Lamar Cardinals
The Lamar Cardinals are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Lamar University. Lamar sponsors fourteen teams (seven men's teams, seven women's teams) that compete in the Southland Conference of the NCAA's Division I. The newest team being the reinstated Football team with women's Softball expected to be on the way.
Contents |
General History
Athletics at Lamar University began when the school began as South Park Junior College in September of 1923. The school has been in several conferences including:
Conference History:
- Lone Star Conference 1952 - 1963
- Southland Conference 1964 - 1986
- American South Conference (Football Independent) 1987 - 1991
- Sunbelt Conference (American South Conf merged into the Sunbelt) 1992 - 1998
- Southland Conference 1999 - Current
Men's Sports
Baseball
A Cardinal Pitcher in pitching motion.The Cardinals baseball team has been coached by Coach Jim Gilligan for over 33 years. [1] With over 1000 career wins as a head coach he is one of the most winning coaches in NCAA history. Many LU players have went on to play in the MLB, such as Kevin Millar and Brian Sanches
In the 2010 season the Lamar Cardinals Baseball team seated 7th in the SLC at the beginning of the conference tournament went undeafeated through the tournament and were crowned the 2010 SLC conference champions. The team received a NCAA tournament bid and played TCU and the Baylor Bears.
Lamar University baseball games have been played at 3500 seat Vincent-Beck Stadium since 1969.[2] The stadium was also host to semi pro teams such as the Beaumont Golden Gators
Men's Basketball
Lamar Guard Anthony Miles powers past a defender.The Cardinals Basketball team plays in the 10,080 seat Montagne Center.[3]
The Lamar University basketball team is one of the schools most storied athletic programs. The team under Coach Billy Tubbs (1976-1980) had a Cinderella story NCAA tournament by advancing to the Sweet 16. During Tubbs reign at Lamar he recruited 2 players which Clarence Kea and B.B. Davis that would go on to become all-americans for Lamar, while Clarence would go onto play professionally in the NBA.[4] The 1979 Cardinal Basketball team set records when it beat Portland State University 141-84, At the time, that game set an NCAA record for points in a single game.[5] During the game, Mike Olliver, set the single game scoring record at Lamar by lighting up the court with 50 points, that record still stands today. Pat Foster (1980-1986) continued the teams success by leading the cardinals to 3 Southland Conference titles, 2 NCAA Tournament appearances and 4 NIT appearances.
Billy Tubbs returned to Lamar University in 2003 to again head the Cardinals basketball team. His return was highly anticipated and increased attendance. He turned the program around from 10th place in 2003 to tied for 4th in 2006. In 2006 Coach Tubbs stepped down as Head Basketball Coach to become the Athletic Director for Lamar. He was succeeded by assistant and Lamar Alumnus Steve Roccaforte. In the Roccaforte era of Lamar Basketball Lamar has had capricious success. Coach Roc took the Cardinals to East Division Champions in 2007-2008. Then the cardinals fell in position two consecutive seasons. Coach Roc's time at Lamar has been marked by some successes and very highly ranked recruiting classes.[6]
Men's Cross Country
Men's Cross Country Holds 11 conference titles as of 2010. The team has won 4 of those titles in the past four years from 2006-2009 under coach Jake Stewart. [7]
Football
The program's signature win came on September 5, 1981, in an 18-17 win over the UPI #20 ranked Baylor Bears under Head Coach Larry Kennan. After the 1989 season the program was disbanded due to skyrocketing costs and declining attendance. The university is currently in the process of bringing the football team back, fielding a club in 2010. In preparation for the return of play the University has done extensive work on the facilities including, Provost Umphrey Stadium, a new Athletic complex, and high class suites built into the existing Montagne Center. The university hired former NFL player Ray Woodard as the head coach to lead the charge in bringing the Cardinals back to the gridiron. Former Basketball Coach Billy Tubbs was hired as the Athletic Director in 2006 and has had a significant role in bringing back the Cardinals Football team. Lamar will play their first game in 2010 against McNeese State University on Sept. 4.
