2015 Sun Belt Conference football season
The 2015 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 15th college football season for the Sun Belt Conference.
During the 2015 season, eleven schools competed in Sun Belt football: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Idaho, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy.
On September 1, 2015, it was announced that Coastal Carolina will join the Sun Belt Conference. They will compete in SBC football starting in 2017.
Previous season
The conference title was won by Georgia Southern, in its first year as both a Sun Belt member and an FBS program. The Eagles became only the third team to win a conference championship in their first FBS season. The other two schools to accomplish this feat were Nevada, Big West Conference champions in 1992, and Marshall, which won the Mid-American Conference crown in 1997. Georgia Southern also became the first team ever to go unbeaten in conference play in its first FBS season.Louisiana–Lafayette, South Alabama, and Arkansas State were all invited to bowl games. The SBC went 1-2 in bowls with the Ragin' Cajuns winning their 4th straight R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Preseason
The following preseason awards and honors were announcedAward watch lists
The following Sun Belt players were named to preseason award watch lists:Walter Camp Award:
- Elijah McGuire – Louisiana-Lafayette
- Aleem Sunanon - South Alabama
- Fredi Knighten – Arkansas State
- Darion Griswold - Arkansas State
- Joel Ruiz - Georgia State
- Luke Ferguson - Arkansas State
- Austin Rehkow - Idaho
- Dalton Bennett - Troy
- Jesse Chapman - Appalachian State
- Joseph Scelfo - South Alabama
- Fredi Knighten - Arkansas State
- Kevin Ellison – Georgia Southern
- Doug Middleton – Appalachian State
- Mitch Lane – UL Monroe
- Montres Kitchens – Troy
- David Mims II – Texas State
- Elijah McGuire - Louisiana-Lafayette
- Rashon Ceaser - UL Monroe
- Teldrick Morgan - New Mexico State
- Ronald Blair - Appalachian State
- John Law - Appalachian State
- Ja’Von Rolland–Jones - Arkansas State
- Chris Stone - Arkansas State
- Darien Foreman - Georgia Southern
- Joseph Peterson - Georgia State
- Marc Millan - Idaho
- Mykhael Quave - Louisiana-Lafayettee
- Dominique Tovell - Louisiana-Lafayette
- Gerrand Johnson - UL Monroe
- Hunter Kissinger - UL Monroe
- Isaiah Folasa-Lutui - New Mexico State
- Chris May - South Alabama
- Joseph Scelfo - South Alabama
- Adrian Bellard - Texas State
- Dalton Bennett - Troy
- Tyler Roberts - Troy
- Marcus Cox - Appalachian State
- Michael Gordon – Arkansas State
- Matt Breida – Georgia Southern
- Elijah McGuire – Louisiana-Lafayette
- Robert Lowe – Texas State
- Brandon Burks – Troy
- Donovan Harden – Georgia State
- Teldrick Morgan – New Mexico State
- Rashon Ceaser – UL Monroe
- Ajalen Holley – UL Monroe
Sun Belt Media Day
- Preseason Offensive Player of the Year - Elijah McGuire
- Preseason Defensive Player of the Year - David Mims
Coaches Poll
- Georgia Southern - 110
- Louisiana-Lafayette - 108
- Arkansas State - 96
- Appalachian State - 82
- Texas State - 78
- South Alabama - 68
- UL Monroe - 59
- Troy - 39
- Georgia State - 32
- New Mexico State - 30
- Idaho - 24
Preseason All–Conference Team
Defense
Specialists
Coaches
Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season| Team | Head Coach | Years at School | Overall Record | Record at School | Sun Belt Record |
| Appalachian State | Scott Satterfield | 3 | 11-13 | 11-13 | 6-2 |
| Arkansas State | Blake Anderson | 2 | 14-9 | 14-9 | 11-3 |
| Georgia Southern | Willie Fritz | 2 | 146–65 | 9-3 | 8–0 |
| Georgia State | Trent Miles | 3 | 21-59 | 1-23 | 0–15 |
| Idaho | Paul Petrino | 3 | 2-21 | 2-21 | 1-7 |
| Louisiana–Lafayette | Mark Hudspeth | 5 | 102-37 | 36-16 | 24-7 |
| Louisiana–Monroe | Todd Berry | 6 | 56-93 | 27-34 | 20-19 |
| New Mexico State | Doug Martin | 3 | 33-73 | 4-20 | 1-7 |
| South Alabama | Joey Jones | 7 | 40-35 | 37-28 | 10-13 |
| Troy | Neal Brown | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Texas State | Dennis Franchione | 7 | 210–126–2 | 36-34 | 7-8 |
Sun Belt vs. Power Five Conference matchups
Regular season
All dates, times, and TV are tentative and subject to change.Start times are listed as Central Time Zone
Rankings reflect that of the AP poll for that week until Week 10 when the first CFP Poll is released.
