BEAUMONT, Texas — Less than a year after joining the Western Athletic Conference, Lamar University will announce they are heading back to the Southland Conference.
The news was first reported by Jim Gazzolo of the Lake Charles American Press and later confirmed by multiple sources to 409Sports.
At 3:16 Thursday afternoon Lamar University released the following announcement.
Lamar University will be holding a press conference Friday, April 8 at 11 a.m. at the Nancy and Ken Evans Welcome Center on the LU campus –– 1032 Jim Gilligan Way, Beaumont, TX 77705.
On July 1, 2021 Lamar University, Abilene Christian University, Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University all officially joined the WAC after leaving the Southland.
Since then the "Texas Four" have gone in different directions.
On November 5, Sam Houston accepted an invitation to join Conference USA in 2023. Now Lamar is heading back to the Southland Conference.
This move comes after the WAC announced the additions of the University of the Incarnate Word out of the Southland and current Sun Belt member UT Arlington. Southern Utah is also set to join the WAC in 2022.
The Southland Conference will add Texas A&M-Commerce on July 1. The university will begin a four-year transition from NCAA Division II to Division I at that time.
Lamar's first season in the WAC has been difficult. Football, men's basketball and women's volleyball teams were winless against their new conference foes.
Steve Holeman's soccer team did reach the WAC Semifinals, but he has since left for Texas State.
Lamar is also in search of a new Director of Athletics after Marco Born resigned on March 10.
The baseball team has been a bright spot this spring, sitting in first place tie in the WAC Southwest. The Cardinal softball team is in last.
If Lamar joins the Southland this fall, the conference lineup is as follows.
Lamar
Houston Baptist
McNeese
New Orleans*
Nicholls
Northwestern St.
Southeastern Louisiana
Texas A&M-Commerce
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi*
(*Does not offer football)
Lamar University's last stint in the Southland Conference was from 1999-2021. In that time Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, UL Monroe, Oral Roberts, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Texas State, UT Arlington and UTSA all left the conference. UIW will leave in this summer.