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A Helpful Reminder - NCAA Baseball National Champions Coastal Carolina are now in the Sun Belt, but Football has to Wait One More Year

Coastal Carolina is now in the Sun Belt, but not in every sport.

By TK Maxwell
Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

If you're here, that means you've probably heard by now that a few hours ago on June 30th, 2016, Coastal Carolina shocked the baseball world by winning the College World Series and the NCAA Division I Baseball National Championship.

The momentous occasion is amplified by the fact that Coastal Carolina is leaving the Big South Conference for the Sun Belt as of now, July 1st, 2016. So on their last day as a Big South member, the Chants won their first National Championship.

However, there is an important distinction to be made. Due to the rules mandating moving from the Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Bowl Subdivision (FBS), Coastal Football is NOT a Sun Belt football member until July 1st, 2017. This distinction will help you avoid mistakes.

While Coastal soccer, basketball, baseball, etc are now in the Sun Belt, the football team has to go through 2016 as an "FCS Independent" that is post-season ineligible due to being above the 63 scholarship limit for the FCS Playoffs. Then in 2017, the Chants join the Sun Belt, but just like Appalachian State and Georgia Southern in 2014, will be bowl ineligible in their first FBS season and second transition year. Full FBS eligibility will be rubber-stamped in 2018 as long as Coastal averages 76 scholarships as a rolling two-year average during their transition.

That's just for football. All other CCU sports are still post-season eligible in the Sun Belt.

And no we return you to our regularly scheduled Fourth of July weekend, where things are gonna get weird in Myrtle Beach*.

* - Coastal Carolina is actually in Conway, SC, 11 miles from Myrtle Beach, another popular misconception.

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