The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams, playing competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels. Confe ...

which operates in the South Central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(specifically

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

). It participates in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's Division I for all sports; for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Southland sponsors 18 sports, 10 for women and eight for men, and is governed by a presidential Board of Directors and an Advisory Council of athletic and academic administrators. Chris Grant became the Southland's seventh commissioner on April 5, 2022. From 1996 to 2002, for football only, the Southland Conference was known as the Southland Football League. The conference's offices are located in the

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

suburb of

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

. According to a press release from April 11, 2022, the conference will undergo a rebrand in 2022 that includes a new name and logo.

History

Chronological timeline

Founded in 1963, its members were

Abilene Christian College Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Southwestern United States and has one of th ...

(now Abilene Christian University; departed in 1973 for NCAA Division II, but moved to Division I and rejoined the Southland in 2013),

Arkansas State College Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from ...

(now Arkansas State University; departed in 1987, now a member of the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

), Arlington State College (now The

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of Te ...

, departed in 2012 and now also in the Sun Belt), Lamar State College of Technology (now

Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, th ...

; departed in 1987, but re-joined in 1999), and Trinity University (departed in 1972, now participating in NCAA Division III). Since its founding, the Southland Conference has been the home for 18 college and university all-sports programs (see membership timeline below). In addition, the conference has also been home to some schools for one sport only. In the case of football,

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

fielded a team from 1996 to 2000 and

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degr ...

did so from 1997 to 2002. This has also been the case for some

Olympic sports Olympic sports are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2020 Summer Olympics included 33 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented by an Sports governing body, inter ...

like men's tennis, in which the

University of Texas–Pan American , mottoeng = Education, the Guardian of Society , established = , closed = , type = Public university , endowment = $65 million , president = Dr. Havidan Rodriguez ...

(UTPA) and the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

(UNO) fielded teams as affiliate members before 2013, when UTPA joined the WAC and UNO became a full Southland member. The Southland underwent major turmoil in 2021, losing five members. On January 14, the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC) announced that four Southland members—Abilene Christian, Lamar,

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

, and

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

—would join that conference in July 2022. Within a week, the Southland expelled those four schools, leading the WAC to move their entry up to July 2021. A fifth member,

Central Arkansas Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state o ...

, announced on January 29 that it would join the ASUN Conference effective that July. At the time, the ASUN was a non-football conference, but soon entered into a football partnership with the WAC that gave Central Arkansas and two other incoming ASUN members a football home until an ASUN football league was established. The Southland began the process of rebuilding its core membership in September 2021, announcing that

Texas A&M University–Commerce Texas A&M University–Commerce is a public university in Commerce, Texas. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in the Texas A&M University System. Founded in 1889, the inst ...

would start a transition from

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

and join the conference in July 2022. The SLC also announced a football scheduling alliance with the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Divisi ...

, another FCS league that had experienced major membership losses during the 2021–22 realignment cycle, for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. However, shortly after A&M–Commerce was announced as a future member, the SLC was set to experience further attrition when the

University of the Incarnate Word The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private, Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is located o ...

(UIW) announced that it would leave for the WAC after the 2021–22 school year. Ultimately, however, this did not come to pass, as UIW announced it would be staying in the SLC only 7 months after announcing its departure. McNeese was also courted by the WAC, and also flirted with a move to

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

, but eventually stayed in the SLC. According to the ''American Press'', the daily newspaper of McNeese's home of

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...

, McNeese became "the de facto lead school in the league". It will host the SLC's football media day through at least the 2026 season, as well as the conference tournaments in men's and women's basketball, baseball, and softball through 2026. More recently, Lamar announced it would return to the SLC effective in 2023–24. In addition, on April 11, 2022 the conference announced in a press release that it had partnered with Troika Media Group to institute a rebrand to be implemented before the end of the calendar year. The release stated that the rebrand would include, among other things, a new name for the conference. 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 The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National C ...

(MEAC) and

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

(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. Accordingly,

Delaware State Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four colle ...

and

Maryland Eastern Shore The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that ...

, which had joined SLC women's golf just a year earlier, moved that sport to the NEC.

