Following a second meeting on Dec. 3, 1989, five of those 11 schools, plus two others, formed the Peach Belt Athletic Conference and began play in the fall of 1990.

In 2009–10, the University of Montevallo and Flagler College were added, returning a league presence to Florida and breaking new ground in Alabama.

In 2012–13, the Peach Belt expanded to 14 members, the most the league has ever had, with the addition of Young Harris College.

One year later, the Lander men's tennis team began their record-breaking run of eight straight national titles, the first PBC dynasty.

Montevallo watched their men's basketball team reach the Elite Eight, eventually competing in the National Championship Game.

The North Georgia softball team made an unprecedented third straight appearance in the NCAA Women's College World Series, while Columbus State's Meshack Koyiaki registered a runner-up finish at the Men's Cross Country National Championships.

[3] On April 14, 2021, the conference invited the NAIA's University of South Carolina Beaufort to join in 2022–23 after applying for membership in Division II and gaining acceptance into the NCAA.

[7][8] On December 13, 2023, the Sunshine State Conference, primary home of PBC track affiliates Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University and Nova Southeastern University, announced it would start sponsoring men's and women's outdoor track & field in the 2025 spring season (2024–25 school year), and accordingly, both schools moved their respective programs to the SSC.

[9] On January 10, 2024, Middle Georgia State University announced that it got extended an invitation by the PBC and will join the conference, beginning the 2025–26 academic year.