Commissioner Benson believes Sun Belt is trending upward

NEW ORLEANS — Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson addressed the media inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome at the conference's annual media day on Monday with a new conference mantra — ‘Rise Above.'

“In the summer of 2014 we began the mantra: ‘Together We Rise,'" Benson said. “Over the past four years the Sun Belt has exceeded as every key indicator that can be used to evaluate the strength of a conference has indeed risen. And with the start of the 2018 season it’s time to introduce a new mantra — ‘Rise Above’ — and we are poised to do that.”

The goal placed forward by Benson for the Sun Belt is to not only compete against peer conferences but to be the highest rated Group of 5 Conference and send the Sun Belt Champion to a New Year’s Six Bowl.

He also spoke about the recent deal made with ESPN and the conference.

An early extension with ESPN will nearly double the Sun Belt’s revenue, enable every home game to be streamed and give the conference an opportunity to put on its inaugural Sun Belt Football Championship game this season. There are now two divisions of five teams in the conference that will compete for a spot in the title game. The Sun Belt elected to keep the championship game on campus sites with intentions to evaluate a neutral-site title game down the road.

The conference championship game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 1 and will be hosted on either ESPN, ESPN 2 or ABC. A time for the game has not been determined but is expected to be in a mid-afternoon to early-evening time slot.

“Yes, the Sun Belt is clearly trending up in the world of college football,” Benson said. “The Sun Belt’s goal remains the same as we stated four years ago. To be the highest rated Group of 5 conference and to send our football champion as the highest rated Group of 5 team to one of the New Year’s Day games. And there isn’t any reason that this goal cannot be achieved this year. The pieces are in place and the commitment has been made. So yes, the time is now and the Sun Belt is ready to ‘Rise Above,’”

The season opener for the conference will be on Thursday, Aug. 30 when Georgia State hosts Kennesaw State for a 6 p.m. kickoff. Sun Belt play will begin on Saturday, September 15 at 6 p.m. when Texas State visits South Alabama.

This matchup between the Bobcats and Jaguars will air on ESPN+.