NEW ORLEANS -- A few steps away from the main stage, the newest Sun Belt Conference hardware glittered metallic gold and rested on a dimly lit platform inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The championship belt will be given to the MVP of the inaugural conference championship game Dec. 1, and someone from Arkansas State University will wear it if the program finishes first, like the coaches' preseason poll predicted at the conference's media day Monday.
Red Wolves senior safety Justin Clifton would settle for the championship trophy placed to the belt's left, which has been shared between Sun Belt co-champions in nine of the conference's 17 seasons.