You have to say this for the Sun Belt Conference: It doesn't fear change.
First it announced last year that Idaho and New Mexico State would not be invited to stay in the league after the 2017 season.
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Then came the news that Coastal Carolina would be joining the league to give it an even 10 teams in football and 12 in baseball.
Now comes the news that the Sun Belt will be breaking up the conference into East and West Divisions.
What does this mean for the football and baseball programs? Let's have a look.
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New-Look East and West Sun Belt Divisions
With the Aggies and Vandals leaving after 2017, the Sun Belt will be broken into two football divisions based on geography to help minimize travel expenses and keep natural rivalries intact.
West Division: Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State.
East Division: Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Troy.
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More Games. More Money. More Exposure.
The Sun Belt was the only conference to not have a title game in December.
That finally changes.
The winners of each division will meet in a conference championship matchup that we assume will be on national television. Home field will be determined by the squad with the best College Football Playoff ranking.
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Following in Western Michigan's Footsteps
The extra 13th game due to the new championship showdown could be the extra bump to pushes a Sun Belt squad into the automatic birth for a New Year's Six bowl game similar to Western Michigan a season ago.
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Let's Watch That Again
The conference also announced it will be implementing a collaborative replay system akin to the SEC. Officials will be located in a central location to assist on-field refs with plays that need to be reviewed.
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Baseball's 12 Teams Will Also be Split into East and West
Let's not forget about the impact this will have on Sun Belt baseball next year.
Non-football-competing schools UT Arlington and Arkansas-Little Rock join the West while South Alabama shifts over to the East.
I see the @SunBelt is going to divisions for baseball, & upping the number of teams for the Sun Belt tourney from 8 to 10. #FunBelt pic.twitter.com/2A3ie4ab5s
— Mitchell Meyer (@TheRealMBruce) November 11, 2016
