama Bowl – 6:30 p.m.
ESPN – Ladd-Peebles Stadium – Mobile, Ala.

All times Central and Subject to Change