About the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament
The Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament is an annual event held in Southern U.S. cities by the men's and women's college teams to decide the winner of the 12-team league, with the champ landing an automatic spot in the national NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament. Each season, 10 teams from the conference are paired up in single-elimination brackets, in a format just like the NCAA Tournament, and they play multiple rounds until a winner is crowned. The Sun Belt Conference's current configuration includes Georgia State University, Appalachian State University, Coastal Carolina University, University of Texas at Arlington and others.
In 2021, the Sun Belt Conference's Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are set to be decided in Pensacola, Florida. The tournament's first-round and second-round games are played at Hartsell Arena, on the campus of Pensacola State College, and the 10,000-seat Pensacola Bay Center. As the tournament progresses, semifinal and championship games are also played at the Bay Center.
Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament History
On the men's side, the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament first took place in the 1976-77 season, the Sun Belt Conference's inaugural season. The winner of that year's tournament, UNC Charlotte, ended up reaching the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament. Starting with the 1982-83 season, the women's basketball teams also held their own tournament. Over the years, The Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament has been held in various cities and arenas, mainly concentrated in places where Sun Belt Conference teams play, although starting in 2021 and through 2025, the conference takes place in Pensacola, Florida.
On both the men's and women's sides, former Sun Belt Conference member Western Kentucky won the tournament nine times. More recently, current member the South Alabama Jaguars won the men's title in 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998 and 2006, while the women's basketball teams from former Sun Belt members Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee won the tournament seven times each.