Member schools

Current members

Associate members

The Southland added four associate members in golf effective with the 2021–22 school year. One school joined in men's golf only, two in women's golf only, and one in both. A fifth school joined at the same time for both men's and women's tennis, and two more schools joined in July 2022, one for men's and women's golf and tennis and the other for beach volleyball. However, as noted previously, two of these schools left a year later when their full-time home of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference entered into a women's golf partnership with the Northeast Conference. The Southland Conference announced UIC joining the conference as an affiliate in men's tennis for the 2022–23 season on July 14.

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

was added as a multi-year beach volleyball affiliate beginning with the 2023 season (2022–23 school year).

Former members

School names and nicknames listed here reflect those in use in each institution's final school year of Southland Conference membership. ;Notes

Former associate members

;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1963 till:2030 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1964 text:

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

(1963–1972) bar:1 color:Full from:1964 till:1972 bar:2 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1964 text: Abilene Christian (1963–1973) bar:2 color:Full from:1964 till:1973 bar:2 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2014 text: Abilene Christian (2013–2021) bar:2 color:Full from:2014 till:2021 bar:3 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1964 text:

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...

(1963–1987) bar:3 color:Full from:1964 till:1987 bar:4 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1964 text: Lamar (1963–1987) bar:4 color:Full from:1964 till:1987 bar:4 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2011 text: Lamar (1998–2011) bar:4 color:Full from:2011 till:2021 text:(2011–2021) bar:4 color:Full from:2023 till:end text:(2022–future) bar:5 color:FullxF from:1963 till:1964 text: UT Arlington (1963–1986) bar:5 color:Full from:1964 till:1986 bar:5 color:FullxF from:1986 till:2012 text:(1986–2012) bar:6 color:Full from:1971 till:1982 text: Southwestern Louisiana (1971–1982) bar:6 shift:(20) color:AssocOS from:1982 till:1987 text:(women's sports; 1982–1987) bar:7 color:Full from:1971 till:1987 text:

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

(1971–1987) bar:8 color:Full from:1972 till:end text:

McNeese State McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

(1972–present) bar:9 color:FullxF from:1982 till:1983 text:

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wor ...

(1982–1996) bar:9 color:Full from:1983 till:1995 bar:9 color:FullxF from:1995 till:1996 bar:10 color:Full from:1982 till:1994 text: Northeast Louisiana (1982–1994) bar:10 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2006 text:(1994–2006) bar:11 color:Full from:1987 till:2011 text:

Texas State Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

(1987–2012) bar:11 color:FullxF from:2011 till:2012 bar:12 color:Full from:1987 till:end text:

Northwestern State Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...

(1987–present) bar:13 color:Full from:1987 till:2021 text:

Sam Houston State Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

(1987–2021) bar:14 color:Full from:1987 till:2021 text:

(1987–2021) bar:15 color:FullxF from:1991 till:2012 text: UTSA (1991–2012) bar:16 color:FullxF from:1991 till:1992 text: Nicholls (1991–present) bar:16 color:Full from:1992 till:end bar:17 color:AssocF from:1996 till:2001 text: Troy State (1996–2001) bar:18 color:AssocF from:1996 till:2003 text: Jacksonville State (1996–2003) bar:19 color:FullxF from:1997 till:2005 text: Southeastern Louisiana (1997–present) bar:19 color:Full from:2005 till:end bar:20 color:FullxF from:2006 till:2007 text:

(2006–2021) bar:20 color:Full from:2007 till:2021 bar:21 color:FullxF from:2006 till:end text: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2006–present) bar:22 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2014 text:

Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christian televangelist, ordained in both the Pentecostal Holiness and United Methodist churches. He is considered one of the forerunners of t ...

(2012–2014) bar:23 shift:(-20) color:FullxF from:2013 till:2014 text: Houston Baptist (2013–present) bar:23 color:Full from:2014 till:2022 bar:23 color:Full from:2022 till:end text: Houston Christian bar:24 color:FullxF from:2013 till:2014 text: Incarnate Word (2013–present) bar:24 color:Full from:2014 till:end bar:25 color:FullxF from:2013 till:end text:

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

(2013–present) bar:26 shift:(-60) color:Full from:2022 till:end text: Texas A&M-Commerce (2022–future) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1965 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Southland Conference membership history" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <# 1. - Southwestern Louisiana became the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (Louisiana–Lafayette, now athletically branded as simply Louisiana) in 1999.
2. - Northeast Louisiana became the University of Louisiana at Monroe (Louisiana–Monroe) in 1999.

