From Jim Gazzolo, Lake Charles American Press:

Southland officials are working at redoing all schedules currently. New football schedules are expected to be released Thursday, according to sources. Look for some changes to the McNeese State schedule as SFA is expected to make a trip to Lake Charles in their return to the conference.

"I love the addition of SFA back to the Southland Conference," said McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer. "It's an established DI institution, a rival and is in our footprint. I think this addition truly solidifies our brand as a league."

The league is expected to stay at 20 conference basketball games on both the men's and women's sides. The number of teams making the postseason tournaments will remain at eight, meaning two [four] instead of one [two] will stay home. [I'm not sure what is up with Gazzolo's math here. Last year, in a ten-team league, two men's teams and two women's teams did not qualify for the SLC postseason tournament. That should double to four teams being ineligible, right?]

***The SLC plays conference games on Thursdays (women), Saturday (doubleheaders), and Mondays (men). For instance, if McNeese women host Lamar on Thursday, the Cowboys will host Lamar on Monday. Mondays have fewer sports viewing options, and so the SLC benefits from the exposure.

"I love what Commissioner Grant has done since taking over," Schroyer said. "We are a completely different conference than we were three years ago." Nothing states that fact more than the return of SFA.

He considers SFA a rival. Strange. I don't think SFA fans have considered McNeese a rival in the last 25 years. I certainly haven't.

SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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He considers SFA a rival. Strange. I don't think SFA fans have considered McNeese a rival in the last 25 years. I certainly haven't.

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I did. In football, for sure.

In the 80's, yes. They were very good back then.

SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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In the 80's, yes. They were very good back then.

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McNeese went to the FCS championship game in 1997 and 2002. In 1995 (you might have been there) we hosted McNeese in Nacogdoches, 22,000 attended.

It's only been 10 years (2013) since they have fallen off.

BigJack85 said:

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SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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In the 80's, yes. They were very good back then.

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McNeese went to the FCS championship game in 1997 and 2002. In 1995 (you might have been there) we hosted McNeese in Nacogdoches, 22,000 attended.

It's only been 10 years (2013) since they have fallen off.

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You're right. My memory is fuzzy. Yes, I was there for that game. It was an amazing crowd.

Some of y'all LadyJack basketball fans may remember the Baggett twins at McNeese. For a short while, the Cowgirls were a force to be reckoned with and made two NCAA's. Like football, Cowgirl basketball has been pretty bad, but hopefully both of those sports are on the verge of at least being respectable.

I'm not saying SFA is a rival of McNeese. I know your focus was mostly on Northwestern State (Chief Caddo) -- oh, and back in the day the Lady Demons had awesome basketball teams -- and, of course, the BearKats. I don't particularly like you guys, but I certainly respect all you have accomplished athletically. I probably like y'all a little better than SLU and the Demons (who cancelled their football season the week before they were to be our Homecoming guests), but that could change.

With that said, I remember so many years, particularly with the LadyJack sports, that SFA would cruise through the regular season in soccer, volleyball, and even basketball, but then not win the SLC tournament. I hated that because I knew the SLC wasn't sending its best team to the NCAAs.

I'm anxious to see if SFA can come back and dominate in any sport and what resistance current and new to us UTRGV can offer.

The new/revised football schedule is supposed to be out today. Should McNeese host SFA, like reports suggest, I hope you will bring a big crowd to Cowboy Stadium and the wonderful tailgating. McNeese (under AD Schroyer) has started having free block parties in the Cowboy Stadium parking lot on Friday nights with free bands. There are also food trucks, and attendees can bring their own ice chests and refreshments. Then the next day all day tailgating until football time.

For basketball, I'm not sure if every conference team will meet every other since only 20 conference games will be scheduled, but if SFA is scheduled to come to LC, I think you will be impressed with the Legacy Center and can just about guarantee a sellout.

SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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So true about this McNeese fellow vs. the absolutely hateful garbage that the Prison Tech guys would post here. Mr. Cowboy seems very respectful, and I appreciate that.

BTW, Cowboy, in case you didn't know, "Prison Tech" was the moniker that some of us used for Sam Houston State. SFA vs. SHSU was a great rivalry, but their fans were obnoxious. Well, most of them. I'm married to one.

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And she is the nicest person ever! How did you work that miracle oh so many years ago?

jboy93 said:

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SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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So true about this McNeese fellow vs. the absolutely hateful garbage that the Prison Tech guys would post here. Mr. Cowboy seems very respectful, and I appreciate that.

BTW, Cowboy, in case you didn't know, "Prison Tech" was the moniker that some of us used for Sam Houston State. SFA vs. SHSU was a great rivalry, but their fans were obnoxious. Well, most of them. I'm married to one.

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And she is the nicest person ever! How did you work that miracle oh so many years ago?

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She had vision and hearing problems at the time.

SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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jboy93 said:

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SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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So true about this McNeese fellow vs. the absolutely hateful garbage that the Prison Tech guys would post here. Mr. Cowboy seems very respectful, and I appreciate that.