| 2010 Lamar University Football Schedule | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Location | Result |
| Sept. 4 | McNeese State | Lake Charles, La. | |
| Sept. 11 | Webber International | Beaumont, Texas | |
| Sept. 18 | Southeastern Louisiana | Hammond, La. | |
| Sept. 25 | Stephen F. Austin State | Nacogdoches, Texas | |
| Oct. 2 | Sam Houston State | Beaumont, Texas | |
| Oct. 9 | Langston University | Beaumont, Texas | |
| Oct. 16 | South Alabama Beaumont | Beaumont, Texas | |
| Oct. 30 | North Dakota | Grand Forks, N.D. | |
| Nov. 6 | Georgia State | Atlanta, Ga. | |
| Nov. 13 | South Dakota | Beaumont, Texas | |
| Nov. 20 | Oklahoma Panhandle State | Beaumont, Texas | |
Men's Golf
The Men's golf team at Lamar has had tremendous success in it's history. The Golf team has been ranked in the top 10 nationally and has won over 20 conference titles.[8] The team has many Lamar Alumni continue on to the PGA tour, like Chris Stroud and Kelly Gibson. The program between 1953 and 1973 won the conference title every year, an amazing 21 consecutive titles.[9]
Men's Tennis
Men's Track
Women's Sports
Women's Basketball
Coach Larry Tidwell has had significant success with the lady cards in recent seasons. Turning the team around from a struggling program to a perennial power in the SLC. The Lady Cardinals will make their first ever appearance in the preseason WNIT in the fall of 2010.
Women's Cross Country
Women's Soccer
Lady Cardinals Soccer is the newest female sport at the Lamar. The program began it's inaugural season in 2007 under coach Mathew Dillon.[[10]] The first ever soccer complex was completed in 2009.
Women's Tennis
Women's Track
Volleyball
The Lady Cardinals Volleyball team were the SLC champions in 2007, with a 15-1 regular season record. From 2007 to 2009 the team won 36 of its past 48 regular season conference games.[11]
Lady Cardinals catching air.Cardinals in the Major Leagues
- Clay Hensley MLB
- Kevin Millar MLB
- Eric Cammack MLB
- Brian Sanches MLB
- Jerald Clark MLB
- Phil Brassington MLB
- Micah Hoffpauir MLB
- Beau Allred MLB
- Chris Stroud PGA
- Trevor Dodds PGA
- Kelly Gibson PGA
- John Riegger PGA
- Ronnie Black PGA
- Jennifer Wyatt LPGA
- Dawn Coe-Jones LPGA
- Clarence Kea NBA
- Lamont Robinson NBA
- Tom Sewell NBA
- Adrian Caldwell NBA
- Eugene Seale NFL
- Charles Cantrell NFL
- Dudley Meredith NFL (AFL)
- Pat Gibbs NFL
- Wayne Moore NFL
- Bum Phillips NFL Coach
- Keith Powe NFL CFL
- Colin Ridgeway NFL
- Tyrone Shavers NFL
- Johnny Ray Smith NFL
Cardinals in the Olympic Games
1956 Melbourne
- Colin Ridgeway (Australia), high jump
1960 Rome
- Brian Davis (South Africa), 1600-meter relay
- Colin Ridgeway (Australia) high jump (Bronze)
1980 Moscow
- Christer Gullstrand '83 (Sweden), 400-meter Hurdles
- Doug Hings '82 (Canada), 1600-meter relay
1984 Los Angeles
- Pedro Caceres '84 (Argentina), Steeplechase
- Christer Gullstrand '83 (Sweden), 400-meter Hurdles & 4x400-meter relay
- Thomas Eriksson '85 (Sweden), High Jump & Triple Jump
- Marie-Louise Hamrin '83 (Sweden), Marathon
External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Categories: Texas State University System | Southland Conference | Public universities in Texas | College athletic programs | Lamar Cardinals | University and college sports clubs in the United States
|
