Andrew Pace
The Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament is an annual event that has been hosted in various locations across the United States, including Hot Springs, Arkansas; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Pensacola, Florida. The tournament features teams from the Sun Belt Conference, which is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In 2025, the tournament was held from March 4 to 10 at the Pensacola Bay Center, with the team from Troy emerging as champions. The same venue is set to host the tournament in 2026, where both the men's and women's teams from all 14 Sun Belt schools will compete.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 4-10 March 2025 |
| Location | Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, Florida |
| Teams | 14 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Winner | Troy |
| Prize | Automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA tournament |
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What You'll Learn
Pensacola Bay Center hosts the 2025 tournament
The Pensacola Bay Center will host the 2025 Sun Belt Basketball Tournament. The tournament will take place between March 4 and March 10, 2025, and will feature both the men's and women's teams from all 14 Sun Belt Conference schools.
The Pensacola Bay Center is a premier sports and entertainment venue located in the heart of Pensacola, Florida. The arena has a capacity of up to 12,000 seats, making it the perfect location for the Sun Belt Basketball Tournament. The center has previously hosted a variety of events, including professional and college sporting events, concerts, and family shows.
The 2025 tournament will be a single-elimination format, with teams seeded by their records within the conference. The top two teams will receive byes into the tournament semifinals, while the No. 3 and No. 4 teams will receive byes into the tournament quarterfinals. The unique stepladder system is designed to reward teams that performed well during the regular season.
In addition to the high-level basketball action, fans can enjoy a week-long celebration with entertainment provided by team bands and cheer squads. There will also be a Fan Fest, a dribble drive, and other exciting activities throughout the week.
The Sun Belt Conference includes schools from across the United States, including the University of Louisiana, the University of Texas at El Paso, Georgia State University, and others. The conference is known for its competitive basketball programs, with the tournament winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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Past tournament locations
The Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament has been held annually since the Sun Belt Conference was formed in 1976. The tournament has traditionally been played at the home gym of one of the conference's members, such as Louisiana's Cajundome or North Texas' UNT Coliseum. It has also been held at major arenas near a conference member's campus, such as the Mobile Civic Center near South Alabama, the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
In 2019, the tournament format was changed so that the bottom four seeds played first-round games at campus sites, with the winners joining the top six seeds at Lakefront Arena. In 2020, it was announced that all games before the semifinals would be held at campus sites, hosted by the higher seeds.
The 2025 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament was held at the Pensacola Bay Center in Florida. This was the result of an agreement reached in 2020 for Pensacola to host the men's and women's tournaments from 2021 to 2025. The first and second-round games were played at Hartsell Arena on the campus of Pensacola State College and the Pensacola Bay Center, with the semifinals and finals taking place at the Bay Center.
In March 2026, the Pensacola Bay Center will once again host the Sun Belt Basketball Championship Tournament, with all 14 Sun Belt teams competing in the single-elimination tournament.
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NCAA tournament success
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament that determines the top college basketball team in the United States. The tournament has been held annually since 1939, except for 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the years, several teams have achieved notable success in the NCAA tournament.
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been the most successful college in the NCAA Tournament, winning 11 national titles. Ten of those championships came during a 12-year stretch from 1964 to 1975, including seven consecutive championships from 1967 to 1973. John Wooden, the head coach of UCLA during this period, is the all-time leader with 10 NCAA championships.
Other historically successful NCAA tournament teams include Kentucky, with eight championships, and North Carolina and Connecticut (UConn), tied for third with six championships each. Duke has also had success, with five championships, and their coach, Mike Krzyzewski, is second only to Wooden with five titles.
Even unranked teams can find success in the NCAA tournament. In the 2022-23 season, UConn started the season unranked but quickly rose through the ranks, eventually dominating the tournament and winning their fifth national title. Similarly, in 1985, Villanova responded to a disappointing previous season by starting 8-0 and ultimately securing a national championship, despite a difficult path to the Final Four.
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2026 tournament location
The 2026 Sun Belt Basketball Championship Tournament will be held in Pensacola, Florida, at the Pensacola Bay Center in March 2026. This tournament will mark the beginning of the NCAA March Madness.
The Sun Belt Conference is a postseason college basketball competition that includes men's and women's tournaments. All 14 Sun Belt teams will compete in a single-elimination format for their chance to win big and make it to the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament.
The Pensacola Bay Center will host all the action, with athletes from across the Sun Belt Conference converging to showcase their skills. Fans can expect an exciting week filled with high-intensity games, lively entertainment from team bands and cheer squads, and interactive events like Fan Fest and a dribble drive.
Pensacola, located in Florida's Panhandle, offers a vibrant backdrop to the tournament. Visitors can explore the city's rich history, cultural attractions, and beautiful beaches while enjoying the thrill of Sun Belt basketball. The city will come alive with team spirit, creating an unforgettable atmosphere for players and spectators alike.
Be sure to mark your calendars for March 2026 and start planning your trip to Pensacola to be a part of this exciting Sun Belt Basketball Championship Tournament!
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Changes to tournament format
The Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament has undergone several changes over the years, with the conference experimenting with different bracket formats since 2011.
In 2018, the conference announced significant changes to the tournament format, which were then re-evaluated and put on hold. From 2019 onwards, only 10 of the 12 teams qualified for the tournament. The format featured two stepladder-style brackets, with the bottom four seeds playing in the first round, the 5th and 6th seeds receiving byes to the second round, and the 3rd and 4th seeds starting in the quarterfinals. The top two seeds received a triple bye into the semifinals.
However, the tournament format changed again in 2020, with all games prior to the semifinals being played at campus sites, hosted by the higher seeds.
For the 2021 to 2025 tournaments, the conference reached an agreement with Pensacola, Florida, to host the men's and women's tournaments. During this time, campus sites were completely abandoned, and the tournament returned to featuring all conference members. The first and second-round games were played simultaneously at two venues in Pensacola, with the semifinals and finals at the Pensacola Bay Center.
In 2025, the Sun Belt implemented a unique seven-round ladder bracket, allowing all 14 teams to participate in a single tournament. This format rewarded teams with a strong regular season performance, with the top 10 teams receiving at least one bye. The bottom four teams had to win seven games in seven days to claim the auto bid, while the top two seeds only needed to win on Sunday and Monday.
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Frequently asked questions
The 2025 Sun Belt Basketball Tournament took place at the Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, Florida.
The 2026 tournament will also be held in Pensacola, Florida, at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The Sun Belt Tournament takes place in March. In 2025, it was held between March 4 and March 10.
Troy won the 2025 Sun Belt Tournament and received an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA tournament.
