Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill floats from one media station to the next like a bumblebee, spreading his pollen of wisdom to sports outlets all over the nation. It’s an exhausting process. The media is a hive mind, drawing on the same menu of questions, posing them over and over and over again. Keith Gill, however, is in machine mode, his stock of canned answers refrigerated for freshness. He greets every pundit with a smile and treats every podcaster and radio personality to a joke or a compliment. If he’s good at this, it’s because he’s well practiced, having assumed the SBC leadership role back in 2019.

By the time he strides to the FunBelt Podcast table, Sun Belt Media Days have nearly concluded. He’s made himself available to anyone and everyone all day for two days now. If his patience is wearing thin, I’m prepared to absorb it. Or exploit it. I immediately test his wherewithal.

“Commissioner Gill,” I say, as deadpan as I can, “any truth to the rumor that Florida State and Clemson are poised to join the Sun Belt?”

Har-de-har. Commissioner Gill offers a chuckle and sportingly declines to comment. Keith Gill suffers fools diplomatically. I ask him about possible Sun Belt expansion, and what he says reveals a college sporting conference that has matured. “If I had it my way,” says Gill, “we’d be a 12 member league. Fourteen is almost too unwieldy.” I ask him if there are any plans to add additional sports to the conference. According to Commissioner Gill, nothing on that front is on the horizon. We ask about Divisions, and he is fine with standing pat on the format.

When it comes to separating the Group of Five from the the “autonomous four” (such as its own tournament or poll) you get a subtle rise of passion out of Commissioner Gill. “At the end of the day we spend a lot of time with people trying to put us at the kiddie table,” says Gill. “I don’t know why we’d voluntarily go there. That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Our focus should be the CFP, advancing in the CFP.”

This small rise of emotion in Commissioner Gill seems to reveal both a weariness and fight in him. With the BIG10 and SEC carving out the most monied and influential programs for themselves, it’s up to Gill to speak up for those programs who haven’t the glamorous television deals and billionaire benefactors. With once proud conferences like the American seemingly surrendering their relevance, Gill’s voice is needed more than ever.

“The Best Group of Five Conference.”

It was said almost like a battle cry: “The Sun Belt is the best Group of Five conference.” It was uttered by coaches. By players. By Commissioner Keith Gill. And eventually, even by the podcasters, radio personalities, TV reporters, bloggers and print journalists in attendance. While the distinction of “the best G5 conference” may be a bit subjective (the Mountain West still exists), to repeat the mantra with both force and confidence brings to mine a tried and true Law of Costanza: It’s not a lie if you believe it.

The Sun Belt Media Community is Pulsating with Power

As the conference has grown in relevance, so has the strength of the Sun Belt media community, which continues to expand year after year. It was heartening to see so many men and women working to share the news of the conference.

IMAGES BELONG TO ME