BTW, Cowboy, in case you didn't know, "Prison Tech" was the moniker that some of us used for Sam Houston State. SFA vs. SHSU was a great rivalry, but their fans were obnoxious. Well, most of them. I'm married to one.

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And she is the nicest person ever! How did you work that miracle oh so many years ago?

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She had vision and hearing problems at the time.

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It definitely seems like McNeese got a good AD that's been changing the culture. That Friday night tailgating sounds nice.

Obviously Underwood helped tons, but swapping from the old guard to Ivey helped SFA take a leap forward. And I think the new AD/Prez will as well.

Tbh, that was my main gripes about the Southland is that the old leadership, UIW, HCU, and many of the Louisiana schools seemed content to just keep the status quo and just exist.

And I realize that's partly a budget issue. For all the budget struggles Texas higher Ed and SFA seemed to have, Louisiana seemed to get it worse.

But it's nice to see McNeese show that basketball can pay huge dividends. It may not be a rivalry per se, but neither was ACU when they joined. But they showed up, talked some fun trash, and their fans cared. Tbh, I enjoy playing and beating them more now than I ever did Sam bc Sam fans are non existent 98% of the year.

So if McNeese fans are up for it, I'll gladly hope for a better rivalry to develop. With SFA's MBB ambitions and Wade's run, there's some natural kindling for a fire to develop the next couple years.

I get the travel sucks to Abilene, but I do hope they decide to come along. That's a fanbase and school that cares and that's invaluable at any level.

UTA would be nice for everyone being in the metroplex, but in all my life I don't think I've ever run into a UTA fan, even on the internet.

For some reason it's hard to hate ACU as Sam. lol. ACU is kinda classy and hard not to respect them. Seems every game we play them it comes down to the last possession.

TallTexan said:

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It definitely seems like McNeese got a good AD that's been changing the culture. That Friday night tailgating sounds nice.

Obviously Underwood helped tons, but swapping from the old guard to Ivey helped SFA take a leap forward. And I think the new AD/Prez will as well.

Tbh, that was my main gripes about the Southland is that the old leadership, UIW, HCU, and many of the Louisiana schools seemed content to just keep the status quo and just exist.

And I realize that's partly a budget issue. For all the budget struggles Texas higher Ed and SFA seemed to have, Louisiana seemed to get it worse.

But it's nice to see McNeese show that basketball can pay huge dividends. It may not be a rivalry per se, but neither was ACU when they joined. But they showed up, talked some fun trash, and their fans cared. Tbh, I enjoy playing and beating them more now than I ever did Sam bc Sam fans are non existent 98% of the year.

So if McNeese fans are up for it, I'll gladly hope for a better rivalry to develop. With SFA's MBB ambitions and Wade's run, there's some natural kindling for a fire to develop the next couple years.

I get the travel sucks to Abilene, but I do hope they decide to come along. That's a fanbase and school that cares and that's invaluable at any level.

UTA would be nice for everyone being in the metroplex, but in all my life I don't think I've ever run into a UTA fan, even on the internet.

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Good take here.

To add on, McNeese has the best fans in the SLC. After that it's a toss up between SLU and Nicholls in Louisiana. In Texas it's 1st SFA 2nd Lamar 3rd UIW. That's a pretty serious drop off, because Lamar and UIW fans ain't that great.

McBroom statement on conference switch.
https://www.facebook.com/100064534485909/posts/839331878227954/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

jboy93 said:

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mccowboys said:

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TallTexan said:

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For our McNeese folks on here, are y'all hearing any rumblings about continued expansion or is the conf content to stay at 12.

And regarding rivalries, would love for that one to develop more.

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This is from the LCAP article by Jim Gazzolo:
According to sources, WAC members Abilene Christian, Tarleton State and Texas-Arlington made overtures to SLC officials about possible movement recently. That came following Grand Canyon and Seattle bolting from the WAC for the West Coast Conference, leaving the WAC's future in question. That appears to be a non-starter presently as the Southland seems to be willing to play the waiting game when it comes to future expansion.

My note: Some things I have heard and some of the SFA posters on X (Twitter) know that when ACU left, they burned a lot of bridges with some of the current SLC schools. That was ACU's past administration, but I don't think those sentiments have been forgotten. I recently saw a video interview of the ACU president, and he says ACU is committed to the WAC. Maybe that's the only thing he can say at this time. I also know the SLC ADs have put expansion on pause. In 2025, who knows? I think I had posted here previously that some SLU fans weren't overly excited with the addition of UTRGV due to travel. I think they feel the same way about ACU. As for UTA, I don't think the SLC would add a basketball-only school, but that may change, too. I really don't think Tarleton wants to be in the SLC, but its options may be limited. So I guess we will find out next year when Grand Canyon and Seattle leave the WAC.

