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. Tom Burnett was named the Southland's sixth commissioner on December 23, 2002. From 1996 to 2002, for football only, the Southland Conference was known as the Southland Football League.
College football on television includes the broad- and cablecasting of college football games, as well as pre- and post-game reports, analysis, and human-interest stories. Within the United States, the college version of American football annually garners high television ratings.
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 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) after officially joining the conference on July 1, 2021.
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", "Runners", “The Meep Meeps”, or simply “The Birds”, 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 Roadrunners compete in the NCAA Division I Conference USA in 17 varsity sports. UTSA is San Antonio's only institution that competes in Division I FBS. UTSA joined the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2012. In April 2012, it was announced that UTSA would join Conference USA on July 1, 2013. Eight years later on October 21, 2021 it was announced that UTSA would join the American Athletic Conference. The UTSA Cheer team has garnered two National Cheerleading Associations’ (NCA) collegiate national championships, first in 2012 and again in 2021. The cheer team has also secured a pair of top 5 finishes in 2019.
The Lamar Cardinals basketball team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Cardinals are one of four programs, all from Texas, that will leave the Southland Conference on July 1, 2021 to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Lamar is leaving the Southland Conference for the second time, having initially joined at the league's formation in 1963, left in 1987, and returned in 1999. The Cardinals have played home games in the Montagne Center since 1984. The Lamar University basketball team is one of the school's most storied athletic programs. The Cardinals have competed in NCAA Tournament play eleven times (five at the NCAA College Division level and six times at the NCAA Division I level with the most recent appearance in the 2012 tournament. The 1979–80 team was one of the 1980 tournament's Sweet Sixteen teams. The Cardinals have also competed in four NIT tournaments. Heading into the 2014–2015 season Lamar had a 284–143 record in the Montagne Center. The Cardinals overall record going into the 2014–2015 season was 922–818.
The Lamar Cardinals football program represents Lamar University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. The Cardinals are members of the Western Athletic Conference and play their home games in the 16,000 seat Provost Umphrey Stadium. The Cardinals left the Southland Conference in July 2021 to join the WAC, which relaunched its football league at the FCS level during the 2021 season.
The 2012 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cardinals were led by third-year head coach Ray Woodard and played their home games at Provost Umphrey Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 1–6 in Southland play to finish in seventh place.
The Battle of the Border is the name of the athletics rivalry between the Cardinals and Lady Cardinals of Lamar University and Cowboys and Cowgirls of McNeese State University. Originally in football, the rivalry now covers all sports. In 2009, the rivalry was expanded to include "...head-to-head and SLC [Southland Conference] Championship competition in 14 different sports...". The competition is a joint agreement with the two universities and sponsor, Verizon Wireless
The 2014 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cardinals were led by fifth-year head coach Ray Woodard and played their home games at Provost Umphrey Stadium. They are a member of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals finished the season 8–4, 5–3 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. The eight win overall and five win conference record matched the Cardinals' best overall win record in both categories as a four year program.
The 2014–15 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Cardinals, led by second year head coach Robin Harmony, played their home games at the Montagne Center and are members of the Southland Conference.
The 2015 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cardinals were led by sixth-year head coach Ray Woodard and played their home games at Provost Umphrey Stadium. They are a member of the Southland Conference.
The 2016 Lamar Cardinals baseball team represented Lamar University in the 2016 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cardinals played their home games at Vincent–Beck Stadium and are members of the Southland Conference. The team was coached by Jim Gilligan in his 39th and final season at Lamar.
The 2016 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cardinals were led by seventh-year head coach Ray Woodard and played their home games at Provost Umphrey Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 3–8, 3–6 in Southland play to finish in a tie for eighth place.
The 2015–16 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Cardinals, led by third year head coach Robin Harmony, played their home games at the Montagne Center and are members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season with a 12-19 overall record and a 7-11 conference record. Qualifying for the conference tournament, the Lady Cardinals won the first game against Houston Baptist and were eliminated by McNeese State.
The 2016–17 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Cardinals, led by fourth year head coach Robin Harmony, played their home games at the Montagne Center and are members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season with a 21–6, 15–3 Southland play. They lost in the semifinals of the Southland Women's Tournament to Stephen F. Austin. They were invited to the WBI where they lost to Rice in the first round.
The 2018 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team represented the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals played their home games at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium in San Antonio, Texas. They were led by first year head coach Eric Morris. They finished the season 6–5, 6–2 in Southland play to win a share of the Southland Conference championship. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Montana State. The Cardinals were set to play the Iowa State Cyclones during the first weekend in December, but the game was cancelled.
The 2018 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cardinals were led by second-year head coach Mike Schultz and played their home games at Provost Umphrey Stadium. They played as a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 7–5, 6–3 in Southland play to finish in third place. They received an at-large berth to the FCS Playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Northern Iowa.
The 2018–19 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by fifth-year head coach Tic Price and played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas as members of the Southland Conference.
The 2019 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals were led by third-year head coach Mike Schultz and played their home games at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The Cardinals played a twelve game regular season schedule in 2019. The schedule included three non-conference and nine conference games.
The 2021 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Cardinals were led by second-year head coach Blane Morgan and played their home games at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The game against North American University is not included in the Western Athletic Conference or AQ7 standings because it was classed as an exhibition game and was not countable due to NCAA policies.
