The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington.
The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Southland sponsors 18 sports, 10 for women and eight for men, and is governed by a presidential Board of Directors and an Advisory Council of athletic and academic administrators. Chris Grant became the Southland's seventh commissioner on April 5, 2022. From 1996 to 2002, for football only, the Southland Conference was known as the Southland Football League.
Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University, is a private Baptist university in Houston, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Its Cultural Arts Center houses three museums: the Dunham Bible Museum, the Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts, and the Museum of Southern History.
The Southland Conference's men's basketball tournament began in 1981, with the winner of the tournament receiving the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
The Texas State Bobcats are the sports teams that represent Texas State University. Currently, they compete in the Sun Belt Conference in NCAA Division I. The Bobcat has been the mascot of Texas State University since 1921, when the university adopted the name from the recommendation of a committee formed to raise school spirit. Though considerably smaller than mountain lions, bobcats are known for their stubborn fierceness and great courage. The football squad used the bobcat for the first time in 1921 and went undefeated with a 7–0 season. Texas State had several officially recognized live bobcat mascots until the 1970s. In 1964, the Texas State Bobcat was given the official name of "Boko" by Beth Greenlees, a sophomore from Luling, Texas, who beat out about 100 other students in a "Name the Bobcat" contest. Her winning submission earned her a $5 prize and the honor of being the person who named the Texas State mascot. Boko has twice been named “USA National Champion” mascot. Texas State had no official fight song until 1961, when Paul Yoder was commissioned to compose "Go Bobcats." The song is the rousing "call to arms" for all Texas State athletic games and competition.
The Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals refers to the college athletics teams of Lamar University, in Beaumont, Texas. The Cardinals and Lady Cardinals teams compete in seventeen NCAA Division I sports as a member of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals rejoined the Southland after spending the 2021–22 athletic year in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The UTSA Roadrunners is a collegiate athletic program that represents the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The UTSA Roadrunners are also commonly referred to as "UTSA", "Roadrunners", or "Runners", and are represented by the mascot Rowdy. The origin of Rowdy dates back to 1977, when the Roadrunner was chosen as the university's mascot by student election.
The Houston Christian Huskies, HCU or Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Houston Christian University, located in Houston, Texas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southland Conference for most of its sports since the 2013–14 academic year; as of the current 2023 NCAA soccer season, its men's soccer team competes in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Huskies previously competed the D-I Great West Conference from 2008–09 to 2012–13 after spending one season as an NCAA D-I Independent during the 2007–08 school year ; in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1998–99 to 2006–07; and as an NAIA Independent from 1989–90 to 1997–98. Houston Christian's (HCU) official school colors are royal blue and orange.
The Sam Houston Bearkats are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Sam Houston State University, located in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston's colors are orange and white. Sam Houston sports teams participate in NCAA Division I in Conference USA (CUSA), having joined that conference on July 1, 2023 after spending 34 years in the Southland Conference and two years in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). SHSU's primary rival is Stephen F. Austin (SFA) and tensions between the two schools can run high before major sporting events that pit one against the other.
The Nicholls Colonels are the 15 teams representing Nicholls State University, a university in Louisiana, in intercollegiate athletics. The Colonels compete in the NCAA Division I and the Colonels football team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Colonels sports teams are members of the Southland Conference.
The Sam Houston Bearkats men's basketball team, represents Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The Bearkats were one of four programs, all from Texas, that left the Southland Conference on July 1, 2021 to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Sam Houston had previously been a member of the Southland Conference since the 1987–88 season. The Bearkats have played home games at Johnson Coliseum, a 6,110 seat indoor arena, since 1976, when it was then called University Coliseum. On July 1, 2023 the Bearkats joined Conference USA.
The Sam Houston Bearkats softball team represents Sam Houston State University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in Conference USA. The Bearkats are currently led by head coach Garrett Valis. The team plays its home games at the Bearkat Softball Complex located on the university's campus.
The Sam Houston Bearkats women's basketball team is the women's basketball team that represents Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. The Bearkats are members of Conference USA. Sam Houston joined the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2021 after playing the previous 34 seasons in the Southland Conference, the Bearkats played in the WAC until the conclusion of the 2023 season. The Bearkats are currently coached by Ravon Justice.
The Southland Conference softball tournament is the conference championship tournament in college softball for the Southland Conference (SLC). It is a double-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I softball tournament.
The Southland Bowling League (SBL) was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) bowling-only conference. The SBL was founded in 2015 for schools that sponsor women's bowling teams, but did not have bowling sponsored by their primary conferences. The SBL champion received an automatic bid to the NCAA Bowling Championship since the NCAA first awarded such bids in 2018. While the conference operated independently, administrative services were provided by the Southland Conference. The SBL merged into Conference USA (CUSA) after the 2022–23 season, with CUSA inheriting the SBL's automatic championship berth.
The 2016 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southland Conference held from November 2 to 6, 2016. The five match tournament was at Jack Dugan Stadium in Corpus Christi, Texas. The six team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions were the defending tournament champions after defeating the Sam Houston State Bearkats in a penalty kick shootout in the championship match.
The 2017 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southland Conference held from November 1–5, 2017. The seven-match tournament took place at Jack Dugan Stadium in Corpus Christi, Texas. The eight-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Houston Baptist Huskies were the defending champions, but they were eliminated from the 2017 tournament with a 1–0 quarterfinal loss to the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears. The Lamar Lady Cardinals won the tournament with a 2–0 win over the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks in the final. This was the first Southland Conference tournament title for the Lamar women's soccer program and for head coach Steve Holeman.
The Lamar Lady Cardinals soccer team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I college soccer. The team, currently led by head coach Nathan Kogut, competes in the Southland Conference. The team's initial season was 2007. The Lady Cardinals' home stadium is the Lamar Soccer Complex located on the university's campus. The team began playing home games there starting with the 2009 season. The Lady Cardinals home stadium for the first two seasons was Cardinal Stadium now named Provost Umphrey Stadium.
The 2021 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament, the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southland Conference, was held from November 3 to November 7, 2021. The six-match tournament took place at the Dr. Jack Dugan Family Soccer & Track Stadium in Corpus Christi, Texas. The seven-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Southeastern Louisiana Lions, but they were unable to defend their title falling in the Semifinals to Northwestern State 1–0. Northwestern State went on to win the tournament, defeating Incarnate Word 1–0 in the Final. The title was the fifth overall for the Northwestern State program, and first under head coach Stuart Gore. As tournament champions, Northwestern State earned the Southland Conference's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
The 2022 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament, the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southland Conference, was held from November 2 to November 6, 2022. The six-match tournament took place at the Lady Demon Soccer Complex in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The seven-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Northwestern State Lady Demons. Northwestern State was defeated in the semifinal round by Texas A&M-Commerce Lions 2–3. Lamar Lady Cardinals won the championship by defeating the Houston Christian Huskies 1–0 in the semifinal round and Texas A&M-Commerce 4–1 in the championship final match. The Lady Cardinals qualified for the Southland Conference's autobid to the 2022 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament. The championship win was Lamar's third in the conference.