Week 1
Players of the WeekWeek 2
Players of the WeekWeek 3
- Open Week: Appalachian State, Louisiana-Lafayette, UL Monroe
Week 4
- Open Week: Georgia State, New Mexico State, Troy
Week 5
- Open Week: Texas State
Week 6
- Open Week: Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Idaho, South Alabama
Week 7
- Open Week: Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas State
Week 8
- Open Week: Georgia State
Week 9
- Open Week: South Alabama
Week 10
- Open Week: Georgia Southern
Week 11
- Open Week: New Mexico State
Week 12
- Open Week: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Troy
Week 13
Players of the WeekWeek 14
Players of the WeekBowl games
The Sun Belt had 4 guaranteed bowl tie-ins starting in 2015 with the addition of the Cure Bowl in Orlando, FL.Arkansas State, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, and Georgia State represented the Sun Belt during the 2015–16 bowl season; for the latter three teams, it would be their first bowl game.
Note: All times are local
| Bowl | Date | Time | SBC team | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| Raycom Media Camellia Bowl | December 19 | 4:30 PM | Appalachian State | Ohio | Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL | ESPN | W 31–29 | 21,395 |
| AutoNation Cure Bowl | December 19 | 6:00 PM | Georgia State | San Jose State | Orlando Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL | CBSSN | L 16–27 | 18,536 |
| R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | December 19 | 8:00 PM | Arkansas State | Louisiana Tech | Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, LA | ESPN | L 28–47 | 32,847 |
| GoDaddy Bowl | December 23 | 7:00 PM | Georgia Southern | Bowling Green | Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, AL | ESPN | W 58–27 | 28,656 |
Players of the Year
2013 Sun Belt Player of the Year awards| Award | Player | School |
| Student-Athlete of the Year | Nick Arbuckle | Georgia State |
| Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year | Larry Rose III | New Mexico State |
| Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year | Ronald Blair | Appalachian State |
| Freshman of the Year | Penny Hart | Georgia State |
| Coach of the Year | Trent Miles | Georgia State |
All-Sun Belt/American Team
Coaches All-Conference SelectionsHonorable Mention: Appalachian State: Barrett Burns, Taylor Lamb, Doug Middleton, Devan Stringer; Arkansas State: Darion Griswold, Khari Lain, Robert Mondie, Dijon Paschal; Georgia State: Donovan Harden, Shawanye Lawrence, Alonzo McGee, Chandon Sullivan; Georgia Southern: Ironhead Gallon, L. A. Ramsby, Antwione Williams, Caleb Williams; Idaho: Buck Cowan, Matt Linehan, Elijhaa Penny, Jordan Rose ; Louisiana-Lafayette: Octravian Anderson, Elijah McGuire, Otha Peters, Chris Prater; Louisiana-Monroe: Trey Caldwell, Marcus Green, Michael Johnson, Colby Mitchell; New Mexico State: Stody Bradley, Isaiah Folasa, Anthony McMeans, Tyrian Taylor; Texas State: Adrian Bellard, Ryan Melton, Ryan Carden, Tyler Jones; South Alabama DeMarion Harper, Kalen Jackson, Xavier Johnson, Aleem Sunanon; Troy: Brandon Burks, Rashad Dillard, Antonio Garcia, Brandon Silvers.