NEW ORLEANS — The Sun Belt Conference's 11 institutions are prepared to pay more to remain part of major college football, commissioner Karl Benson said Tuesday. In his state-of-the-conference address during the league's annual media day, Benson also expressed optimism that the five wealthiest conferences — often called the "power five" — would not insist on new rules which would unduly marginalize the other five NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision conferences. "We've shown that the competitive gap is not as great as the economic gap," Benson said.