Lamar Cardinals football
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The Lamar Cardinals football program represents
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 ...
in
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
at the
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...
(formerly Division I-AA) level. The Cardinals are members of the
Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...
and play their home games in the 16,000 seat
Provost Umphrey Stadium Provost Umphrey Stadium (previously Cardinal Stadium) is a 16,000-seat multi-purpose stadium located on the campus of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. The stadium, home to the Lamar Cardinals football team, is located next to the Montagne Ce ...
. The Cardinals left the Southland Conference in July 2021 to join 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 ...
, which relaunched its
football league The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
at the FCS level during the 2021 season. After one season in the WAC, Lamar and the Southland Conference announced on July 11, 2022 Lamar's accelerated return to the Southland Conference effective immediately.


History


The early years

From its inception as South Park Junior College in 1923, football was a part of Lamar's history. It was discontinued in 1928 because of a lack of common opponents but was revived again in 1932 by the renamed Lamar College. Coach John Gray led his charges to records of 8–1 that season and 8–1–1 in 1934 before the program was discontinued again in 1942 and did not resume again until the end of World War II. Football was restored in 1946 and the first football scholarships were offered. In the 1946 season Lamar posted an 8–2 ledger. The 1948 club (8–4–0) won two bowl games, and the 1949 outfit won an all time school record 10 games and another bowl trophy as the school bade farewell to the junior college era. After the school moved up to the NAIA level in the Lone Star Conference, the Cardinals didn’t have a winning season until a superb 8–0–2 season in 1957 ignited a string of 11 consecutive winning campaigns. The 1961 team advanced to the Tangerine Bowl (now the
Capital One Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...
) against
Middle Tennessee State Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as well as a college of Postgr ...
on December 29, 1961, and won 21–14. Just as the Cardinals were becoming a perennial contender in the Lone Star loop, school officials moved the athletic program forward into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (
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 ...
) college division ranks in 1963 via the
Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...
. The football team enjoyed immediate success with three straight SLC grid titles (1964–66). In 1964 the Cardinals were invited to the Pecan Bowl after a 6–3–1 campaign. The Cardinals lost 19–17 to
Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
. The Cardinals had a second-place finish in 1967. A year later, the school's athletic program embarked on another challenge by upgrading to the NCAA Division I level. Lamar averaged 12,000 patrons through 1974, drawing a then record 16,226 against arch-rival McNeese State to Cardinal Stadium in 1972. The transition to Division I proved to be a spark for many LU sports but football experienced a downturn after 1974. Fans responded when new coach
Larry Kennan Lawrence W. Kennan (born June 13, 1944) is an American football coach and former player. Kennan was most recently the head football coach for the Incarnate Word Cardinals football, University of the Incarnate Word from 2012 to 2017. He was also t ...
delivered a 6–3–2 club in 1979; Games against Louisiana Tech (17,600) and West Texas State (17,250) rank second and third, respectively, behind the standing-room-only 18,500 Baylor drew for the 1980 opener. Lamar set an all-time attendance record by averaging 16,380 that season. The Cardinals’ signature win came on September 5, 1981, in an 18–17 win over the UPI No. 20 ranked
Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to j ...
under Head Coach
Larry Kennan Lawrence W. Kennan (born June 13, 1944) is an American football coach and former player. Kennan was most recently the head football coach for the Incarnate Word Cardinals football, University of the Incarnate Word from 2012 to 2017. He was also t ...
. Football competed as an independent from 1987 to 1989 after Lamar left the Southland Conference in 1987 to join the newly formed non-football
American South Conference The American South Conference was an NCAA Division I athletic conference that existed from 1987–88 to 1990–91. The charter members were Arkansas State University, Lamar University, Louisiana Tech University, the University of New Orleans, the ...
.


