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.
Lamar University is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. 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 2022, the university enrollment was 17,044 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.
Provost Umphrey Stadium is a 16,000-seat multi-purpose stadium located on the campus of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. The stadium, home to the Lamar Cardinals football team, is located next to the Montagne Center. While primarily used for football, Provost Umphrey Stadium is also a concert venue with seating up to 20,000 for concerts. The stadium was completely renovated in 2009 and is designed to allow for a future expansion to 28,000.
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).
Vincent–Beck Stadium is a ballpark located in Beaumont, Texas, on Jim Gilligan Way on the campus of Lamar University. The stadium was built in 1969 and has a current capacity of 3,500 spectators. It is the home stadium of the Lamar Cardinals baseball team. It was also home to the Beaumont Golden Gators, a minor league Double-A Texas League affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1983–1986) as well as the Beaumont Bullfrogs of the Central Baseball League (1994). The facility is named after former Major League Baseball coach Al Vincent and Bryan Beck, a former member of the Lamar University board of regents.
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 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.
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 Incarnate Word Cardinals softball team represents the University of the Incarnate Word, located in San Antonio, TX. The Cardinals are a member of the Southland Conference and participate in NCAA Division I college softball. The team is currently led by head coach Kimberly Dean and plays home games at H-E-B Field.
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 Lamar Softball Complex, built in 2014–15 on the campus of Lamar University, is the home stadium for the Division I (NCAA) Lamar Lady Cardinals softball team. The stadium is located next to the Lamar Soccer Complex. The initial home game was played in the partially completed stadium with temporary spectator seating on March 6, 2015 against the Houston Baptist Huskies softball team. The current grandstands were built following the 2014–15 season's conclusion.
The 2015 Lamar Cardinals baseball team represents Lamar University in the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cardinals play their home games at Vincent–Beck Stadium and are members of the Southland Conference. The team is coached by Jim Gilligan in his 39th season at Lamar.
Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond is the home stadium for the Division I (NCAA) McNeese State Cowgirls softball team. Located on the campus of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the stadium has a 1,200 seating capacity. Seating consists of partially covered bleacher seating. The stadium has field lighting, bullpens, dugouts, and a press box. An indoor training facility, the "H.I.T" or House of Indoor Training, located outside the right field fence, allows hitting practice in all weather conditions. A Daktronics electronic scoreboard includes a message board. The initial home game was played on March 14, 2003, against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles softball team.
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 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 2021 Lamar Lady Cardinals softball team represented Lamar University during the 2021 NCAA Division I softball season. The Lady Cardinals played their home games at Lamar Softball Complex and were led by third-year head coach Amy Hooks. They were members of the Southland Conference. Home game attendance for the 2021 season was limited to 119 per game due to COVID19 precautions.
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.
