A Comprehensive History of NCAA Southland Conference Football

The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference operating in the South Central United States, specifically Texas and Louisiana. Participating in the NCAA's Division I for all sports, it competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) for football. The conference sponsors 18 sports, 10 for women and eight for men, governed by a presidential Board of Directors and an Advisory Council of athletic and academic administrators. The conference's offices are located in Frisco, Texas.

Early Years and Membership Changes

Since its founding, the Southland Conference has been home to 18 college and university all-sports programs. In addition, the conference has also been home to some schools for one sport only. In the case of football, Troy University fielded a team from 1996 to 2000, and Jacksonville State University did so from 1997 to 2002.

The Southland underwent major turmoil in 2021, losing five members. On January 14, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) announced that four Southland members - Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, and Stephen F. Austin - would be joining their ranks.

Rebuilding and Realignment

The Southland began rebuilding its core membership in September 2021, announcing that East Texas A&M University, then named Texas A&M University-Commerce, would start transitioning from NCAA Division II and join the conference in July 2022. The SLC also announced a football scheduling alliance with the Ohio Valley Conference, another FCS league that had experienced major membership losses during the early-2020s realignment cycle, for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Shortly after Texas A&M-Commerce was announced as a future member, the SLC was set to experience further attrition when the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) announced that it would leave for the WAC after the 2021-22 school year. However, this did not come to pass, as UIW announced it would stay in the SLC only 7 months after announcing its departure. McNeese was also courted by the WAC and flirted with a move to Conference USA, but eventually stayed in the SLC, becoming "the de facto lead school in the league," according to the American Press.

Lamar announced it would return to the SLC effective in 2023-24. On April 11, 2022, the conference announced a partnership with Troika Media Group to institute a rebrand, including a new name for the conference, to be implemented before the end of the calendar year. On July 11, 2022, Lamar and the Southland Conference announced Lamar's accelerated return to the SLC effective immediately. The following day saw the SLC lose two of its women's golf associates when the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Northeast Conference (NEC) announced a partnership for baseball and men's and women's golf that saw all MEAC schools that sponsored those sports become NEC associates. On March 25, 2024, the Southland expanded again with the announcement that UTRGV would join the conference effective July 1, 2024, joining Lamar from the WAC. Two months later, multiple media reports indicated that Stephen F. Austin would also be returning to the Southland Conference.

Recent Football Games Results

Recent Games Highlights:

East Texas A&M vs. Incarnate Word: East Texas A&M rallied with a 17-point fourth quarter to defeat Incarnate Word 52-45. Eric Rodriguez and Ron Peace threw two touchdown passes each, and EJ Oakmon scored the winning touchdown in the final minute.
Northwestern State vs. SE Louisiana: Brandon Hayes returned a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown, and Deantre Jackson scored three times as Southeastern Louisiana blanked Northwestern State 49-0.
Lamar vs. UT Rio Grande Valley: Ben Woodard kicked a program-tying 57-yard field goal with just over a minute remaining to give Lamar a 23-21 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley, extending its win streak to six.
Lamar vs. East Texas A&M: Aiden McCown threw for 285 yards and a touchdown in the final seconds, and Lamar stormed back from a 13-point deficit to beat East Texas A&M 33-23.
Houston Christian vs. Northwestern State: Xai’Shaun Edwards rushed for two touchdowns and a career-high 208 yards to help Houston Christian beat Northwestern State 20-17.
Houston Christian vs. UT Rio Grande Valley: Eddie Lee Marburger accounted for three touchdowns, and UT Rio Grande Valley’s defense held Houston Christian to 144 yards in a 27-7 win.
Stephen F. Austin vs. Incarnate Word: Sam Vidlak threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns, and Clayton Wayland had six catches for 100 yards as Stephen F. Austin defeated Incarnate Word, 31-17.
East Texas A&M vs. Northwestern State: Ron Peace threw for 268 yards on 14-of-19 passing, and EJ Oakmon ran for three scores to lead East Texas A&M to a 40-10 rout of Northwestern State.
SE Louisiana vs. McNeese: Deantre Jackson scored twice, and Carson Camp threw a 69-yard touchdown pass as Southeastern Louisiana powered past McNeese 38-0.
Lamar vs. Nicholls: Kyndon Fuselier returned a punt 88 yards into the end zone with 3:41 remaining as Lamar beat Nicholls 24-17. Aiden McCown accounted for two touchdowns.
North Carolina Central vs. East Texas A&M: Walker Harris threw two touchdown passes and ran for another TD, Arthur Rodgers Jr. had two rushing touchdowns, and North Carolina Central beat East Texas A&M 50-42.
Lamar vs. Central Arkansas: Aidan McCown threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another in Lamar's 35-32 win over Central Arkansas.
Abilene Christian vs. Incarnate Word: EJ Colson ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third, leading Incarnate Word to a 38-7 victory over Abilene Christian.
Eastern Kentucky vs. Nicholls: Kaden Smith returned an interception for a touchdown and the go-ahead score, highlighting Eastern Kentucky's 27-7 victory over Nicholls.
LSU vs. SE Louisiana: Garrett Nussmeier threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth as No. 3 LSU easily beat Southeastern Louisiana 56-10.
Houston Christian vs. Northern Colorado: Matthias Price ran for 126 yards and a touchdown, and Hank Gibbs scored the game-winning touchdown as Northern Colorado beat Houston Christian 26-23 in overtime.
Grambling vs. East Texas A&M: C’zavian Teasett accounted for two touchdowns, and Grambling scored the final 17 points to beat East Texas A&M 31-28.
Utah State vs. McNeese: Bryson Barnes threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns as Utah State cruised by McNeese, 48-7.
Prairie View A&M vs. Northwestern State: Chase Bingmon rushed for 180 yards, Lamagea McDowell added 104 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Prairie View A&M defeated Northwestern State 27-24.
Northern Arizona vs. Incarnate Word: Ty Pennington threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns to help Northern Arizona beat Incarnate Word 31-23.
Stephen F. Austin vs. Sul Ross State: Six different players scored first-half touchdowns in a 56-0 first half as Stephen F. Austin defeated Division II Sul Ross State 63-0.

