Southland Announces 1980s Football All-Decade Team
Southland Conference
1980s All-Decade Team (PDF)
FRISCO, Texas – The Southland Conference, as part of its year-long 50th Anniversary commemoration, has announced its All-Decade Football Team from the 1980s. The team includes outstanding student-athletes from its member institutions from the 1980 season through 1989.
A total of 82 former student-athletes make up the 1980s All-Decade Team, including honorees from each of the 12 institutions that were members at some point during the period. The Southland underwent significant changes in membership during the decade, and the league also became an NCAA Division I-AA powerhouse with a national championship, four national title game appearances, and five semifinal playoff games.
“The 1980s define a significant amount of transition for Southland Conference football,” league commissioner Tom Burnett said. “However, the league managed significant membership changes in a skillful and strategic manner that kept the sport at a very high competitive level.”
The 1980s All-Decade team includes 13 former student-athletes from McNeese State, and 12 from Louisiana-Monroe, which won the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA national championship. Both Arkansas State and North Texas placed 11 members on the All-Decade squad, followed by Louisiana Tech with nine, Stephen F. Austin with eight, Texas-Arlington with six, Northwestern State with five, Texas State with three, Lamar with two, and Sam Houston State and Louisiana-Lafayette with one each.
McNeese State running back Buford Jordan was selected as the 1980s player of the decade. A three-time All-Southland first-team selection (1981-82-83), he became the league’s first-ever 4,000-yard rusher, and was the Southland’s 1981 and 1983 season rushing leader. He was the 1980 Freshman of the Year in the conference, and followed that with the 1981 Offensive Player of the Year. He also was the Southland’s 1981 scoring and all-purpose yardage leader. After initially playing in the USFL, Jordan enjoyed a seven-year career with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.
Jordan is joined by fellow McNeese alum and NFL veteran Leonard Smith, who starred nine years in the defensive backfield for the Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills, and played in Super Bowls XXV and XXVI. Smith also became the Southland’s highest NFL draft choice ever in 1983 (first round, 17th pick). Other McNeese State alums on the All-Decade team include linebacker Daryl Burckel, running back Tony Citizen, defensive back Robert Davenport, defensive lineman Rusty Guilbeau, receivers Flip Johnson and Keith Ortego, quarterback Stephen Starring, kicker/punter Don Stump, and offensive linemen Lonnie Collins, Glenn Koch and Bret Martin.
Pat Collins, who led Louisiana-Monroe from 1982-88, was named the 1980s Southland coach of the decade, accumulating a 52-29-0 overall record and a 26-14-0 league mark during his league tenure. Collins’ 1987 team ran off a 13-2 overall mark and 6-0 league record on the way to the NCAA Division I-AA national championship, a 43-42 win over Marshall. His team also shared the 1983 Southland title, and he coached 35 first-team All-Southland players and eight first-team All-Americans.
Louisiana-Monroe’s contingent of all-decade players includes one of the heroes of its 1987 national championship team, quarterback Stan Humphries, who also went on to play in two Super Bowls with the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers. Another ULM signal caller on the All-Decade team is Bubby Brister, who was a member of the Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIII championship teams.
Other Louisiana-Monroe players on the all-decade team include 12-year NFL veteran tight end Jackie Harris, who played in Super Bowl XXXIV, defensive lineman Claude Brumfield, defensive backs Cyril Crutchfield, Bruce Daigle and Mike Turner, kicker Teddy Garcia, receiver Tag Rome, and offensive linemen John Clement, Arthur Christophe and Mike Grantham.
Arkansas State’s representatives on the all-decade team include offensive lineman Ray Brown, who would go on to a remarkable 20-year NFL career with four teams, including playing for Washington’s Super Bowl XXVI champions. Another ASU standout on the All-Decade team is running back Maurice Carthon, who later starred in the USFL and with the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants, where he was a member of the Super Bowl XXI and XXV champions.
Other ASU players on the squad include offensive lineman Randy Barnhill, quarterback Dwane Brown, defensive back Greg Lee, linebacker Mike Morris, punter Bruce Gartman, running back Rickey Jemison, and defensive linemen Michael Cline, Carter Ray Crawford and Marvin Neloms.
The North Texas contingent on the all-decade team includes offensive lineman Scott Bowles, quarterbacks Greg Carter and Scott Davis, kicker Keith Chapman, linebacker Ed Fleming, defensive back Kim Phillips, punters Bron Beal and John Starnes, and defensive linemen Rayford Cooks, Rex Johnson, and Ronnie Hickman.
Louisiana Tech players included defensive backs Doyle Adams and Andre Young, kicker George Benyola, linebackers Tony Boles and Doug Landry, quarterback Matt Dunigan, and defensive linemen Walter Johnson, Trey Junkin, and Donald Washington.
Stephen F. Austin’s players on the All-Decade team include running back Larry Centers, a 14-year NFL veteran that played in Super Bowl XXXVIII with the New England Patriots, and also earned three Pro Bowl selections. Other SFA players include defensive back David Whitmore, a six-year NFL veteran that played in Super Bowl XXV, quarterback Todd Hammel, defensive back Bruce Alexander, linebacker Eric Lokey, offensive lineman Jeff Jackson, defensive linemen Keith Melcher and David Gibbs.
Texas-Arlington’s players include defensive back Tim McKyer, a 12-year NFL veteran with seven teams who played in Super Bowls XXIII, XXIV and XXXII, and earned two Pro Bowl nods. Other UTA standouts on the squad were offensive lineman Bruce Collie, an eight-year NFL veteran with the 49ers and Eagles who participated in Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV. Another offensive lineman, Mark Cannon, went on to a seven-year NFL career with three teams. Running back Scotty Caldwell, a three-time All-Southland player, saw action with Denver in Super Bowl XXII. Tight end Gary Lewis was a four-year veteran with the Green Bay Packers.
Northwestern State is represented on the team by running back John Stephens, who matched being the Southland’s highest NFL Draft choice (first round, 17th pick) ever, and went on to a six-year pro career that included winning the 1988 AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year and Gale Sayers Award. Other NSU players include wide receiver Floyd Turner, a nine-year NFL veteran with three teams, and fellow pass catcher Al Edwards, who played in Super Bowls XXV and XXVI. Defensive back Randy Hilliard, who went on to a nine-year NFL career and played in Super Bowl XXXIV, was also named to the all-decade team as was defensive lineman John Kulakowski.
Texas State is represented on the all-decade team by defensive back A.J. Johnson, running back Bill Jones and offensive lineman Jeff Novak. Lamar linebacker Eugene Seale, a six-year NFL veteran with the Houston Oilers, earned a berth on the team, as did Lamar running back Burton Murchison. Sam Houston State linebacker Lish Adams earned a spot on the All-1980s squad, as did Louisiana-Lafayette defensive lineman Dale Thomas.
To best assess the candidate pool for the all-decade team, the Southland Conference developed a metric that analyzed numerous elements of a student-athlete’s performance and value within the league at the time. Most notably, the conference honored “real-time” factors such as all-conference selection by coaches and a player’s statistical performance among his peers at the time. Further, other components of selection including a player’s effort toward helping his team win a championship or finish near the top of the conference, whether he earned individual honors from the league, if he participated in postseason bowls, and if he was drafted by or participated in the NFL.
For a complete list of the 1980s all-decade team, click the link at tht top of this page.
The Southland Conference will continue to recognize all-decade teams throughout the 2013 season.