Sun Belt, ESPN Announce Updates to 2019 Football Schedule

NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference and ESPN announced updates to the conference’s 2019 football schedule on Thursday.



The announcement comes with kickoff times and network designations for the majority of the games during the first three weeks of the season. Game times were also assigned for all seven of the Sun Belt’s midweek games.



Following the third week of the season, games that have not been assigned a network or kickoff time will typically be determined 12 days prior to the contest.



A rematch of the 2018 Sun Belt Football Championship Game between Louisiana and Appalachian State is just one of several intriguing midweek contests set for a national television broadcast. The Ragin’ Cajuns host the Mountaineers on Wednesday, Oct. 9 on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. CT.



Appalachian State also faces longtime rival Georgia Southern on Halloween night in Boone, N.C. on ESPNU at 7 p.m. CT. The two teams have met 34 times with the Mountaineers holding a 19–14–1 advantage in the series, but the Eagles won last year’s contest 34-14 after App State had just entered the Associated Press Top 25.



Another rivalry chosen for an ESPN2 primetime showcase, Troy hosts South Alabama on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. CT. Troy owns the series lead at 4-3, but the last time the two teams met in Troy, Ala., the Jaguars stuffed the Trojans 18-9 one week after defeating a ranked LSU squad.



West Division rivals Arkansas State and Louisiana meet in Jonesboro, Ark. on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU. The Cajuns hold an all-time series record of 24-21-1 against the Red Wolves. The two teams tied for the best record in the West Division last season, but Louisiana's 47-43 victory sent the Cajuns to the conference's inaugural title game.



Other ESPNU Thursday night appearances include Georgia Southern at South Alabama on Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. CT, ULM at Texas State on Oct. 10 at 8:15 p.m. CT and Louisiana at Coastal Carolina on Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. CT.



The second edition of the Sun Belt Championship Game is set to kick off at 11 a.m. CT and will air on either ESPN or ESPN2. The title game matches the conference’s East and West Division Champions and will be played at the site of the divisional winner with the best conference record.



The 2019 season concludes with the Sun Belt guaranteed a minimum of five spots in postseason bowl games. The Sun Belt maintains primary partnerships with the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Mobile Alabama Bowl, Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, AutoNation Cure Bowl and NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. Additionally, the College Football Playoff guarantees that a spot among the New Year's Six bowl games is given to the highest-ranked champion from the Group of Five conferences.



The Sun Belt is coming off a record-breaking season in 2018 as the league hit a new high for non-conference wins with 24, breaking the previous record of 22 in 2016. That win total was the highest total number of wins among all Group of Five conferences.



In addition to its regular-season success, the Sun Belt has continually taken advantage of its postseason bowl opportunities. 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.



2019 SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Thursday, August 29

Texas State at Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network)



Saturday, August 31

1-Mississippi State vs. Louisiana, 11 a.m. (ESPNU)

South Alabama at Nebraska, 11 a.m. (ESPN)

Georgia State at Tennessee, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

East Tennessee State at Appalachian State, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Campbell at Troy, 5 p.m. (ESPN+)

SMU at Arkansas State, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

Georgia Southern at LSU, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Grambling at ULM, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)



Saturday, September 7

Charlotte at Appalachian State, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

ULM at Florida State, 4 p.m. (ACC Network)

Maine at Georgia Southern, 5 p.m. (ESPN+)

Furman at Georgia State, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

Jackson State at South Alabama, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

Wyoming at Texas State, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

Coastal Carolina at Kansas, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

Liberty at Louisiana, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Arkansas State at UNLV



Saturday, September 14

Arkansas State at Georgia, 11 a.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)

Norfolk State at Coastal Carolina, 1 p.m. (ESPN3)

Georgia Southern at Minnesota, 2:30 p.m. (BTN)

Memphis at South Alabama, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Southern Miss at Troy, 5 p.m. (ESPN+)

Georgia State at Western Michigan, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

Texas State at SMU, 6 p.m. (ESPN3)

Texas Southern at Louisiana, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN3)



Saturday, September 21

South Alabama at UAB, 2:30 p.m. (NFL Network)

Appalachian State at North Carolina

Southern Illinois at Arkansas State

Coastal Carolina at UMass

*Georgia State at Texas State

Louisiana at Ohio

ULM at Iowa State

Troy at Akron



Saturday, September 28

*Coastal Carolina at Appalachian State

*Arkansas State at Troy

*Louisiana at Georgia Southern

*South Alabama at ULM

Nicholls State at Texas State



Thursday, October 3

*Georgia Southern at South Alabama, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)



Saturday, October 5

*Arkansas State at Georgia State

Memphis at ULM

Troy at Missouri



Wednesday, October 9

*Appalachian State at Louisiana, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)



Thursday, October 10

*ULM at Texas State, 8:15 p.m. (ESPNU)



Saturday, October 12

*Georgia State at Coastal Carolina



Wednesday, October 16

*South Alabama at Troy, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)



Thursday, October 17

*Louisiana at Arkansas State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)



Saturday, October 19

*ULM at Appalachian State

*Coastal Carolina at Georgia Southern

Army at Georgia State



Saturday, October 26

*Appalachian State at South Alabama

*Texas State at Arkansas State

New Mexico State at Georgia Southern

*Troy at Georgia State



Thursday, October 31

*Georgia Southern at Appalachian State, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)



Saturday, November 2

*Arkansas State at ULM

*Troy at Coastal Carolina

*Texas State at Louisiana



Thursday, November 7

*Louisiana at Coastal Carolina, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)



Saturday, November 9

Appalachian State at South Carolina

*Georgia Southern at Troy

*Georgia State at ULM

*South Alabama at Texas State



Saturday, November 16

*Appalachian State at Georgia State

*Coastal Carolina at Arkansas State

*ULM at Georgia Southern

*Louisiana at South Alabama

*Troy at Texas State



Saturday, November 23

*Texas State at Appalachian State

*Georgia Southern at Arkansas State

*Coastal Carolina at ULM

*South Alabama at Georgia State

*Troy at Louisiana



Friday, November 29

*Appalachian State at Troy

*Arkansas State at South Alabama



Saturday, November 30

*Texas State at Coastal Carolina

*Georgia State at Georgia Southern

*ULM at Louisiana



Saturday, December 7

Sun Belt Football Championship Game, 11 a.m. (ESPN or ESPN2)



Saturday, December 21

AutoNation Cure Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) – 1:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

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

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, La.) – 8 p.m. (ESPN)



Tuesday, December 31

NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl (Tucson, Ariz.) – 3:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)



Monday, January 6

Mobile Alabama Bowl (Mobile, Ala.) – 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)



*Sun Belt Conference contest

1-Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La.



All Times Central and Subject to change

