Sul Ross State Lobos | |
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University | Sul Ross State University |
Conference | Lone Star Conference |
NCAA | Division II |
Athletic director | Amanda Workman |
Location | Alpine, Texas |
Varsity teams | 14 varsity teams, NIRA rodeo |
Football stadium | Jackson Field |
Basketball arena | Pete P. Gallego Center |
Baseball stadium | Kokernot Field |
Other venues | Graves-Pierce Recreational Complex |
Mascot | Sully |
Nickname | Lobos |
Colors | Red and Grey [1] : 5 |
Website | www |
The Sul Ross State University Lobos are the athletic teams of Sul Ross State University, a public university in Alpine, Texas. They compete in the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the Lone Star Conference.
Sul Ross State competes in 12 intercollegiate varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer and tennis; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. [2]
In July 2023, Lobos athletic programs were approved for reclassification to Division II. [3] On July 1, 2024, the university became a member of the Lone Star Conference. [4]
In 1970 and 1971, the women's volleyball team won the first two Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Volleyball National Championships. The AIAW governed women's sports prior to NCAA recognition. Sul Ross State defeated UCLA and Long Beach State, respectively, in the championship matches. In addition, Sul Ross won Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association Conference Championship in 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1991.
In 2007, it was announced that 59-year-old Mike Flynt would be joining the Sul Ross football team. He had played college football when he was originally enrolled in college and his athletic eligibility had not expired. [5]
In 2015, the team finished 3–7. [6] The following season, 2016, the Lobos finished with a record of 6–4, the program's first winning record in a decade. [7]
The Lobos are currently lead by head coach Barry Derickson. Derickson, who was originally hired as the offensive coordinator prior to the 2021 season, was announced as the program's interim head coach on November 30, 2021, following the resignation of John Pearce. [8] Following the conclusion of the 2022 season, Derickson was promoted to full-time head coach. [9]
Location | 204 S. Cockrell St Alpine, TX 79380 |
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Capacity | 3,000 [10] |
Surface | FieldTurf |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1924 |
Opened | 1924 |
Jackson Field is a football stadium located in Alpine, Texas with a seating capacity of 3,000. The stadium is the home field for the Sul Ross Lobos and Alpine High School Fighting Bucks. The stadium was constructed and opened in 1924 and is named after Big Bend rancher J. D. Jackson who donated the land for the stadium. [11] The old playing surface, natural grass, was replaced with a new artificial turf surface in 2016 as part of a larger project that included the construction of a multi-purpose recreational/intramural field just east of Jackson Field, with the funding coming from private donations and gifts. [12] [13]
The Battle of I-20 is the name given to the McMurry–Sul Ross football rivalry. [14] Going into the 2019 match-up McMurry led the all-time series 46–40–2; [15] the Lobos would win that year's game 21–7. As of the 2023 season, the two teams have met 93 times with McMurry leading the series 48–43–2. The future of the rivalry remains uncertain as Sul Ross joined the Lone Star Conference in 2024, which competes at the Division II level, while McMurry competes in the Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. [16]
In 2024, a new trophy series was introduced for the Lobos' games against the Western New Mexico Mustangs, dubbed the Battle for the Golden Tumbleweed, with the winner receiving the Golden Tumbleweed Trophy. [17] The teams first met in 1949, with the Mustangs leading the overall series 15–7 entering the 2024 match-up. [18] Sul Ross won the inaugural trophy game, 30–14, on October 19, 2024; this victory also marked the Lobos' first win since rejoining the LSC and first win over an NCAA Division II opponent. [19]
The Lobos home park, Kokernot Field, was the host for the first ever NAIA Baseball World Series. Texas Monthly called Kokernot Field the Yankee Stadium of Texas.
Sul Ross began playing softball in 1996.
Sul Ross State University hired Marquis Muse in July 2015 as its first Head Women's Soccer Coach. The Lobos finished 2–8 in conference play and 3–13 overall in its inaugural season.
Sul Ross captured the 1985 TIAA Golf Championship by 80 strokes. 1st Team All Conference\Medalist Blake Moody(Ozona, TX), 1st Team All Conference Daniel Nunez(Alpine, TX) and Kevin Farrer(Alpine, TX), 2nd Team All Conference Ronnie Martinez(Marfa, TX) and Kevin Burnett(Pecos, TX), but has subsequently dropped the program.
Sul Ross was a founding member of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association and has a long and successful history with seven national titles, placing in the top 10 at the College National Finals Rodeo 33 times, and having six all-around cowboys and cowgirls.
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 American Southwest Conference (ASC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. All member schools are located in the state of Texas. The conference competes in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and women's volleyball.