Sports

The Southland Conference sponsors championship competition in eight men's and 10 women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The most recently added sport is beach volleyball, with SLC competition starting in 2019–20.

Men's sponsored sports by school

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Southland Conference which are played by SLC schools:

Women's sponsored sports by school

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Southland Conference which are played by SLC schools:

Football

Former and current players from the Southland that would go on to star in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

include

Gary Barbaro Gary Wayne Barbaro (born February 11, 1954) is a former free safety who played seven seasons in the National Football League from 1976 to 1982 and one season in the United States Football League (USFL) in 1984. A third round selection by the Kans ...

, Mike Barber,

Fred Barnett Fred “Arkansas” Lee Barnett (born June 17, 1966 in Gunnison, Mississippi) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins. He p ...

Bill Bergey William Earl Bergey (born February 9, 1945) is a former American football linebacker who played professionally for 12 seasons, most notably with the Philadelphia Eagles of National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals ...

Derrick Blaylock Derrick Blaylock (born August 23, 1979) is a former American football running back of the National Football League. Blaylock was drafted in the 5th round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Blaylock also played for the New York Jets. ...

Bubby Brister Walter Andrew "Bubby" Brister III (born August 15, 1962) is a former American football quarterback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, Denver Bronco ...

, Ray Brown, Roger Carr, Mark Carrier,

Larry Centers Larry Eugene Centers (born June 1, 1968) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, mostly for his first-team, the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals (1990–1998). Centers then played for the Washington ...

Bruce Collie Bruce Stokes Collie (born June 27, 1962) is a former professional American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of ...

, Keith Davis,

Fred Dean Frederick Rudolph Dean (February 24, 1952 – October 14, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). A twice first-team All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler, he won two Super ...

Jackie Harris Jackie Bernard Harris (born January 4, 1968) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Oilers / Titans and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at w ...

Stan Humphries William Stanley Humphries (born April 14, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers.. He played high school football a ...

Buford Jordan Paul Buford Jordan (born June 26, 1962) is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints. Biography A four-time all-Southland Conference selection, Jordan left McNeese State ...

Wade Key Allan Wade Key (born October 14, 1946) is an American former professional football player who was a guard and offensive tackle for 10 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) from 1970 to 1979. After playing ...

, Josh McCown,

Tim McKyer Timothy Bernard McKyer (born September 5, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the ...

Jeff Novak Jeff Ladd Novak (born July 27, 1967) is a former American football offensive lineman who played professionally in the World League of American Football and the National Football League. Novak was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and grew up ...

, Kavika Pittman, Mike Quinn,

Billy Ryckman William Thomas Ryckman is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He is the host of The Sports Note, a sports talk radio program aired on ESPN ESPN (originally a ...

Ricky Sanders Ricky Wayne Sanders (born August 30, 1962) is a former American football wide receiver who played professionally for 12 seasons from 1983 to 1994, two with the United States Football League's Houston Gamblers and ten in the National Football Le ...

Eugene Seale Eugene Seale, Jr. (born June 3, 1964) is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played six seasons for the Houston Oilers (1987–1992). In college, he played for Lamar University for the Lamar Ca ...

Rafael Septién José Rafael Septién Michel (born December 12, 1953) is a Mexican-American former placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Louisiana at La ...

Terrance Shaw Terrance Bernard Shaw (born January 11, 1973) is an American football cornerback. He was born in Marshall, Texas. High school years Shaw attended Marshall High School in Marshall, Texas and was a letterman in football.Marcus Spears,

Chad Stanley Benjamin Chadwick Stanley (born January 29, 1976) is a former American football punter. He played college football at Kilgore College before transferring to Stephen F. Austin State University. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undr ...

, Pat Tilley,

Jeremiah Trotter Jeremiah Trotter (born January 20, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He played college football for the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and w ...

Marvin Upshaw Marvin Allen "Marv" Upshaw (born November 22, 1946 in Robstown, Texas) is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League. He played nine seasons for the Cleveland Browns (1968–1969), the Kansas City Chiefs (1970� ...

, Lardarius Webb and

Spergon Wynn Spergon Wynn III (born August 10, 1978) is a former gridiron football quarterback. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southwest Texas State. Wynn also played for the A ...

