2002 Sun Belt Conference football season

The 2002 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 2nd college football season for the Sun Belt Conference. During the 2002 season, seven schools competed in Sun Belt football: Arkansas State, Idaho, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State and North Texas.^[1]

2002 Sun Belt Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport	football
Duration	August 25, 2002 - November 30, 2002
Number of teams	7
2003 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	Charles Tillman (Louisiana–Lafayette)
Picked by	Chicago Bears, 35th overall
Regular season
Season champions	North Texas
Runners-up	New Mexico State
Season MVP	Brandon Kennedy
Top scorer	Danny Smith (84 points)

2002 Sun Belt Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Texas $		6	–	0					8	–	5
New Mexico State		5	–	1					7	–	5
Arkansas State		3	–	3					6	–	7
Middle Tennessee		2	–	4					4	–	8
Louisiana–Lafayette		2	–	4					3	–	9
Louisiana–Monroe		2	–	4					3	–	9
Idaho		1	–	5					2	–	10
$ – Conference champion

The conference title was won by North Texas, in its second year as both a Sun Belt member, making them the first team to go back-to-back in Sun Belt Conference history.

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
Arkansas State	Steve Roberts	0	47–35–1	0–0	0–0
Idaho	Tom Cable	1	6–16	6–16	1–5
Louisiana–Lafayette	Rickey Bustle	0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Louisiana–Monroe	Bobby Keasler	3	86–59–2	8–25	2–4
Middle Tennessee	Andy McCollum	3	17–16	17–16	5–1
New Mexico State	Tony Samuel	5	19–37	19–37	4–2
North Texas	Darrell Dickey	4	13–32	13–32	5–1

Bowl games

In 2002, the SBC placed one team in bowl games through their tie-ins: North Texas.^[2] New Mexico State was also bowl-eligible but did not receive a bowl invitation.

Note: All times are local

Bowl	Date	SBC team (Record)	Opponent (Record)	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
New Orleans Bowl	December 17	North Texas (7-5)	Cincinnati (7-6)	Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA	ESPN2	W 24–19	19,024

Awards and honors

Players of the Year

2001 Sun Belt Player of the Year awards^[3][4]

Award	Player	School
Player of the Year	Brandon Kennedy	North Texas
Offensive Player of the Year	Danny Smith	Arkansas State
Defensive Player of the Year	Brandon Kennedy	North Texas
Freshman of the Year	Paul Dombrowski	New Mexico State
Newcomer of the Year	Jonathan Burke	Arkansas State
Coach of the Year	Darrell Dickey	North Texas

All-Conference teams

Position Player Team First-team Offense QB Brian Lindgren Idaho RB Danny Smith* Arkansas State Kevin Galbreath* North Texas WR Fred Stamps UL Lafayette Mack Vincent UL Monroe TE Jeff Muenchow* North Texas OL Shalimar Jackson* New Mexico State Garry Johnson Arkansas State Brandon Westbrook Middle Tennessee J. R. Randle North Texas Nick Zuñiga North Texas First-team Defense DL Brandon Kennedy* North Texas John Bradley Arkansas State Corey Williams Arkansas State Darrell Daniels North Texas LB Jordan Kramer Idaho Taylor Casey North Texas Cody Spencer North Texas DB Charles Tillman* UL Lafayette Siddeeq Shabazz* New Mexico State Craig Jones North Texas Don McGee North Texas First-team Special Teams K Dario Aguiniga* New Mexico State P Robert Billings Middle Tennessee RS James Hickenbotham Arkansas State All-purpose ReShard Lee Middle Tennessee * = Denotes unanimous selection

Position Player Team Second-team Offense QB Paul Dombrowski New Mexico State RB Dwone Hicks Middle Tennessee Bryant Jacobs UL Monroe WR Josh Jelmberg Idaho Tyrone Calico Middle Tennessee TE Josh Joerg UL Lafayette OL John Crossley Arkansas State Jonathon Raush UL Lafayette Glen Elarbee Middle Tennessee B. J. Van Briesen New Mexico State Matt Turney North Texas Second-team Defense DL Walter Sampson UL Lafayette John Thompson UL Monroe Adrian Awasom North Texas Chris McIver North Texas LB Les Echols Arkansas State Carlos Hughes UL Monroe Rich Glover New Mexico State DB Chuck Allen Arkansas State Jonathan Burke Arkansas State Chris Harris UL Monroe Jonas Buckles North Texas Second-team Special Teams K Brian Kelly Middle Tennessee P Brad Kadlubar North Texas RS Cedric Thompson Idaho All-purpose JaMal Branch North Texas

Source:^[4]

References

1. "2014 Sun Belt Football Media Guide". Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
2. Steve Peloquin (August 21, 2013). "N.O. Bowl, Sun Belt Conference Agree To Extension". www.espn1420.com. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
3. "Sun Belt Player of the Year Winners". www.sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
4. "NT's Brandon Kennedy named Sun Belt Football Player of the Year: ASU's Danny Smith named Offensive Player of the Year; NT's Darrell Dickey named Coach of the Year". sunbeltsports.org. December 3, 2002. Retrieved March 31, 2024.