NEW ORLEANS -- Georgia Southern and Appalachian State have long been known for having two of the best gameday atmospheres in the Football Championship Subdivision.
    Some players from the teams’ new conference talked about their favorite gameday atmospheres on Tuesday during the Sun Belt Football Media Day at the Mercedes-Benz  Superdome.
    The consensus seemed to be that UL Lafayette’s Cajun Field has the best atmosphere in the Football Bowl Subdivision Sun Belt.
    “Louisiana Lafayette is a crazy atmosphere on game day,” said Michael Orakpo, a senior linebacker at Texas State. “Their fans are crazy, there’s an atmosphere at the tailgate and then the stadium fills up. It’s definitely one of the better gameday experiences.”
    Offseason construction increased the seating for Ragin’ Cajuns’ home games to 38,000.
    It’s currently the largest stadium in the Sun Belt — the Georgia Dome only opens access to the lower 28,155 seats for Georgia State home games — and edged Arkansas State’s Liberty Bank Stadium in average attendance during 2013.
    Arkansas State, the 2013 Sun Belt co-champion with the Cajuns, finished second in average attendance last season and was mentioned for its atmosphere by plenty of Sun Belt players.
    “The fans at Lafayette — and Arkansas State, throw them in there too — the fans are great, the stadiums are great and the atmosphere’s great,” said Maleki Harris, a linebacker at South Alabama, which started playing football in 2009 and played its first Sun Belt schedule in 2012.
    “Personally, Troy is right up the road so I have family and friends calling me and telling me how Troy is going to beat us, so that’s probably going to be our big rival.”
    Even South Alabama’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., got some love for its gameday atmosphere. It opened in 1948, has a seating capacity of 33,471 and is also the location of the Senior Bowl and the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
    Arkansas State’s Sterling Young has plenty of memories there.
    “I want to say it’s South Alabama,” the Red Wolves defensive back said. “It’s beautiful down there and their facilities are brand new. We always play in the GoDaddy Bowl, and I count that, too.”
    Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson also offered his opinion.
    “UL Lafayette has a great tailgate with a great cajun style to it. That may be one of the most electric,” Benson said. “But I’m looking forward to getting to Statesboro and seeing that environment, which I hear may be on par with what goes on at UL Lafayette.”
    Georgia Southern opens its Sun Belt schedule on Sept. 20, at South Alabama. The Eagles will also travel to New Mexico State (Oct. 4), Georgia State (Oct. 25) and Texas State (Nov. 8).

Hardee transfers
 Georgia Southern defensive lineman Rafael Hardee, who saw action as a freshman in
2013, has left Georgia Southern to transfer, a Georgia Southern official confirmed Tuesday.
 Hardee played in all 11 games as a freshman and recorded 20 tackles, including two for
loss.

    Matt Yogus may be reached at (912) 489-4908.