The
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference (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 participates in ...
'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 tournament took place at the higher seed, with the remaining rounds at a set location. In 2002, the Southland changed the format to play games at the campus of sites of each higher seed, during every round of the tournament. This was changed again in 2007, the first year that the conference selected a neutral site for all rounds of the tournament.
Starting with the 2023 edition, the event is held at
The Legacy Center on the campus of
McNeese State University in
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...
, reportedly as part of a deal that kept McNeese in the Southland after it had been courted by
Conference USA
Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
Mem ...
and nearly joined 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, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington.
Due to ...
. This move followed a 15-season run (2008–2022) at
Leonard E. Merrell Center in the
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
suburb of
Katy, Texas
Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city ...
.
Tournament results
Note: Northeast Louisiana and Southwestern Louisiana became Louisiana–Monroe and Louisiana–Lafayette, respectively, in 1999; the latter has since changed its athletic branding to solely Louisiana. Southwest Texas State became Texas State in 2003.
Note on asterisks: Stephen F. Austin kept academically ineligible players from 2013-2020.
Performance by school
Schools indicated in ''italics'' with a pink background are no longer in the SLC, as of the current 2024–25 NCAA basketball season. In 2024–25,
UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Edinburg, Texas, and multiple other campuses throughout the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), Rio Grande Valley region of Tex ...
is playing its first SLC season, and
Stephen F. Austin returned to the SLC after a three-year absence.
All-Time Tournament Standings
''Italicized indicates former member as of the 2024–25 NCAA basketball season.''
''
Sources:''
Television coverage
See also
*
Southland Conference women's basketball tournament
References
{{NCAA men's college basketball tournament navbox
Recurring sporting events established in 1981