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.
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 Northwestern State University athletic teams go by the Demons, with women's athletic teams generally called the Lady Demons, and its mascot is Vic the Demon. Once a member of the SIAA conference, the school now competes in the Southland Conference.
The 2015 Southland Conference tournament was held at Lady Demon Diamond on the campus of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, from May 6 through May 8, 2015. The tournament winner, Central Arkansas earned the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I softball tournament. The Championship game was broadcast on ESPN3 with the remainder of the tournament airing on the Southland Digital Network.
The Texas A&M–Commerce Lions women's soccer team is the women's intercollegiate soccer program representing Texas A&M University–Commerce. The school competes in the Southland Conference (SLC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). For the first 27 years of existence, they competed in the Lone Star Conference of Division II. The A&M–Commerce women's soccer team plays its home games at Lion Soccer Field on the university campus in Commerce, Texas. The Lions won four LSC regular season championships, three conference tournament titles, and made six appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. The team is currently coached by Ashley Gordon.
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 2018 Northwestern State Demons football team represented Northwestern State University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Brad Laird, the Demons compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 4–5 in conference play, tying for eighth place in the Southland. Northwestern State played home games at Harry Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
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.
Amy Deanne Hooks is an American college softball coach and former catcher who is the current head coach at Lamar. Prior to her position at Lamar, she served as assistant softball coach for six seasons at Northwestern State.
Steve Holeman is the head women's soccer coach at Texas State University, an NCAA Division I program in the Sun Belt Conference. He was named Texas State head coach on February 9, 2022. Prior to his position at Texas State, Holeman served as head coach at three Southeastern Conference universities starting the program at two of those universities. He started the soccer program at Auburn serving as an interim head coach for one season (1993). He moved to Ole Miss starting the women's soccer program there and served as head coach for fifteen seasons (1994–2010). He moved to another Southeastern Conference university, Georgia serving as the Lady Bulldogs head coach for five seasons (2011–2015). He served as head coach at Lamar University from 2016 to 2021.
The 2018 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament, the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southland Conference, was held from October 31–November 4, 2018. The seven-match tournament took place at the Lamar Soccer Complex in Beaumont, Texas. The eight-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play.
The 2019–20 Northwestern State Demons basketball team represented Northwestern State University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Demons, led by 21st-year head coach Mike McConathy, played their home games at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 15–15, 11–9 in Southland play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They defeated Texas A&M–Corpus Christi in the first round of the Southland tournament and were set to take on Sam Houston State in the second round until the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2019 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament, the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southland Conference, was held from November 6 to November 10, 2019. The seven-match tournament took place at the Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex in Conway, Arkansas. The eight-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Abilene Christian Wildcats, but they were unable to defend their title falling in the first round to McNeese State 2–1. The Lamar Cardinals won the tournament, defeating Northwestern State 3–1 in the final. The title was the second overall for the Lamar Cardinals program, both of which have come under head coach Steve Holeman.
The 2020 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament, the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southland Conference, was held from April 13 to April 17, 2020. The seven-match tournament took place at the Lamar Soccer Complex in Beaumont, Texas. The eight-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Lamar Lady Cardinals, but they were unable to defend their title falling in the first round to Sam Houston State 4–3. The Southeastern Lady Lions won the tournament, defeating Sam Houston 3–0 in the final.
The 2022–23 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Cardinals, led by fourth year head coach Aqua Franklin, played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. The Lady Cardinals finished the 2022–23 season with an overall record of 20–12 and 12–6 in conference play. After defeating McNeese in the second round and Texas A&M–Corpus Christi in the semi–final round of the 2023 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament, Lamar's season ended losing to Southeastern Louisiana in tournament championship game. Lamar entered the tournament as third seed.
The 2022–23 Northwestern State Lady Demons basketball team represents Northwestern State University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Demons, led by third year head coach Anna Nimz play their home games at Prather Coliseum located in Natchitoches, Louisiana and are members of the Southland Conference.
The 2023 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament, the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southland Conference, was held from November 1 to November 5, 2023. The six-match tournament took place at the Dr. Jack Dugan 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. In a tournament which included three matches that were decided by penalty kicks, Lamar, the defending champions, won its fourth overall Southland Conference tournament championship and its second consecutive tournament championship in a 3-1 match vs #3 seed, McNeese.
The 2024 Northwestern State Demons football team will represent Northwestern State University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Blaine McCorkle, the Demons will play home games at Harry Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
The 2024 Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football team will represent Texas A&M University–Commerce as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions are led by second-year head coach Clint Dolezel and play home games at the Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium in Commerce, Texas.
