Southland Conference

Twenty #SouthlandStrong Memories From The Past Decade

12/26/2019 11:59:12 AM

As 2020 approaches, we thought we would share some of our favorite #SouthlandStrong moments and accomplishments over the past decade throughout the Southland Conference. We feature championships, win streaks, upsets and more in the 2010s! There’s so much to highlight! What have we missed? What is your favorite?
 
No. 20  
On Feb. 26, 2010, the NCAA announced that Frisco, Texas, would become the new site for the Division I Football Championship Game for the next three seasons.  The Southland Conference, the City of Frisco and Hunt Sports Group hosted its first FCS title game on Jan. 7, 2011, with Vice President Joe Biden in attendance. The Southland Conference staff and partners are now preparing to host our 10^th consecutive championship on Jan. 11, 2020, at Toyota Stadium, with more to come in the future.
 
No. 19
Sam Houston golfer Will Holcomb advanced to the semifinals of 2019 US Amateur at Pinehurst. He was awarded the Silver Medal by the USGA. It was the second year in a row that he qualified for the U.S. Amateur. Earlier in the Spring, Holcomb was named Southland Conference Student-Athlete of the Year and was a first-team All-Conference selection during his junior season after leading the Bearkats to a Southland men’s golf championship and a trip to the 2019 NCAA Regionals.
 
No. 18
The 2018 UIW Football squad made history under first-year head coach Eric Morris. The Cardinals earned 2018 Southland co-champion honors after being picked last in the preseason poll. UIW also earned its first FCS postseason berth in school history. With the impressive turnaround from a 1-10 season in 2017, Morris was named Southland Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the national Eddie Robinson Award. Seven student-athletes received all-conference honors and QB Jon Copeland was named the Southland Freshman of the Year.
 
No. 17
The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s men’s tennis team won its sixth-straight Conference title in 2013, setting a record for most consecutive crowns. The Islanders then went on to win two more for eight in a row. Coach Steve Moore was named Southland Coach of the Year during each year of that stretch and earned 2013 ITA Texas Coach of the Year honors from his peers, an award that includes every Division I coach in Texas.
 
No. 16
The 2017 New Orleans baseball team swept intrastate rival LSU in two regular-season games. In the first meeting in New Orleans, the Privateers won 11-8. The following month when they met in Baton Rouge, UNO came out on top once again in a 7-4 decision. LSU won the 2017 SEC Championship and finished No. 2 nationally that season.
 
No. 15
Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, UIW & New Orleans each officially joined the Southland Conference on July 2, 2013. HBU was the first membership announcement made on Nov. 11, 2011. The Conference revealed the other three in August 2012. Abilene Christian was making its return to the league as ACU was a charter member of the Southland Conference from 1963-73.
 
No. 14
The Lamar women’s soccer team set a grand total of 26 school records and Southland marks during the 2019 season, capping it off with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Conference Player of the Year Lucy Ashworth broke the school record for most points in a game with 10, while Ashworth and teammate Esther Okoronkwo broke the record for most goals in a game (4). The pair also set records in the Southland Conference tournament, including Okoronkwo’s 13 points in the tourney.
 
No. 13
Nicholls football opened its 2018 season with a 26-23 overtime win at Kansas for the Southland Conference’s first win over a Power 5 FBS program. The Colonel defense held KU to just 56 yards rushing yards and got the winning score on a 4-yard touchdown run by QB Chase Fourcade.
 
No. 12
McNeese’s Erika Piancastelli became the first softball player in Southland Conference history to earn the league’s Player of the Year honor four straight years. One of the most prolific softball players in Southland history, she became only the third to do so in any Southland sport, joining women’s basketball player Eun Jun Lee (1983-86) and Lamar men’s golfer Chris Stroud (2001-04). Piancastelli broke five Southland career records during her senior season: home runs, hits, RBIs, runs scored and total bases. She also earned her fourth consecutive Hitter of the Year award in 2018.
 
No. 11
For the first time in Southland history, three teams (Central Arkansas, Nicholls & Southeastern Louisiana) played in the second round of the 2019 FCS Postseason. Southland co-champion UCA was awarded the No. 8 overall seed and received a bye to host Illinois State. Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana hosted and won first-round games against North Dakota (24-6) and Villanova (45-44), respectively, to advance to the second round.

No. 10
On Feb. 27, 2019, Lamar’s Chastadie Barrs’ set the NCAA career steals record with her 625^th steal in a win over Houston Baptist. She broke the previous NCAA mark that had been intact for nearly 25 years. The Cardinal guard earned her record seventh Southland Player of the Week honor following her performance and was named the Student-Athlete of the Year. She closed out her career with 643 steals.
 
No. 9
After setting 11 Southland and 10 NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision passing records, Stephen F. Austin student-athlete Jeremy Moses is named the recipient of The Sports Network’s Walter Payton Award, given annually to the best player in the FCS.  Moses becomes the first Southland student-athlete to win the Payton Award.
 
No. 8
Sam Houston advanced to two FCS National Championships in 2011 and 2012. In front of one of the largest crowds in Bowers Stadium history, the Sam Houston football team beat Montana in the semifinals of the playoffs to advance to their first national championship in school history. Timothy Flanders rushed for 287 yards as the Kats knocked off the Grizzlies 31-28.

No. 7
The 2018-19 Abilene Christian men’s and women’s basketball teams earned berths to the NCAA Championships in just their second season of Division I eligibility. Men’s Tournament MVP Jaren Lewis scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds in the title win for the second-seeded Wildcats. The ACU women then followed suit by holding off a furious rally from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a 69-68 thriller to earn its NCAA bid.
 
No. 6
When Stephen F. Austin defeated Southland Bowling League affiliate member Vanderbilt in the 2019 NCAA Bowling Championship, it was the league’s third national championship since it began sponsoring the sport in 2015. Vanderbilt earned the national crown in 2018 and SFA also won the title in 2016 and was national runner-up in 2015.

No. 5
Houston Baptist won the 2015 Southland Baseball Championship with an NCAA record four-straight complete game performances. Senior Curtis Jones pitched nine scoreless innings for the Huskies in the title game to shutout Sam Houston State, 6-0, and claim their first Southland baseball championship and advance to their first NCAA Tournament.
 
No. 4
More baseball success as Sam Houston State became the first Southland team to advance to an NCAA Super Regional in 2017. The Bearkats fought off elimination twice before defeating Texas Tech in Game 7 of the Lubbock Regional to advance to the Super Regionals.

No. 3
Four Track & Field National Champions have been crowned from the Southland Conference in this decade. Most recently was Northwestern State’s Jasmyn Steels claiming the 2019 Indoor Long Jump title. Southeastern Louisiana’s Alex Young earned her award in 2016 in the Weight Throw. SFA’s Demi Payne (2015 Pole Vault) and NSU’s Trecey Rew (2011 Discus) took home their titles following NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
No. 2
Sam Houston State quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe earned the Walter Payton Award in back-to-back seasons (2016 and 2017). He became just the second two-time recipient of national award, joining Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards in 2008 and 2009. Briscoe threw for 9,605 yards and 102 touchdowns in his two Payton Award seasons.
 
No. 1
Stephen F. Austin men’s basketball defeated #1 Duke, snapping the Blue Devils’ 150-game non-conference home win streak, on Nov. 26, 2019. It is not the first time the Lumberjacks have been the underdog and come out victorious as they defeated No. 3 seed West Virginia in the 2016 NCAA Tournament and No. 5 VCU in the 2014 Tournament.