Sun Belt allows for full 12-game football season

The Sun Belt Conference announced an update to its plans for the 2020 football season on Tuesday regarding the start date to the regular season and the number of games on each school’s conference schedule.

Teams will be allowed to begin their seasons over Labor Day weekend, with Texas State being the lone exception. The Bobcats and SMU announced Monday they planned to move their season-opening game up to “week zero” on Aug. 29 after getting waivers approved by the Sun Belt and American Athletic Conferences.

The Sun Belt will also uphold its original eight-game conference slate and allow members to play up to four non-conference games. The move allows Texas State to leave its 12-game schedule untouched, joining Florida International as the only FBS teams to do so.

The news comes after the Big 12 approved to format its schedules to include nine games of league play and just one non-league game, becoming the last Power 5 conference to shorten its season below 12 games. The ACC is the only other league keeping at least one non-conference game.

The Sun Belt also scheduled its football championship game for Dec. 5, though the date is subject to change. The conference said it will continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure a safe return to play.

Texas State is scheduled to host SMU inside Bobcat Stadium at 6 p.m.