The Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will return to Pensacola for the fifth consecutive year, starting March 4-10, 2025, at the Pensacola Bay Center. This marks the final year of the conference’s initial five-year contract with the city.
- The Pensacola Bay Center has hosted the men’s and women’s basketball championships for the Sun Belt Conference since 2021. Under the new agreement, the Sun Belt tournament will continue through 2030.
The tournament has grown in prominence since its move to Pensacola, particularly following the conference’s expansion to include high-profile institutions like James Madison, Marshall, and Southern Mississippi. These additions have helped create new rivalries and strengthen the tournament’s regional appeal, especially with Southern Miss’s strong fan base in the Pensacola area.
“We’ve gotten better every year, and our community is learning and embracing this event more and more,” says Pensacola Sports CEO Ray Palmer. “You have to grow, and your community has to grow and embrace these activities. We’re seeing that transition. We’ve kind of hit that tipping point.”
The championship format features 26 games across 14 sessions, with each session ticket providing access to two games. Except for the championship games, which are standalone events, the tournament has become known for its high-stakes competition, as teams vie for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
NEW FORMAT
In November, the Sun Belt Conference announced changes to its men’s and women’s basketball tournament brackets on Thursday, which will go into effect for the 2024-25 season.
While the league will continue to take all 14 members to the Sun Belt Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships and will maintain its seven-day tournament format, rest days will be eliminated from the postseason events.
To prioritize the value of the 18-game conference regular season, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will now receive byes to the tournament semifinals. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will maintain byes to the tournament quarterfinals, previously given to the top four seeds. With the elimination of rest days, higher-seeded teams will no longer face a lower-seeded team coming off a rest day.
- “The new Sun Belt Basketball Championship brackets will reward our top seeds for their accomplishments during the regular season, ensuring they receive the advantage they’ve earned for their on-court performance,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill.
Women’s basketball tournament games will be contested during the morning sessions each day, with games tipping off primarily at 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Men’s basketball tournament games will be played during the evening sessions, with games scheduled primarily at 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
SPECIAL PACKAGES AVAILABLE THRU FEB. 28
For basketball fans who want to attend, the Pensacola Bay Center offers a special ticket package until February 28th: $99 for access to all 14 sessions, available only at the box office. This works out to approximately $5-6 per game, and premium seating locations are included.
Pensacola Sports also offers combination packages that include tournament tickets, SEC soccer tournament passes, $50 in Sun Belt Conference merchandise coupons, and additional perks. Interested parties can find more information at pensacolasports.org.
The tournament atmosphere promises to be electric. Throughout the week, choreographed entertainment will include pep bands, dance teams, and special effects. The Sun Belt Conference invests in transforming the Bay Center into what Palmer describes as “a wonderful atmosphere” focused on family entertainment.
As the tournament approaches, downtown Pensacola is already showing signs of the upcoming championship, with banners being displayed and visiting team alumni making their travel arrangements. The event has become a signature part of the city’s sports calendar, coinciding with the excitement of college basketball’s March Madness season.
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