Sul Ross State University (SRSU) is a public university in Alpine, Texas. The main campus is the primary institution of higher education serving the nineteen-county Big Bend region of far West Texas. Branch campuses, branded as Rio Grande College, are located in Del Rio, Uvalde, Eagle Pass, and Castroville.
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.
McMurry University is a private Methodist university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1923 and named after William Fletcher McMurry. The university offers forty-five majors in the fields of fine arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, education, business, and religion, and nine pre-professional programs, including nursing, dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary, and law.
The Belhaven Blazers are the athletic teams that represent Belhaven University, located in Jackson, Mississippi, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) for most of its sports as a founding member since the 2022–23 academic year; while its football team competes in the USA South Athletic Conference. They were also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the Mid-East Region of the Division I level. The Blazers previously competed in the D-III American Southwest Conference (ASC) from 2015–16 to 2021–22; in the Southern States Athletic Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2010–11 to 2014–15; and in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) from 2002–03 to 2009–10.
Abilene Christian Wildcats refers to the sports teams of Abilene Christian University located in Abilene, Texas. The Wildcats joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on July 1, 2021, after having spent the previous eight years in the Southland Conference. The nickname "Wildcat" is derived from the mascot of the team.
The Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas are the athletic teams that represent Texas A&M University–Kingsville (TAMUK) in Kingsville, Texas, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) since the 1954–55 academic year.
The Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Texas A&M University–Kingsville located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team competes in the Division II and is a member of the Lone Star Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1929. The team plays its home games at the 15,000-seat Javelina Stadium.
The Lubbock Christian Chaparrals and Lady Chaps are the athletic teams that represent Lubbock Christian University, located in Lubbock, Texas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) since the 2019–20 academic year. The Chaparrals and Lady Chaps previously had competed in the D-II Heartland Conference from 2013–14 to 2018–19; in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1994–95 to 2012–13; and in the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) of the NCAA Division III ranks from 1979–80 to 1981–82.
The McMurry War Hawks football team represents McMurry University in college football in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division III level. The War Hawks are members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), fielding its team in the SCAC since 2024. The War Hawks play their home games at Wilford Moore Stadium in Abilene, Texas. The team was known as the McMurry Indians until 2011.
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The East Texas A&M Lions men's basketball team is the men's intercollegiate basketball program representing East Texas A&M University. The school competes in the Southland Conference (SLC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The team plays its home games at the University Field House on the university campus in Commerce, Texas. They are currently coached by Jaret von Rosenberg.
The Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) was an NCAA Division III and NAIA college athletic conference that operated from 1976 to 1996. Its members were all located in the US state of Texas. When the association dissolved in 1996, most of the teams joined the newly formed American Southwest Conference which included teams from other states.
Barry Derickson is an American college football coach. He was most recently the head football coach for Sul Ross State University, a position he held from 2022 to 2024. He was the head football coach for Oconto Falls High School from 2016 to 2017. He also coached for Wisconsin–Oshkosh, Angelo State, Bemidji State, Howard Payne, Independence CC, Eastern Kentucky, Wisconsin–Stevens Point, Navarro College, and Valparaiso. He played college football for Wisconsin–Oshkosh as a left tackle.
The 2023 Sul Ross Lobos football team represented Sul Ross State University during the 2023 NCAA Division III football season as a member of the American Southwest Conference (ASC). The Lobos were led by second-year head coach Barry Derickson and played their home games at Jackson Field in Alpine, Texas. The team finished with a record of 4–6.
The 2024 Sul Ross Lobos football team represented Sul Ross State University during the 2024 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC). The Lobos were led by third-year head coach Barry Derickson and played their home games at Jackson Field in Alpine, Texas.
The 2023 American Southwest Conference football season was the season of college football played by the eight member schools of the American Southwest Conference (ASC) as part of the 2023 NCAA Division III football season. The 2023 Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football team compiled a 9–2 record, won the ASC championship, and made it to the NCAA Division III first round where they lost to Trinity (TX) 20–6.
The 2022 Sul Ross Lobos football team represented Sul Ross State University during the 2022 NCAA Division III football season as a member of the American Southwest Conference (ASC). The Lobos were led by first-year head coach Barry Derickson and played their home games at Jackson Field in Alpine, Texas. The team finished with an overall record of 4–6 with a conference record of 4–4. Derickson coached the entire 2022 season as an interim head coach and was later named the program's full-time head coach on November 18 following the conclusion of the regular season.
The 2021 Sul Ross Lobos football team represented Sul Ross State University during the 2021 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the American Southwest Conference (ASC). The Lobos were led by eighth-year head coach John Pearce and played their home hames at Jackson Field in Alpine, Texas. The team finished with a record of 2–7 to finish ninth in the ASC. The Lobos struggled on both sides of the ball throughout the season, with the offense getting shutout twice and the defense allowing 70+ points in two different games.