The Sun Belt Conference learned a tough lesson last year -- win or stay home.

Last July, the Sun Belt Conference inked a secondary bowl agreement with the Independence, Papajohns.com and St. Petersburg bowls. But there was some confusion in the language. Commissioner Wright Waters said his intent was that if the secondary bowls couldn't fill their guarantee slots, then they'd pick the next eligible Sun Belt team at 7-5, and if they were no 7-5 teams, they'd pick a 6-6 team.

But the bowls read the agreement differently. If there were no 7-5 teams, the three bowls could choose a team from the nationwide pool of bowl-eligible teams. And that's what happened since only league champion Troy had a record better than 6-6.

"The problem we had last year was some terrible language that I am responsible for in the letter of agreement," Waters said.

While Florida Atlantic managed to lobby for an at-large spot, the conference received a major wake-up call about the perception of the league and the level of football it needed to play to earn respect from the bowls.

"The Sun Belt, and I hope our teams, have learned that they need to aspire to be winning teams," Waters said during the Sun Belt media days video conference call. "If you have winning teams and those bowl opportunities are available, there would have been opportunity."

Waters hopes to work out more bowl deals for his conference when the new contracts are negotiated for next season, but he knows his conference is going to have to show that it's better than managing just the bare minimum to get into a bowl game.

Teams such as Troy and Florida Atlantic are starting to receive consistent respect from leagues outside the Sun Belt, and some of the major guarantees Sun Belt schools are receiving are allowing Sun Belt teams to schedule more home games, increase attendance and generate more fan support.

All of which, Waters said, shows growth within his young conference.