. The Southland was instrumental in founding the

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...

, and the Southland champion served as the automatic home team for that bowl from 1976–1980. On May 21, 2014, the Southland Conference approved the use of instant replay at all its home games becoming the first FCS league to fully commit to having all games utilize instant replay.

Men's basketball

Among notable NBA stars attending Southland Conference schools include

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone sp ...

(Louisiana Tech), Joe Dumars (McNeese State), Jeff Foster (Southwest Texas State, now known as Texas State), and

Andrew Toney Andrew Toney (born November 23, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1980 to 1988. A two-time NBA All-Star, he won an NBA championship with the 76e ...

(Southwestern Louisiana, now known as Louisiana).

Women's basketball

Former member Louisiana–Monroe (then Northeast Louisiana) advanced to the 1985 NCAA Women's Final Four.

Championships

Southland Conference men's basketball tournament The Southland Conference's men's basketball tournament began in 1981, with the winner of the tournament receiving the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. From 1981 to 2001, the first round of the tou ...

Southland Conference women's basketball tournament The Southland Conference's Women’s Basketball Tournament began in 1983, with the winner of the tournament receiving the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. There was no tournament from 1984-1987, b ...

Southland Conference baseball tournament The Southland Conference baseball tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Southland Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Tou ...

* Southland Conference women's soccer tournament *

Southland Conference softball tournament The Southland Conference softball tournament is the conference championship tournament in college softball for the Southland Conference (SLC). It is a double-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner receive ...

Spending and revenue

Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights/licensing, student fees, school funds and all other sources including TV income, camp income, food and novelties. Total expenses includes coaching/staff, scholarships, buildings/ground, maintenance, utilities and rental fees and all other costs including recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues and insurance costs.

Facilities

Notes: * Texas A&M–Corpus Christi uses off-campus

Whataburger Field Whataburger Field is a minor league baseball stadium located in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States. It is home to the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. It also serves as a secondary home to the Texas A&M� ...

as their home field for some high-profile games and some tournaments.

Media

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 Stadium College Sports (formerly Fox College Sports) is a group of three American sports networks. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (under the joint venture Diamond Sports Group), the three channels air college and hi ...

ESPN GamePlan ESPN GamePlan was an out-of-market sports package offering college football games to viewers throughout the United States. GamePlan began on Labor Day weekend, and continued through the first Saturday in December. It included all regional teleca ...

, and

ESPN3 ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...

. In 2008-09, the network featured 35 broadcasts, and over 30 in each of the next four seasons. 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. ESPN3 also carried an exclusive package of football games beyond the syndicated network's schedule. SLCTV dissolved on July 1, 2015. Beginning with the 2015–16 school year, the Southland Conference entered into an agreement with the

American Sports Network American Sports Network (ASN) was a sports brand owned by the U.S. television station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group through its Sinclair Networks subsidiary. Formed in July 2014, the multicast network component of ASN produced broadcasts of sp ...

to syndicate and televise selected games, while also continuing its association with ESPN3. A separate deal will allow for Louisiana-based

Cox Sports Television Cox Sports Television ( a.k.a. CST; sometimes referred to as Cox Sports TV) was an American regional sports cable and satellite television channel owned by Cox Communications. The channel, which serves the Gulf South region of the United State ...

to air select games. After ASN folded following the 2016–17 academic year, the Southland announced a television agreement with

Eleven Sports Eleven Sports is a multinational sports and entertainment media group. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, it is owned by Andrea Radrizzani's sports and media investment platform Aser Ventures. Eleven Sports' business model initially centred a ...

. During 2017-18, conference-controlled games aired on ESPN3, Eleven Sports,

Fox Sports Southwest Bally Sports Southwest is a Texan regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group (a joint-venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios), and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional c ...

and Cox Sports Television. For 2018-19, ESPN productions began to be split between ESPN3 and ESPN+ platforms. On October 8, 2020, the Southland Conference announced a multi-year extension through the 2024–25 academic year as well as an expansion of its media rights agreement with ESPN.

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* {{NCAA Division I FCS conference navbox Sports organizations established in 1963 Sports in the Southern United States College sports in Louisiana College sports in Texas Articles which contain graphical timelines