The University of Central Florida (UCF) became the only expansion school during the conference's final academic season before the conference merged with the Sun Belt Conference.

The Sun Belt, which was losing all but three members, merged with the American South conference.

After serving as Sun Belt commissioner for eight years, he became commissioner of the newly formed Mountain West Conference in 1998.

[2] In its brief existence, the American South was home to the 1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Champion in Louisiana Tech, and also had two men's basketball teams earn NCAA at-large berths, Louisiana Tech in 1989 (defeated LaSalle in NCAA 1st Round) and New Orleans in 1991.

Lamar's women's basketball team advanced to the NCAA round of eight in 1991 defeating Texas, LSU, and Arkansas before losing to tournament finalist Virginia.