Southeastern Louisiana Lions football

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Southeastern Louisiana Lions football
AmericanFootball current event.svg 2024 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team
Slu wordmark 2021.png
First season1930;94 years ago (1930)
Athletic director Jay Artigues
Head coach Frank Scelfo
7th season, 44–36 (.550)
Stadium Strawberry Stadium
(capacity: 7,408)
Field surfaceArtificial
Location Hammond, Louisiana
NCAA division Division I FCS
Conference Southland Conference
All-time record342–303–17 (.529)
Conference titles10
Rivalries Nicholls (rivalry)
Northwestern State (rivalry)
Louisiana (rivalry)
ColorsGreen and gold [1]
   
Marching bandSpirit Of The Southland
Website LionSports.net

The Southeastern Louisiana Lions football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Southeastern Louisiana University located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Southland Conference. Southeastern Louisiana's first football team was fielded in 1930. The team plays its home games at the 7,408 seat Strawberry Stadium in Hammond, Louisiana. The Lions are coached by Frank Scelfo. [2]

Contents

History

When the program was restarted again in 2003, after an 18-year hiatus, Hal Mumme, formerly the head coach at the University of Kentucky, was hired as head coach. Mumme became the 12th head coach in program history and he hired Woody Widenhofer as his defensive coordinator. Upon its return, SLU decided to compete at the NCAA Division I-AA level. The team finished with a 5–7 record, the sixth-best record among start-up Division I programs since 1980. Forty-six school and/or national records were broken with freshman quarterback Martin Hankins setting 21 new standards. Before a packed house on a rainy night, Southeastern opened its first season in 18 years rallying to defeat Arkansas-Monticello, 22–17, as Hankins hit Choni Francis on a 22-yard scoring pass with 6:49 remaining in the game. Scoring the first touchdown after 18 years cemented Lions football once again. The team finished its first season 5–7 and posted a 7–4 mark in 2004. The program had a big 51–17 win over #6 McNeese State and entered the Top 25 in the national I-AA rankings. Southeastern Louisiana ranked first among NCAA Division I-AA teams in total offense per game (537.1 yards) and passing offense per game (408 yards) in 2003.

After receiving an invitation from the Southland Conference for the football program to join, the conference where the rest of SLU's sports competed, it began conference play in 2005 - where it remains a current member today.

In 2012, Ron Roberts took over as head coach for the Lions and led them to a 5–6 record. The Lions finished the season with a 5–2 record in conference play, which was the best conference record the Lions had posted in the Southland since joining in 2005. The following year, the Lions posted an 11–3 overall record. The Lions were led at quarterback by Oregon transfer Bryan Bennett. They finished with a perfect 7–0 record in conference play and earned their first-ever trip to the NCAA Division 1 playoffs. They earned a first-round bye. In the second round, the SLU faced Sam Houston State in a rematch of the regular-season game played between the two in which Southeastern won 34–21. Quarterback Bryan Bennett led a late game-winning drive to give the Lions a 30–29 thrilling victory. The Lions lost to the New Hampshire Wildcats in the quarterfinals 20–17. Bennett was first-team all-Conference in 2013. Placekicker Seth Sebastian and kickoff returner Xavier Roberson won 2013 FCS Awards from College Football Performance Awards for the top positional performances. [3]

The Lions playing at Tiger Stadium in 2018 SELU LSU 9718 049.jpg
The Lions playing at Tiger Stadium in 2018

After posting a 7–4 regular-season record in 2019 the lions earned the program's third playoff berth, hosting 10th ranked Villanova in the first round. After trailing 31–14 at halftime, Southeastern came back to upset the wildcats 45–44, led by quarterback Chason Virgil's 474 yards passing. [4]

Conference affiliations

Championships

Conference championships

Southeastern Louisiana has won 10 conference championships.[ citation needed ]

YearConferenceCoachOverall recordConference record
1946 Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference Ned McGehee 9–0‡4–0
1952† Gulf States Conference Stan Galloway 6–1–23–0–2
1953†6–35–1
1954 9–06–0
1956 6–34–1
1960†9–14–1
1961†9–14–1
2013 Southland Conference Ron Roberts 11–37–0
2014†9–47–1
2022† Frank Scelfo 8–35–1

† Co-championship

‡ Includes victory in 1946 Burley Bowl. [5]

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS

Southeastern Louisiana has a 4–5 record in five appearances in the I-AA/FCS playoffs since 1978.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2013 Second Round
Quarterfinals		 Sam Houston State
New Hampshire 		W 30–29
L 17–20
2014 First Round Sam Houston State L 17–21
2019 First Round
Second Round		 Villanova
Montana 		W 45–44
L 28–73
2021 First Round
Second Round		 Florida A&M
James Madison 		W 38–14
L 20–59
2022 First Round
Second Round		 Idaho
Samford 		W 45–42
L 42–48 OT

Rivalries

Nicholls

Southeastern Louisiana leads the series with Nicholls 17–16 through the 2022 season.

Northwestern State

Southeastern Louisiana leads the series with Northwestern State 38–29 through the 2022 season.

Louisiana

The Cypress Mug is the turned, polished mahogany mug awarded to the winner of the Louisiana–Southeastern football game. [6] Louisiana leads the series 21–17–3 with the last game played in 2022.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include:

Future non-conference opponents

Announced non-conference opponents as of November 3, 2024. [7]

20252026202720282029
at Louisiana Tech at South Alabama at Troy at Oklahoma State at TCU
at Murray State North Alabama at South Dakota State
at LSU at Louisiana–Monroe

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "SLU Athletics Branding". July 27, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Southeastern Louisiana Historical Data". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Sebastian, Roberson Earn CFPA National Honors".
  4. ↑ "Villanova vs. SE Louisiana - Game Recap - November 30, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Southeastern Wins Burley Bowl Tilt" . The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. Associated Press. November 29, 1946. Retrieved March 27, 2017– via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Athletic Network".
  7. ↑ "Southeastern Louisiana Lions Football Schedules and Future Schedules". fbschedules.com. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
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