Kentucky Men's Soccer joining Sun Belt Conference

Goodbye Conference USA, hello Sun Belt. This morning, the Sun Belt Conference announced it is reinstating men’s soccer in fall 2022 and Kentucky will join as an affiliate member. Kentucky Men’s Soccer has competed in Conference USA since 2005, along with South Carolina. (The Cats and the Gamecocks are the only SEC schools with competitive men’s soccer teams, so they have to compete in a different league.)

Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia will compete in the Sun Belt as affiliate members for men’s soccer only, along with Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and James Madison and former C-USA rivals Coastal Carolina, Marshall, and Old Dominion. The Sun Belt Conference previously sponsored men’s soccer from 1976 to 1995 and 2014 to 2020. 

“This marks an exciting new chapter for both Kentucky men’s soccer and the Sun Belt Conference, and we are thrilled to join a league that will continue to align with our belief of comprehensive excellence,” said head coach Johan Cedergren. “We are honored to become a member of this outstanding conference and want to thank everyone who has been involved in this process to ensure student-athletes and teams are set up for success.”

Kentucky Men’s Soccer is coming off one of its most successful seasons ever, earning the second Conference USA Tournament championship title in school history by beating Florida Atlantic, 2-1, in an overtime thriller. From there, the Cats went on their fourth-ever and second-straight NCAA Championship Sweet 16 appearance in 2021.

Here’s Kentucky’s schedule when it joins the Sun Belt this fall:

• Saturday, Sept 17 – vs. Marshall
• Saturday, Sept. 24 – at Georgia State
• Saturday, October 1 – at James Madison
• Saturday, October 8 – vs. Georgia Southern
• Saturday, October 15 – at West Virginia
• Wednesday, October 19 – vs. Coastal Carolina
• Friday, October 28 – vs. Old Dominion
• Tuesday, November 1 – at South Carolina

Go Cats. Go Sun Belt (men’s soccer only).