Disbandment and reintroduction

Dismal support finally led to larger-than-expected deficits and provided the bottom line fodder for five new appointees to the then-
Lamar University System The Lamar University System was a state university system established in 1983 with four existing institutions: the flagship Lamar University, and the member institutions Lamar State College–Port Arthur, Lamar State College–Orange (both two-year ...
board of regents to discontinue football at their first official session on December 15, 1989 (5 to 4 vote). Their vision was to divert money that was being spent on football to the basketball program and build Lamar into a basketball powerhouse. In 2010, as a member of the
Texas State University System The Texas State University System (TSUS) was created in 1911 to oversee the state's normal schools. Since its creation it has broadened its focus and comprises institutions of many different scopes. The other systems of state universities are th ...
, the university brought the football team back. In preparation for the return of play the University did extensive work on the facilities including,
Provost Umphrey Stadium Provost Umphrey Stadium (previously Cardinal Stadium) is a 16,000-seat multi-purpose stadium located on the campus of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. The stadium, home to the Lamar Cardinals football team, is located next to the Montagne Ce ...
, a new 54,000 sq ft Athletic complex, and seven high class suites built into the existing
Montagne Center The Montagne Center, built in 1984, is a mixed-use Auxiliary/E&G event center that houses a 10,746-seat a multi-purpose arena and a variety of event spaces in Beaumont, Texas. The Montagne Center was designed especially for the basketball program ...
, new field turf, and a new 26' X 51' video board. The university hired former
NFL 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 major ...
player
Ray Woodard Ray Woodard (born August 20, 1961) is a former American football defensive tackle and former head football coach at Lamar University. He was hired on May 19, 2008 to resurrect the Lamar Cardinals football program that was discontinued in 1989. W ...
as the head coach to lead the charge in bringing the Cardinals back to the gridiron. Former Basketball Coach
Billy Tubbs Billy Duane Tubbs (March 5, 1935 – November 1, 2020) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native was the head coach of his alma mater Lamar University (1976–1980, 2003–2006), the University of Oklahoma (1980– ...
was hired as the Athletic Director in 2006 and had a significant role in bringing back the Cardinals football team. The football program, discontinued at the end of the 1989 season, was restarted with its first season back in 2010. The team competed as an independent that year. The first conference competition following the restart was in 2011.


Conference affiliations


Division history

''Early Years Reference:''http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/lama/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/6-3-1.pdf


Conference championships

† Denotes co-champions


Bowl games

Lamar participated in two
NCAA College Division The NCAA College Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at a lower level of college sports. The NCAA initially divided schools into a College Division and a ...
level
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
s, going 1–1.


FCS playoffs

Lamar participated in the
NCAA Division I Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was kn ...
playoffs for the first time in 2018.


Attendance


Highest attendance

Source: Below is a list of the Cardinals best-attended home games (all at Provost Umphrey Stadium). As of the 2022 season.


Yearly attendance

Below is the Cardinals' home attendance since program reinstatement. * Attendance restricted due to COVID19 restrictions. As of the 2022 season.


Rivalries


McNeese State

The two teams have met 39 times on the football field, with
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. ...
holding a 27–11–1 edge in the all-time series. The rivalry has been expanded from football to head-to-head competition in all sports under a joint agreement with the two universities and Verizon Wireless.


Louisiana

The first
Sabine Shoe The Sabine Shoe is the name of the bronze shoe trophy that was awarded to the winner of the annual college football game between the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (formerly the Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs) of the University of Louisiana at Lafayett ...
trophy was first awarded in 1937 to the winner of the SLI–Lamar football game. The name of the bronze rivalry trophy was derived from the Sabine River that forms the Texas–Louisiana border. USL defeated Lamar in the 1978 edition of the rivalry game, but the Ragin' Cajuns were not awarded the trophy as it had vanished. The Sabine Shoe trophy now sits in at trophy case in the Ragin' Cajun Athletic Complex.


Future scheduled non-conference games

source:


See also

*
List of NCAA Division I FCS football programs This is a list of schools in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that play football in the United States as a varsity sport and are members of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), known as Division I-AA from ...


References


External links

* {{Southland Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1923 1923 establishments in Texas