The Sun Belt Conference men's soccer tournament is the conference championship tournament in soccer for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The tournament was held from 1976 through 1995, when the sport was discontinued.[1] The tournament resumed in 2014 when the conference reinstated men's soccer, and was discontinued again when the conference dropped men's soccer for the second time after the 2020–21 season. The SBC later announced that men's soccer would be reinstated again in 2022, and the tournament resumed at that time.[2]
It is a single-elimination tournament involving the top eight teams in the SBC regular-season standings, with seeding based on record. Starting with the 2022 tournament, the quarterfinals and semifinals are hosted by the top two seeds, with the final being held at the home field of the top surviving seed. The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's soccer championship .
Champions
Key
(2)
Title number
*
Match went to extra time
†
Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time
Bold
Winning team won regular season
By year
Year
Champion
Score
Runner-up
Venue[a]
Tournament MVP
1976
South Florida
6–1
Georgia State
Southern Oak Stadium • Jacksonville, Florida
MVP (School)
1977
South Florida (2)
4–3
Jacksonville
USF Soccer Stadium • Tampa, Florida
Fran Lemmons (USF)
1978
Jacksonville
2–1
Georgia State
USF Soccer Stadium • Tampa, Florida
Aleks Mihailović (JAX)
1979
South Florida (3)
3–2*
Charlotte
GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, Georgia
Ralph Baker (USF)
1980
South Florida (4)
2–1
Georgia State
Memorial Stadium • Charlotte, North Carolina
Nigel Clark (USF)
1981
South Florida (5)
2–1
South Alabama
USF Soccer Stadium • Tampa, Florida
Jay Whitr (USF)
1982
South Florida (6)
2–1
Old Dominion
USF Soccer Stadium • Tampa, Florida
Roy Wegerle (USF)
1983
Charlotte
0–0*
Old Dominion
Foreman Field • Norfolk, Virginia
Craig Brown (UNCC)
1984
Old Dominion
2–1
South Florida
Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, Alabama
Alvaro Ibanez (ODU)
1985
South Florida (7)
2–2†
Old Dominion
Foreman Field • Norfolk, Virginia
Ray Perler (USF)
1986
South Florida (8)
1–0
Western Kentucky
USF Soccer Stadium • Tampa, Florida
Aris Bogdaneris (USF)
1987
Old Dominion (2)
1–0
South Alabama
Foreman Field • Norfolk, Virginia
Chris Haywood (ODU)
1988
South Florida (9)
1–1†
Old Dominion
Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, Alabama
Sean Crowley (ODU)
1989
Old Dominion (3)
1–1†
South Alabama
Old Dominion Soccer Complex • Norfolk, Virginia
Rick Jenik (ODU)
1990
no tournament held
1991
South Alabama
3–0
Western Kentucky
Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, Alabama
Stephen Small (USA)
1992
Western Kentucky
1–1†
South Alabama
Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, Alabama
Stephen Small (USA)
1993
South Alabama (2)
5–0
Little Rock
UTPA Soccer Field • Edinburg, Texas
Luke Whittle (USA)
1994
South Alabama (3)
3–0
Western Kentucky
Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, Alabama
Dale Edwards (USA)
1995
South Alabama (4)
3–2
Western Kentucky
WKU Soccer Complex • Bowling Green, Kentucky
Shaun Rothuysen (USA)
1996–2013
Sun Belt did not sponsor men's soccer
2014
Hartwick
1–0
Georgia Southern
Erk Russell Athletic Park • Statesboro, Georgia
Kit Tregear (HWCK)
2015
Hartwick (2)
2–0
Georgia State
ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, North Carolina
Jamie O’Grady (HWCK)
2016
Coastal Carolina
1–0
Georgia State
GSU Soccer Field • Atlanta, Georgia
Jair Espinoza (CCU)
2017
Coastal Carolina (2)
2–0
Georgia State
CCU Soccer Field • Conway, South Carolina
Frantzdy Pierrot (CCU)
2018
Georgia State
4–2
Georgia Southern
Eagle Field • Statesboro, Georgia
Hannes Burmeister (GSU)
2019
Coastal Carolina (3)
1–1†
Georgia State
ASU Soccer Stadium • Boone, North Carolina
Alberto Ciroi (CCU)
2020
Coastal Carolina (4)
0–0†
Georgia State
Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia
Tor Saunders (CCU)
2021
Sun Belt did not sponsor men's soccer
2022
Kentucky
2–0
James Madison
Bell Soccer Complex • Lexington, Kentucky
Clay Holstad (UK)
2023
Marshall
3–2
West Virginia
Hoops Family Field • Huntington, West Virginia
Alvaro Garcia-Pascual (MU)
^ Refers to site of the final match. Other venues may have hosted earlier rounds.
Statistics
All-time champions
Teams in bold are current SBC men's soccer members. Teams with a † no longer sponsor men's soccer.
References
External links
NCAA men's college soccer tournaments
Division I
Pre-season Conference postseason Postseason
Division II
Division III
1 (Defunct tournament / conference)
Current teams Inactive teams Rivalries Championships & awards Seasons Tournaments
Sun Belt Conference championships