Thank you Sawmill for letting me post here on your forum. I also post on AGS and the McNeese Facebook group which is the most active McNeese fan group. Your forums are the most active forum of any other SLC school that I know of.

Welcome back to the SLC! We'll be seeing you soon! Geaux Pokes! Guns Up!

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Things have changed so much since we left the SLC. Both within the conference and college athletics in general. I for one am glad to be back as it just makes sense to not have our men and women traveling all over the place! The current SLC commissioner seems to have a clear vision, let's hope he stays for a while cause I really like him!.

Thanks for you comments Mccowboys. It's good to hear honest and sincere comments unlike our friends from Prison Tech that would randomly post!

"Reunited and it feels so good!" (feel free to sing along if you are old like me!)

Random but always sincere here!

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SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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So true about this McNeese fellow vs. the absolutely hateful garbage that the Prison Tech guys would post here. Mr. Cowboy seems very respectful, and I appreciate that.

BTW, Cowboy, in case you didn't know, "Prison Tech" was the moniker that some of us used for Sam Houston State. SFA vs. SHSU was a great rivalry, but their fans were obnoxious. Well, most of them. I'm married to one.

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Every Jack needs a Kat boss
Sincerely

Kat1990 said:

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SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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So true about this McNeese fellow vs. the absolutely hateful garbage that the Prison Tech guys would post here. Mr. Cowboy seems very respectful, and I appreciate that.

BTW, Cowboy, in case you didn't know, "Prison Tech" was the moniker that some of us used for Sam Houston State. SFA vs. SHSU was a great rivalry, but their fans were obnoxious. Well, most of them. I'm married to one.

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Every Jack needs a Kat boss
Sincerely

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Don't need this orange ****e around here.

Great interview. Some detail about facilities. Very optimistic.

Geauxcowboys07 said:

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***** Cats prowling around still is laughable.

Glad SFA is back. It is not the same SLC with Grant in charge. He's full of energy and attends as many games, fundraisers and events as possible for his schools.

I was there in the mid 90's when we broke the attendance record and have been several times since. I hope y'all can make the game to The Chuck this year. The Friday Night Block Party is worth it in itself. Free to attend, awesome band lineup, bring your chair and ice chest, it's under the lit up oak trees at Alumni Grove.

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Already hit the Expedia site Plenty of options. Plus gambling. I'm planning on it.

BigJack85 said:

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Great interview. Some detail about facilities. Very optimistic.

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He mentioned the facility improvements. I do wonder which would be cheaper. To renovate Homer Bryce, remove the track and renovate the stands and locker rooms, or would it just be cheaper to build a new stadium and move Lumbotron to it.

On facility improvements... He specifically said the initial focus will be on football, baseball, softball, and soccer. Good to hear.

Great interview. I was encouraged to hear in the last interview that his goal was to use athletics to build the SFA brand and increase enrollment. We are now on the right track!!

SFASawmillGuy said:

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BigJack85 said:

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Great interview. Some detail about facilities. Very optimistic.

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He mentioned the facility improvements. I do wonder which would be cheaper. To renovate Homer Bryce, remove the track and renovate the stands and locker rooms, or would it just be cheaper to build a new stadium and move Lumbotron to it.

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Homer Bryce does eat a lot of space on campus.

If moving the track was an option, I think you could save a decent chunk of change by leaving the main grandstand in place and just moving the field right in front of it.

Then flatten the visitor hill & bring in the endzone sides a good bit too.

TallTexan said:

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SFASawmillGuy said:

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BigJack85 said:

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Great interview. Some detail about facilities. Very optimistic.

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He mentioned the facility improvements. I do wonder which would be cheaper. To renovate Homer Bryce, remove the track and renovate the stands and locker rooms, or would it just be cheaper to build a new stadium and move Lumbotron to it.

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Home Bryce does eat a lot of space on campus.

If moving the track was an option, I think you could save a decent chunk of change by leaving the main grandstand in place and just moving the field right in front of it.

Then flatten the visitor hill & bring in the endzone sides a good bit too.

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Building a new football stadium….. Hmmm. One benefit, you could use Homer Bryce for soccer & track/field

SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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...assuming they would whittle that sucker down and use the new-found space for other things. In its current configeration that would be a lot of prime real estate for two low-revenue sports.

BTW, the new AD threw a quick compliment to Bowling and their two Natties but said nothing about potentially assisting them in finding a better home. Maybe that would come later in a master plan.

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Maybe I'm "mis remembering" but I thought there was a bowling alley (3-4 lanes) in the basement of the University Center (Baker Patillo). When I was an undergrad, we used to play ping pong down there.

It seems like this would be an ideal solution, if the infrastructure can be adapted.

I've always thought the HPE could probably find a place to fit a bowling alley.

Which could also be a perk for students on campus.

I do feel like that if you ditched Homer Bryce for football, you'd probably want to rework the entire side of campus.

It's absolutely massive space wise. I wouldn't be surprised if, including the football practice fields, you told me that football, track, soccer, baseball & softball could all share that space