The 2023 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

game that was played on December 2, 2023 at Veterans Memorial Stadium on the campus of

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

in Troy, Alabama. It was the fourth edition of the

Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game The Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game is an annual college football game that determines the season champion of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The game is played between the SBC regular-season divisional champions from the East and We ...

and determined the champion of the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

for the

2023 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. The game began at 4:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. The game featured the Troy Trojans, the West Division champions, and the Appalachian State Mountaineers, the East Division runner-up. Troy defeated App State 49–23. Sponsored by Hercules Tires, the game was officially named as the 2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship.

Teams

Troy Trojans

Troy clinched a spot in the championship game following its defeat of ULM on November 11. Troy secured hosting rights with its win over Southern Miss on November 25. Troy running back Kimani Vidal secured the championship game MVP award after becoming the first player ever to rush for 5 touchdowns in an FBS conference championship game.

Appalachian State Mountaineers

With the NCAA having denied a request by James Madison for a waiver from rules that prohibit teams transitioning from Division I FCS to FBS from appearing in conference championship games, the Trojans' opponent in the championship game was determined to be Appalachian State. App State secured the East Division spot after beating Georgia Southern and having James Madison defeat Coastal Carolina in the final week of college football regular season.

Game summary

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2023 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game 2023 Sun Belt Conference football season

Sun Belt Championship Game The Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game is an annual college football game that determines the season champion of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The game is played between the SBC regular-season divisional champions from the East and We ...

Appalachian State Mountaineers football games Troy Trojans football games