Sun Belt Basketball Tournaments Staying in Pensacola

Pensacola, Florida, will host the Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships through 2030 as part of the league’s ongoing partnership with Pensacola Sports and Visit Pensacola.

The five-year extension builds on an initial five-year agreement that brought the Sun Belt tournament to Pensacola from 2021–2025. During that span, the Sun Belt has grown from 12 to 14 members. The extension will make Pensacola the longest-tenured and most-frequent host of the Sun Belt tournaments all-time — surpassing New Orleans, which has hosted the championships on eight occasions, including from 2014–2020.

“Pensacola Sports is thrilled to continue to host the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Championships for at least five more years and hopefully many more beyond that,” said Ray Palmer, Pensacola Sports president and chief executive officer. “The relationship between our community, the conference and most importantly the conference members grows stronger with each year. We look forward to working with all of our partners, the conference and the schools to make the Sun Belt Basketball Championships better every year.”

The 2025 Sun Belt tournament will take place from March 4–10, 2025 at the Pensacola Bay Center.

“We share in the excitement to have Sun Belt Conference championship basketball played in Pensacola through 2030,” said Darien Schaefer, Visit Pensacola president and chief executive officer. “Our team looks forward to hosting the tournament for another five years and having the conference staff, teams, alums, families and friends experience all that Pensacola, Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key have to offer.”

The economic impact of the 2023 tournament was $4.3 million for the Pensacola area, according to Steven Barry, Escambia County District 5 commissioner.

“The Sun Belt Conference is excited to extend our partnership with Pensacola,” said Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill. “There is no better place for our basketball championships to thrive and showcase the growth of the Sun Belt Conference. Our student-athletes, coaches and fans have established traditions around starting March Madness in Pensacola — a community that has embraced the rising brand of Sun Belt basketball.”