2025 Southland Standings

As of recent updates, the 2025 Southland Standings are as follows:

Lamar: 3-0 (Conference), 6-1 (Overall)
SE Louisiana: 3-0 (Conference), 5-2 (Overall)
Stephen F. Austin: Information not provided in the text.

Southland Conference Television Network

The Conference began its own syndicated broadcast entity in 2008, the Southland Conference Television Network. It aired in over 25 markets in the league's four-state region, plus on national networks such as Fox College Sports, ESPN GamePlan, and ESPN3. For 2013 and 2014, the syndicated network was restricted to only regular season football games. The remainder of the schedule was available on ESPN3 or regional sports networks, including regular season and tournament basketball as well as championships in soccer, volleyball, softball, and baseball. SLCTV dissolved on July 1, 2015.

After ASN folded following the 2016-17 academic year, the Southland announced a television agreement with Eleven Sports. During 2017-18, conference-controlled games aired on ESPN3, Eleven Sports, Fox Sports Southwest, and Cox Sports Television. For 2018-19, ESPN productions began to be split between ESPN3 and ESPN+ platforms.

Notable NFL Alumni

Former and current players from the Southland who would go on to star in the National Football League include Gary Barbaro, Mike Barber, Fred Barnett, Bill Bergey, Derrick Blaylock, Bubby Brister, Ray Brown, Roger Carr, Mark Carrier, Larry Centers, Bruce Collie, Keith Davis, Fred Dean, Jackie Harris, Stan Humphries, Buford Jordan, Wade Key, Josh McCown, Tim McKyer, Jeff Novak, Kavika Pittman, Mike Quinn, Billy Ryckman, Ricky Sanders, Eugene Seale, Rafael Septién, Terrance Shaw, Marcus Spears, Chad Stanley, Pat Tilley, Jeremiah Trotter, Marvin Upshaw, Lardarius Webb, and Spergon Wynn.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

Southland Conference in 2024

In 2024, Southland Conference football will consist of nine members, including Houston Christian, Incarnate Word, Lamar, McNeese, Nicholls, Northwestern State, Stephen F. Austin, and Texas A&M-Commerce. UTRGV will hold a practice year in 2024 before taking the field for the first time in 2025, increasing the Southland football membership to 10. Among current members, McNeese has won a league-best 14 conference championships, followed by Lamar, Nicholls, and Northwestern State with four each, and Incarnate Word, Southeastern, and Stephen F. Austin with one each.

With an office based in Frisco, the Southland Conference is the reason the NCAA Division I FCS National Championship is contested in Texas, hosting the football title game in Frisco since 2010. The Southland has made its impact on the NFL as well, with 11 alumni on NFL rosters in 2021 and seven in 2022. The Southland had two more student-athletes selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, including Houston Christian's Jalyx Hunt (Philadelphia Eagles, round 3, pick 94) and Texas A&M-Commerce's Levi Drake Rodriguez (Minnesota Vikings, round 7, pick 232).

Success in FCS Championship

Sam Houston won the 2020-21 FCS Championship. The Southland found itself right back in the final four two years later as Incarnate Word was ranked No. 3 in the nation en route to the 2022 FCS Semifinals. Incarnate Word has been ranked in the top 25 in three-straight seasons, finishing at No. 14 in 2023.

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