The Southland Conference
By Matt Shetler

The Southland Conference is a twelve member Division I athletic conference that competes in seventeen men’s and women’s Division I sports. All of its members are located in the South Central United States, with the conference headquarters located in Frisco, Texas. The commissioner of the Southland Conference has been Tom Burnett, sine 2002.
  
The Southland Conference was founded in 1963. Charter members of the conference included: Abilene Christian College, Arkansas State College, Arlington State College (now The University of Texas at Arlington), Lamar State College of Technology (now Lamar University) and Trinity University.
  
In addition to Lamar and UT Arlington, current members include: the University of Central Arkansas, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Sam Houston State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, Stephen F Austin State University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and Texas State University-San Marcos.
  
The Southland Conference competes in the Division I-FCS (formally Division I-AA) for football and all other sports are at the Division I level. Southland Conference football ranks among the best Division I-FCS leagues in the nation. The conference has had multiple teams advance to the playoffs every year.
  
The McNeese St. Cowboys finished the 2002 and 2003 seasons ranked No. 1 in the nation and advanced to the FCS title game in 2002. That marked the sixth title game appearance for the conference since the conference joined Division I-AA (now FCS) in 1982.
  
The Southland Conference has done very well in football, despite many membership and classification changes. The conference originally began as an NAIA league in 1963. In 1968, the conference joined the NCAA College Division (which was renamed Division II in 1973). In 1975, the Southland Conference joined NCAA Division I-A. It remained a Division I-A football conference until 1982 when it moved to the I-AA level, where it has remained ever since.
  
The Southland Conference was instrumental for the startup of the Independence Bowl in 1976. The conference also has claim to five national championships at its different levels of play. On four different occasions, the Southland Conference has place three teams in the sixteen team playoff.
  
Southland Conference accomplishments are not only limited to the football field. In men’s basketball, the league has sent two teams to the Sweet 16 and one to the NIT Final Four. Stephen F. Austin has also been one of the best women’s basketball programs of all time. The Southland Conference also currently ranks among the Top 10 baseball conferences in the nation.
  
Famous Southland football alum include: NFL Hall of Famer Fred Dean, Bill Bergey, Jeremiah Trotter, Stan Humphries, Bubby Brister, Larry centers and Kavika Pittman. Basketball stars Scottie Pippen, Joe Dumars and Karl Malone all played in the Southland Conference. On the diamond, the Southland Conference has seen Major Leaguers Ben Sheets, Hunter Pence, Ben Broussard, Kevin Millar, Chuck Finley and David Segui play collegiate in the conference.