Southland Conference

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Southland Conference

Data
Established	1963
Members	12
Sports fielded	17 (8 men's, 9 women's)
Region	Southern United States
States	3 - Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas
Headquarters	Frisco, Texas
Locations

The Southland Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the south central United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Championship Subdivision for football and Division I for all other sports. The Southland sponsors 17 sports, nine for women and eight for men, and is governed by a presidential Board of Directors and an Advisory Council of athletic and academic administrators. Tom Burnett was named the Southland's sixth commissioner on Dec. 23, 2002.

The Conference's offices are located in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas.

Founded in 1963, the original members included Abilene Christian College (now departed), Arkansas State College (departed 1987), Arlington State College (now The University of Texas at Arlington), Lamar State College of Technology (now Lamar University), and Trinity University (Texas) (departed 1971).

Southland Conference football ranks among the best Division I-AA leagues in the nation, and enjoys an annual expectation of competing for the national championship with multiple teams advancing to the NCAA playoffs each year. In 2002 and 2003, McNeese State finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation, and advanced to the 2002 national championship contest, the sixth such title game appearance since the league joined I-AA in 1982. All told, Southland teams have played in 84 Division I-AA playoff games in 23 years, winning 42 of the contests. Southland representatives have advanced to the national semifinals in each of the last two years.

Historically, the Southland's successful football heritage has sustained itself through numerous membership and classification changes. Originally an NAIA conference, the Southland joined the NCAA College Division in 1968. The College Division was re-named NCAA Division II in 1973, and the league played two seasons in that class. The Southland was an NCAA Division I league from 1975-81, before joining the ranks of I-AA (now known as the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, or FCS) in 1982, its home ever since.

During its tenure as a Division I conference from 1975-81, the Southland Conference was instrumental in the startup of the Independence Bowl in 1976. The Southland representative served as the host team of the bowl until 1980, compiling a 2-3 record in the contests. The Conference can lay claim to five national football championships, including College Division championships through former members Arkansas State (1970, UPI) and Louisiana Tech (1972, National Football Foundation). Louisiana Tech also won the first-ever NCAA-sanctioned national title, winning the Division II playoffs in 1973. Tech followed that with the UPI's Division II national championship in 1974. Louisiana-Monroe won the 1987 Division I-AA national title.

McNeese State, which has made 12 appearances in the national playoffs, also played in the 1997 I-AA national championship game, and Stephen F. Austin played in the 1989 title game, one of four playoff runs for the Lumberjacks. Northwestern State has played in six national playoffs, and advanced to the semifinals in 1998, while Sam Houston State has earned four trips to the postseason, including the semifinals in 2004, and Nicholls State has participated twice in the playoffs.

On four occasions, the Southland has placed three teams in the national 16-team playoffs. Six of the seven current football-playing members have qualified for the I-AA playoffs. In addition, Texas State won NCAA Division II titles in 1981 and 1982 before joining the Southland.

The Southland has produced 141 football All-Americans during its history, and has sent such talent to the professional ranks including Dallas' Keith Davis (SHSU), Arizona's Josh McCown (SHSU), Buffalo's Terrence McGee (Northwestern), Baltimore's B.J. Sams (McNeese), Chicago's Mike Green (Northwestern), Jacksonville's Kenny Wright (Northwestern), Houston's Chad Stanley (SFA), Philadelphia's Jeremiah Trotter (SFA), San Diego's Clinton Ballard (Texas State) and Chicago's Chris Thompson (Nicholls). In the 2002 NFL Draft alone, five Southland players were selected.

Former NFL stars from the Southland include Fred Dean, Bill Bergey, Stan Humphries, Fred Barnett, Roger Carr, Marvin Upshaw, Larry Centers, Kavika Pittman, Mike Barber, Bruce Collie, Tim McKyer, Pat Tilley, Jackie Harris, Eugene Seale, Bubby Brister, Billy Ryckman, Rafael Septien, Buford Jordan, Marcus Spears, Terrance Shaw and Ray Brown.

With its current alignment of 12 institutions in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, the Southland is at its largest membership configuration in its 43-year history.

1 Current members
2 Conference facilities
3 Championships
4 External link

[edit] Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Joined
University of Central Arkansas	Conway, Arkansas	1907	Public	11,377	2006
Lamar University	Beaumont, Texas	1923	Public	10,000	1963
McNeese State University	Lake Charles, Louisiana	1939	Public	8,784	1972
Nicholls State University	Thibodaux, Louisiana	1948	Public	7,500	1991
Northwestern State University	Natchitoches, Louisiana	1884	Public	10,159	1987
Sam Houston State University	Huntsville, Texas	1879	Public	15,300	1987
Southeastern Louisiana University	Hammond, Louisiana	1925	Public	16,000	1997
Stephen F. Austin State University	Nacogdoches, Texas	1921	Public	11,408	1987
University of Texas at Arlington	Arlington, Texas	1895	Public	25,297	1963
University of Texas at San Antonio	San Antonio, Texas	1969	Public	28,000	1991
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi	Corpus Christi, Texas	1947	Public	8,355	2006
Texas State University-San Marcos	San Marcos, Texas	1899	Public	27,171	1987

Teams

[edit] Conference facilities

School	Football stadium	capacity	Basketball arena	capacity
Central Arkansas	Estes Stadium	8,035	Farris Center	5,500
Lamar	Cardinal Stadium (currently does not participate in football)	20,000	Montagne Center	10,080
McNeese State	Cowboy Stadium	17,410	Burton Coliseum	8,000
Nicholls State	John L. Guidry Stadium	12,800	Stopher Gym	3,800
Northwestern State	Harry Turpin Stadium	15,971	Prather Coliseum	3,900
Sam Houston State	Bowers Stadium	14,000	Bernard Johnson Coliseum	6,100
Southeastern Louisiana	Strawberry Stadium	7,408	University Center	7,500
Stephen F. Austin	Homer Bryce Stadium	14,575	William R. Johnson Coliseum	7,203
UT Arlington	Maverick Stadium (currently does not participate in football)	15,000	Texas Hall	4,200
UT San Antonio	Non-football School	N/A	Convocation Center	5,100
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Non-football School	N/A	American Bank Center	8,000
Texas State	Bobcat Stadium	15,218	Strahan Coliseum	7,200

[edit] Championships

Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

[edit] External link

Official site of the Southland Conference

Southland Conference
Central Arkansas • Lamar • McNeese State • Nicholls State • Northwestern State • Sam Houston State • Southeastern Louisiana • Stephen F. Austin • Texas–Arlington • Texas–San Antonio • Texas A&M–Corpus Christi • Texas State