The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the South Central states, with schools in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, with two members in the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington competing as affiliates for football only.
The Heartland Conference was a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division II level, which was founded in 1999. The majority of members were in Texas, with additional members in Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The conference office was located in Waco, Texas.
Midwestern State University is a public liberal arts university in Wichita Falls, Texas. As of Fall 2024, MSU Texas enrolled 5,324 students. It is the state's only public institution focused on the liberal arts.
The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and white. The university participates in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision for football. The Spartans participate as members of the Big Ten Conference in all varsity sports. Michigan State offers 11 varsity sports for men and 12 for women.
Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium is an athletic stadium located in Commerce, Texas. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the East Texas A&M University Lions football team, Texas A&M-Commerce Men's and Women's Track and Field, and the Commerce High School Tigers Football team of the Commerce Independent School District. Prior to 1996, the stadium was named "East Texas State Memorial Stadium, and until the end of the 2017 season, it was known as Texas A&M-Commerce Memorial Stadium." The stadium was built in honor of the 78 Texas A&M-Commerce alums and students who fought and died during World War II. The stadium was renamed Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium was formally changed in November 2017 in honor of longtime Lion football coach Ernest Hawkins.
The SMU Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Oklahoma A&M. They have been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since 2024.
John Cohen is an American former baseball player and coach who is currently the 16th athletic director for the Auburn University Tigers. He is former head baseball coach of Mississippi State University, where he also served as the athletic director from 2016 to 2022.
The West Texas A&M Buffaloes, also known as the WTAMU Buffaloes or WT Buffaloes, and formerly West Texas State Buffaloes and WTSU Buffaloes, are the athletic teams that represent West Texas A&M University, located in Canyon, Texas, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Buffaloes, colloquially known as the Buffs (men) and Lady Buffs (women), compete as members of the Lone Star Conference for all 14 varsity sports.
The Gulf Coast Conference (GCC) was a short-lived NCAA college athletic conference composed of universities in the U.S. state of Texas from 1949 until 1957. The charter members of the conference were the University of Houston, Midwestern University, North Texas State College, and Trinity University. The Gulf Coast Conference spawned from then members of the Lone Star Conference, and its president was D.L. Ligon. In 1956, when the NCAA created divisions, all members of the conference at the time were classified as part of the NCAA's College Division, which was later subdivided into Division II and Division III in 1973. Charter member Houston had already left for the Missouri Valley Conference by the end of 1950, and was classified as a University Division school, which later became known as Division I.
The Minnesota State Mavericks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Minnesota State University, Mankato. The school's athletic program includes 21 varsity sports teams. More than 600 students participate each year in athletics for the university. Most of the university's athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division II level in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The men's and women's ice hockey teams compete at the Division I level, respectively in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Minnesota State began competition in the NSIC in 2008–09, due to the dissolution of the North Central Conference. It was also one of the seven WCHA men's hockey members that left that league after the 2020–21 season to reestablish the CCHA, a move that led to the demise of the men's side of the WCHA.
The SMU Mustangs men's soccer team represents Southern Methodist University in men's college soccer. The team currently competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Mustangs made their most recent appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2024. In 2024 the Mustangs reached their fourteenth Elite Eight before falling to No.13 Seed Marshall 3–2.
The MSU Denver Roadrunners are the athletic teams that represent Metropolitan State University of Denver. The Roadrunners participate in 15 intercollegiate sports and compete in the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Colby Don Carthel is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, a position he has held since December 2018. Carthel served as the head football coach at Texas A&M University–Commerce from 2013 to 2018, leading the 2017 Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football team to an NCAA Division II Football Championship title. Prior to his time as head coach, he was the defensive coordinator under his father, Don Carthel, at West Texas A&M University, from 2006 to 2012. Carthel played football at Angelo State University, where he was an all-conference linebacker.
The 2017 Midwestern State Mustangs football team represented Midwestern State University in the 2017 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by head coach Bill Maskill, who is in his 16th season at Midwestern State. The Mustangs played their home games at Memorial Stadium and were members of the Lone Star Conference.
The 2018 Midwestern State Mustangs football team represented Midwestern State University in the 2018 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by head coach Bill Maskill, who is in his 17th season at Midwestern State. The Mustangs played their home games at Memorial Stadium and were members of the Lone Star Conference.
Noel Dawn Johnson was an American basketball player and the head coach of the Midwestern State Mustangs women's basketball team. She played for the national championship Texas Tech Lady Raiders in 1993.
The 2012 Lone Star Conference football began on August 30 when West Texas A&M lost to CSU-Pueblo and ended with West Texas A&M loss against Winston-Salem in the NCAA D2 Semi Final on December 8. It was Abilene Christian and Incarnated Word last season before they moved to NCAA D1 Southland Conference.
The 2020 Midwestern State Mustangs football team represented Midwestern State University as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) during the 2020 NCAA Division II football season. Led by 19th-year head coach Bill Maskill, the team compiled a record of 1–2. The Mustangs played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas.
The 2021 Midwestern State Mustangs football team represented Midwestern State University in the 2021 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by head coach Bill Maskill, who was in his 20th season at Midwestern State. The Mustangs played their home games at Memorial Stadium and were members of the Lone Star Conference.
