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 2015 Southland Conference baseball tournament was held from May 20 through 23. The top eight regular season finishers of the league's ten teams met in the double-elimination tournament held at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas. The event returned to Sugar Land as part of a two season contract after one season on campus. The winner of the tournament, Houston Baptist, earns the conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word are ineligible for postseason play as they transition from Division II.
The 2018 Southland Conference tournament was held at Joe Miller Field on the campus of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, from May 8 through 11, 2018. The tournament winner earned the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I softball tournament. The Championship game was broadcast on ESPNU. The remainder of the tournament aired on the Southland Digital Network.
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 2023 McNeese Cowgirls softball team represented McNeese State University during the 2023 NCAA Division I softball season. The Cowgirls played their home games at Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond and were led by seventh-year head coach James Landreneau. They are members of the Southland Conference. McNeese had a regular season record of 41–14 and a conference record of 21–3 winning the Southland Conference regular season championship. They also won the 2023 Southland Conference softball tournament as the first seeded team.
The 2023 Texas A&M–Commerce Lions softball team represented Texas A&M University–Commerce during the 2023 NCAA Division I softball season as members of the Southland Conference. The Lions played their home games at John Cain Family Softball Complex and were led by first year head coach Brittany Miller.
The 2023 Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions softball team represented Southeastern Louisiana University during the 2023 NCAA Division I softball season. The Lady Lions played their home games at North Oak Park in Hammond, LA and were led by eighth-year head coach Rick Fremin. They are members of the Southland Conference.
The 2023 Northwestern State Lady Demons softball team represented Northwestern State University during the 2023 NCAA Division I softball season. The Lady Demons played their home games at Lady Demon Diamond and were led by fifteenth year head coach Donald Pickett. They are members of the Southland Conference.
The 2023 Southland Conference tournament was held at Joe Miller Field on the campus of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, from May 9 through 13, 2023. The tournament winner, McNeese, earned the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I softball tournament. All games were broadcast on ESPN+.
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 McNeese Cowboys baseball team represented McNeese State University during the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cowboys played their home games at Joe Miller Ballpark and were led by eleventh–year head coach Justin Hill. They are members of the Southland Conference. They compiled a 32–27 overall record and a 11–13 record in conference play to tie for 4th place. Qualifying for the SLC tournament, the 5th seeded Cowboys were 3–2 in tournament play. They defeated 4th seeded Northwestern State 10–5 and 8th seeded Incarnate Word 6–2. The Cowboys were defeated by 1st seed Lamar 9–18 and then defeated Lamar 14–47 to reach the tournament championship game where they were defeated by 2nd seed Nicholls 15–17.
The 2024 Nicholls Colonels baseball team represented Nicholls State University during the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Colonels played their home games at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field and were led by third–year head coach Mike Silva. They are members of the Southland Conference. The Colonels compiled a 38–22 overall record and a 16–8 record in conference play for a second-place finish. Qualifying for the SLC tournament as the 2nd seeded team, the Colonels defeated 7th seed Texas A&M–Corpus Christi 14–27; 6th seeded Southeastern Louisiana 5–410 and 4–3; and McNeese 15–17 to win the tournament championship and earn the conference auto–bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. As the 3rd seeded team in the Corvallis Regional, the Colonels fell to 2nd seeded UC Irvine 12–13 and Tulane 0–3.
The 2024 McNeese Cowgirls softball team represents McNeese State University during the 2024 NCAA Division I softball season. The Cowgirls play their home games at Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond and are led by eighth-year head coach James Landreneau. They are members of the Southland Conference.
The 2024 Nicholls Colonels softball team represented Nicholls State University during the 2024 NCAA Division I softball season. The Colonels played their home games at Swanner Field at Geo Surfaces Park and were led by third-year head coach Justin Lewis. They are members of the Southland Conference. The team compiled a 31–26 overall record and a 16–8 record in conference play finishing in third place. As the third seeded team in the SLC tournament, the Colonels were 2–2 defeating seventh seeded Houston Christian 5–4 and fifth seeded Lamar 5–48. They were defeated by second seeded Southeastern Louisiana 1–4 and first seeded McNeese 3–48.
The 2024 Northwestern State Lady Demons softball team represented Northwestern State University during the 2024 NCAA Division I softball season. The Lady Demons played their home games at Lady Demon Diamond and were led by first year head coach Lacy Prejean. They are members of the Southland Conference. The team compiled a 19–31 overall record and a 5–18 record in conference play finishing in eighth place. They failed to qualify for the SLC tournament.
The 2024 Incarnate Word Cardinals softball team represented the University of the Incarnate Word during the 2024 NCAA Division I softball season. The Cardinals played their home games at H-E-B Field and were led by third-year head coach Kimberly Dean. They were members of the Southland Conference.
The 2024 Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions softball team represented Southeastern Louisiana University during the 2024 NCAA Division I softball season. The Lady Lions played their home games at North Oak Park in Hammond, LA and were led by ninth-year head coach Rick Fremin. They are members of the Southland Conference. They compiled a 47–15 overall record including a 17–7 record in conference play and a regular season second place finish. The Lady Lions won the Southland Conference tournament. Their tournament championship win was the Lady Lions's first in program history. Earning the conference's auto-bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I softball tournament, the team competed in the NCAA Division I tournament's Tuscaloosa regional. The team had a 2–2 record defeating 23rd ranked Clemson twice and losing to 14th ranked Alabama twice. Their season ended with a loss to Alabama in the regional finals round.
The 2024 Texas A&M–Commerce Lions softball team represented Texas A&M University–Commerce during the 2024 NCAA Division I softball season as members of the Southland Conference. The Lions played their home games at John Cain Family Softball Complex and were led by second year head coach Brittany Miller. They compiled a 9–45 overall record and a 2–22 in conference play finishing the season in ninth place. The Lions failed to qualify for the SLC tournament.
The 2022 Southland Conference tournament was held at North Oak Park in Hammond, Louisiana, from May 10 through 13, 2022. The tournament winner, McNeese, earned the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I softball tournament. All games were broadcast on ESPN+.
The 2021 Southland Conference tournament was held at North Oak Park in Hammond, Louisiana, from May 11 through 14, 2021. The tournament winner, McNeese, earned the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament. All games were broadcast on ESPN+.
