Sun Belt, ESPN announce updates to 2023 college football schedule

NEW ORLEANS — Heading into the 2023 season, the Sun Belt joins ESPN in announcing updates to its 2023 football schedule on Wednesday.

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 2023 campaign and the conference’s bowl lineup. 2023 marks the 12th-consecutive year that every Sun Belt home game will appear on an ESPN platform.

“We are excited to build upon a banner 2022 season in which the Sun Belt defeated four autonomy five programs, hosted ESPN’s College GameDay for the second time in conference history and produced a conference-record seven Bowl Season participants,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill. “This schedule acknowledges the rise of Sun Belt Conference football and the strength of our partnership with ESPN, as we look to build upon our success.”

Arkansas State at Oklahoma kicks off the Sun Belt’s linear appearances on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT on ESPN.

The Sun Belt will have three additional linear appearances on Saturday, Sept. 2—the first full Saturday of the college football season—Old Dominion will visits Virginia Tech at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on ACC Network; South Alabama will travel to Tulane at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on ESPNU and Coastal Carolina will take on UCLA at 10:30 p.m. ET/9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

A marquee non-conference Saturday slate on Sept. 9 will feature four linear broadcasts—James Madison at Virginia on ESPNU at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT; Troy at Kansas State on FS1 at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT; App State at North Carolina at 5:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. CT on ACC Network; and Southern Miss at Florida State at 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT on ACC Network.

Georgia Southern at Wisconsin at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT on Big Ten Network; Wake Forest at Old Dominion at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT on ESPN2 or ESPNU; ULM at Texas A&M at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT on SEC Network; and Tulane at Southern Miss at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT on ESPNU will also be showcased on national linear networks on Saturday, Sept. 16.

In midweek action, Georgia State at Coastal Carolina at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Sept. 21, will receive flagship billing on ESPN. James Madison at Marshall at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 19, will air on either ESPN or ESPN2.

Other ESPN2 appearances include Coastal Carolina at App State at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Oct. 10; Southern Miss at South Alabama at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Oct. 17; Georgia State at Georgia Southern at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 26; and South Alabama at Troy at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 2.

Southern Miss at Louisiana at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 9, will air on ESPNU.

The 2023 Sun Belt Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 2, will air on either ABC or ESPN at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT. 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 2023 season will conclude with the Sun Belt guaranteed a minimum of five spots in postseason bowl games—the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Cure Bowl, Myrtle Beach Bowl, Camellia Bowl and 68 Ventures Bowl.

The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., will kick off the Sun Belt’s bowl season on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 2:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. CT on ESPN. The Cure Bowl at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Fla., will follow at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.

The Myrtle Beach Bowl—contested at Coastal Carolina’s Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C., will be showcased on ESPN at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT on Monday, Dec. 18.

The Camellia Bowl at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., will air on ESPN at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 23, while the 68 Ventures Bowl—played at South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium—will round out the Sun Belt’s guaranteed bowl assignments at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

The Sun Belt also holds backup agreements with ESPN Events and the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.

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 non-autonomy conferences.

The Sun Belt continues to pace the FBS with a .614 bowl winning percentage since the dawn of the College Football Playoff (CFP) era in 2014.

2023 SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Thursday, August 31
Rhode Island at Georgia State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+

Saturday, September 2
Arkansas State at Oklahoma, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – ESPN
Gardner-Webb at App State, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+
The Citadel at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Bucknell at James Madison, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Albany at Marshall, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Army at ULM, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – TBA
Alcorn State at Southern Miss, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Texas State at Baylor, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Stephen F. Austin at Troy, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Northwestern State at Louisiana, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Old Dominion at Virginia Tech, 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT – ACC Network
South Alabama at Tulane, 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT – ESPNU
Coastal Carolina at UCLA, 10:30 p.m. ET/9:30 p.m. CT – ESPN

Saturday, Sept. 9
James Madison at Virginia, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – ESPNU
Troy at Kansas State, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – FS1
Southeastern Louisiana at South Alabama, 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT – ESPN+
App State at North Carolina, 5:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. CT – ACC Network
UAB at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Louisiana at Old Dominion*, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Memphis at Arkansas State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Jacksonville State at Coastal Carolina, 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
UConn at Georgia State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Lamar at ULM, 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Southern Miss at Florida State, 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT – ACC Network
Marshall at East Carolina, TBA – TBA
Texas State at UTSA, TBA – TBA

Saturday, Sept. 16
Georgia Southern at Wisconsin, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – Big Ten Network
Wake Forest at Old Dominion, 12 p.m. ET1/11 a.m. CT – ESPN2 or ESPNU
East Carolina at App State., 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+
ULM at Texas A&M, 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT – SEC Network
Tulane at Southern Miss, 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT – ESPNU
Georgia State at Charlotte, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Duquesne at Coastal Carolina, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Stony Brook at Arkansas State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Louisiana at UAB, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
South Alabama at Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Jackson State at Texas State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
James Madison at Troy*, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – TBA

Thursday, Sept. 21
Georgia State at Coastal Carolina*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN

Tuesday, Oct. 10
Coastal Carolina at App State*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Tuesday, Oct. 17
Southern Miss at South Alabama*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Thursday, Oct. 19
James Madison at Marshall*, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN or ESPN2

Thursday, Oct. 26
Georgia State at Georgia Southern*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Thursday, Nov. 2
South Alabama at Troy*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Thursday, Nov. 9
Southern Miss at Louisiana*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Saturday, Dec. 2
Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship Game, 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT – ABC or ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 16
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, 2:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. CT – ESPN
Cure Bowl, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ABC

Monday, Dec. 18
Myrtle Beach Bowl, 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT – ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 23
Camellia Bowl, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – ESPN
68 Ventures Bowl, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN

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