The Sun Belt Conference probably won't qualify a team for the FedEx Orange Bowl this year, or at any time in the near future, but that doesn't mean the Orange Bowl is ignoring the league.

Far from it, in fact.

The Orange Bowl Committee announced this week a contribution of $150,000 to assist the athletic programs at Tulane, Southern Mississippi and in the Sun Belt, programs affected by the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.

"The catastrophic losses these programs endured is overwhelming," said Orange Bowl president Peter T. Pruitt. "It will take years to overcome, and we're honored to do our part in assisting in their time of need."

Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters said the league will use its contributions to assist member institutions affected by the storm. UNO suffered heavy damage on its campus, and the University of Louisiana, South Alabama, UL Monroe and Arkansas-Little Rock are serving as evacuation centers.

"This is what we all have grown to expect from the Orange Bowl," Waters said. "When someone needs to step up and show leadership, the Orange Bowl is always at the top of the list."

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Even the most far-flung Sun Belt member is involved in hurricane recovery.

The University of Denver's student-athlete advisory council is donating $15,000 from its student-athlete opportunity fund, a fund provided by the NCAA to assist needy student-athletes, to help other league schools hit by the storm.

The NCAA fund normally is for athletes to help with clothing, school supplies and medical expenses that aren't covered by insurance or scholarships.

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UL Monroe coach Charlie Weatherbie made his team's newly-altered schedule sound like a positive Monday.

ULM is faced with back-to-back open dates on Oct. 22 and 29, with the schedule changes stemming from North Texas' rescheduling of its contest with LSU.

"We're going to play it almost like two seasons," Weatherbie said. "We'll have four or five more games, take a break for a couple of weeks and then play four more.

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Compiled by Dan McDonald