2002 Sun Belt Conference football season

2002 Sun Belt Conference football season
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)
Football seasons
	← 2001 2003 →

2002 Sun Belt Conference football standings
v t e
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 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]

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
RB	Kevin Galbreath*	North Texas
WR	Fred Stamps	UL Lafayette
WR	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
	Jon 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
RB	Bryant Jacobs	UL Monroe
WR	Josh Jelmberg	Idaho
WR	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

^ "2014 Sun Belt Football Media Guide". Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
^ Steve Peloquin (August 21, 2013). "N.O. Bowl, Sun Belt Conference Agree To Extension". www.espn1420.com. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
^ "Sun Belt Player of the Year Winners". www.sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "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.

[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.

[allsunbelt-3] "Sun Belt Player of the Year Winners". www.sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 9, 2017.

[Awards2002-4] "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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]