Lamar University is a public university in Beaumont, Texas, United States. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2024, the university enrollment was 17,771 students. Lamar University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and named for Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas.
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 Sam Houston Bearkats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Sam Houston State University located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Conference USA. Sam Houston's first football team was fielded in 1912. The team plays its home games at the 12,593-seat Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas. On January 23, 2014, K. C. Keeler was named the 15th head coach in Sam Houston program history.
The Lamar Cardinals basketball team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Cardinals currently play in the Southland Conference following a return from the Western Athletic Conference on July 11, 2022. They were one of four programs, all from Texas, that left the Southland Conference on July 1, 2021, to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Lamar left the Southland Conference for the second time, having initially joined at the league's formation in 1963, left in 1987, and returned in 1999. After one season in the WAC, Lamar returned to the Southland Conference. 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 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.
Larry Dan Tidwell is the head coach for the Schulenburg High School women’s basketball team. Before moving to Kansas, he served as women's basketball head coach from 2013–2018 at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, having been retained when his former institution, the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA), merged with the University of Texas at Brownsville. Prior to this position, he was head coach of the Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team for six seasons from 2007–2013, as well as the Lamar athletics director from June 2010 to May 2011.
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 Southland 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 Western Athletic Conference, which relaunched its football league at the FCS level during the 2021 season. After one season in the WAC, Lamar and the Southland Conference announced on July 11, 2022 Lamar's accelerated return to the Southland Conference effective immediately.
The Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. The team plays in the 10,080 seat Montagne Center. The Lady Cardinals currently compete at the NCAA Division I level in the Southland Conference.
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 Lamar Lady Cardinals softball team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team competes in the Southland Conference. The Lady Cardinals are currently led by head coach Amy Hooks. The team played its home games at the off–campus Ford Park for the first two seasons following the program restart in 2013. The Lady Cardinals began playing home games at the Lamar Softball Complex located on the university's campus starting with the 2015 season.
The 2013 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cardinals were led by fourth-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 5–6, 2–4 in Southland play to finish in sixth place.
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 Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by first year head coach Tic Price, played their home games at the Montagne Center and were members of the Southland Conference.
The 2015 Houston Baptist Huskies football team represented Houston Baptist University—now known as Houston Christian University—as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Vic Shealy the Huskies compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 0–8 in conference play, placing last out of 11 teams in the Southland. Houston Baptist played home games at Husky Stadium in Houston.
The 2015–16 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by second year head coach Tic Price. The team played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas and are members of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals finished the season with a record of 11–19, 3–15 to finish in last place in conference. As a result, they failed to qualify for the Southland tournament.
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.
Mike Schultz is an American football coach. Hired on December 21, 2016 to replace Ray Woodard, he was the second head coach of the Lamar Cardinals football program since its resurrection for the 2010 season.
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 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 2022 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cardinals played their home games at Provost Umphrey Stadium in Beaumont, Texas, United States, and competed in the Southland Conference following an early return from the Western Athletic Conference. On July 11, 2022, Lamar announced that they would take an early transition back to the Southland Conference after the athletic department announced back in April 2022 a transition back to the conference for the 2023 season.