Sun Belt, ESPN announce updates to 2022 football schedule

NeW ORLEANS — Heading into the 2022 season, its first as a 14-member football conference, the Sun Belt joins ESPN in announcing updates to its 2022 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 2022 campaign and the conference’s bowl lineup. 2022 marks the 11th-consecutive year that every Sun Belt home game will appear on an ESPN platform.

“We are excited to welcome four storied football programs and engaged fanbases into our membership—James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss—during the 2022 season,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill. “This schedule showcases the strength of Sun Belt Conference football and our partnership with ESPN, as we look to build upon our successes over the past few seasons.”

Virginia Tech at Old Dominion kicks off the Sun Belt’s linear appearances on Friday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

The Sun Belt will have three additional linear appearances on Saturday, Sept. 3—the first full Saturday of the college football season—UNC will visit App State at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT on ESPNU; Troy will travel to Ole Miss at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT on SEC Network; and ULM will take on Texas at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Longhorn Network.

A marquee non-conference Saturday slate on Sept. 10 will feature five linear broadcasts—UNC at Georgia State on ESPN at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT; Arkansas State at Ohio State on Big Ten Network at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT; Southern Miss at Miami on ACC Network at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT; App State at Texas A&M on ESPN2 at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT; and Georgia Southern at Nebraska on FS1 at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT.

Texas State at Baylor at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT on FS1; Old Dominion at Virginia at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT on ACC Network; South Alabama at UCLA at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT on Pac-12 Network; and ULM at Alabama at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT on SEC Network will also be showcased on national linear networks on Saturday, Sept. 17.

In midweek action, App State at Coastal Carolina at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 3, will receive flagship billing on ESPN. Louisiana at Marshall at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Oct. 12, and Georgia State at App State at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Oct. 19, will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Other ESPNU appearances include Coastal Carolina at Georgia State at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Sept. 22; Troy at South Alabama at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 20; Louisiana at Southern Miss at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 27; and Georgia Southern at Louisiana at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 10.

The 2022 Sun Belt Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 3, will air on ESPN at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 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 2022 season will conclude with the Sun Belt guaranteed a minimum of five spots in postseason bowl games—the Cure Bowl, Lending Tree Bowl, Myrtle Beach Bowl, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and Camellia Bowl.

The Cure Bowl at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Fla., will kick off the Sun Belt’s bowl season on Friday, Dec. 16, at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Two Sun Belt stadiums will once again play host to bowl games. The Cure Bowl will be contested at South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala., at 5:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 17, and will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN. The Myrtle Beach Bowl will be played at Coastal Carolina’s Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C., at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT on Monday, Dec. 19, and will also be showcased on ESPN.

The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., will air on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Dec. 21, while the Camellia Bowl at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., will round out the Sun Belt’s guaranteed bowl assignments at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 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 continues to pace the FBS with a .649 bowl winning percentage—including 3-of-4 in 2021—since the dawn of the College Football Playoff era in 2014.

2022 SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Friday, September 2 
Virginia Tech at Old Dominion, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Saturday, September 3
UNC at App State, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – ESPNU
Norfolk State at Marshall, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Troy at Ole Miss, 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT – SEC Network
Nicholls State at South Alabama, 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Morgan State at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Middle Tennessee at James Madison, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Army at Coastal Carolina, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Grambling State at Arkansas State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Southeastern Louisiana at Louisiana, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Liberty at Southern Miss, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Georgia State at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+/SECN+
ULM at Texas, 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT – Longhorn Network
Texas State at Nevada, TBA – TBA

Saturday, Sept. 10
UNC at Georgia State, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – ESPNU
Arkansas State at Ohio State, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – BTN
Southern Miss at Miami, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – ACC Network
South Alabama at Central Michigan, 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Marshall at Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT – TBA
App State at Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2
Norfolk State at James Madison, 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Gardner-Webb at Coastal Carolina, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Old Dominion at East Carolina, 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Eastern Michigan at Louisiana, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – TBA
Alabama A&M at Troy, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN3
FIU at Texas State, 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Georgia Southern at Nebraska, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – FS1
Nicholls State at ULM, 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT – ESPN3

Saturday, Sept. 17
Texas State at Baylor, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – FS1
Buffalo at Coastal Carolina, 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Old Dominion at Virginia, 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT – ACC Network
South Alabama at UCLA, 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT – Pac-12 Network
Troy at App State*, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Georgia Southern at UAB, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – Stadium
ULM at Alabama, 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT – SEC Network
Marshall at Bowling Green, 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT – TBA
Charlotte at Georgia State, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Northwestern State at Southern Miss, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN3
Arkansas State at Memphis, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN+
Louisiana at Rice, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN+

Thursday, Sept. 22
Coastal Carolina at Georgia State*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Wednesday, Oct. 12 
Louisiana at Marshall*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Wednesday, Oct. 19
Georgia State at App State*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2

Thursday, Oct. 20 
Troy at South Alabama*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Thursday, Oct. 27 
Louisiana at Southern Miss*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Thursday, Nov. 3
App State at Coastal Carolina*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPN

Thursday, Nov. 10 
Georgia Southern at Louisiana*, 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT – ESPNU

Saturday, Dec. 3
Sun Belt Football Championship Game, 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT – ESPN

Friday, Dec. 16
Cure Bowl, 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT – ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 17 
LendingTree Bowl, 5:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. CT – ESPN

Monday, Dec. 19 
Myrtle Beach Bowl, 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT – ESPN

Wednesday, Dec. 21
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT – ESPN

Tuesday, Dec. 27
Camellia Bowl, 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT – ESPN

* Sun Belt Conference Game