89, 98 or 99 t,eam

(04-28-2020 12:07 PM)LUSportsFan Wrote:  

(04-27-2020 09:10 AM)wewererebels Wrote:  

(04-25-2020 10:14 PM)CatMom Wrote:  

(04-24-2020 10:23 PM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  

(04-24-2020 01:54 PM)wewererebels Wrote:  Well, the UT Arlington Rebels of 1967 were national champions. But this was before they called it FCS. Still, we must cherish those far far away memories. Several players from that team went on to have success in the NFL

College Division? NAIA?

Southland Conference. It was D2 at the time.

Not true. Southland Conference was and is Division One. There was no "D2." The NCAA in 1967 was "University Division" or "College Division." This more closely approximates the difference between FCS and FBS.

A somewhat lower classification (whatever D2 was called) pertained to Southwest Texas State, Sam Houston, Tarleton and the other Lone Star Conference members at the time. Note also, the Southland Conference was not FCS (or D-Iaa) until after the 1981 season.

Thus, the 1981 SLC Champion Mavericks were FBS conference champs. Unfortunately, the SLC had lost its ties to the Independence Bowl, so UTA stayed home.

From the Southland Conference website in the "About" section.
Southland Conference - About

Quote:...The Southland’s football heritage has sustained itself through numerous membership and classification changes, from the NCAA College Division in 1964 (that became Division II in 1973), to fully-joining Division I in 1975. The Southland was an NCAA Division I-A league from 1978-81, before joining the ranks of then Division I-AA for football in 1982 (known as FCS since 2006), its home ever since.
During its tenure as a Division I and I-A conference, the Southland Conference initiated the startup of the Shreveport, La.-based Independence Bowl in 1976. The Southland representative served as the host team of the bowl until 1980, compiling a 2-3 record in those contests, and the Bowl remains in existence today...

It's confusing, but the SLC was College Division (which was renamed and split to become D2 and D3 in 1973) from 1964-1972. The conference was Division 2 from 1973-1974. The SLC was Division I (formerly named the University Division until 1973) from 1975 forward. It looks like the conference may have been a hybrid of some members competing at the University Division / D1 level while others competed at the College Division / D II prior to 1975. (see below)

It gets even more confusing. It looks like the conference was mixed in the years prior to the DI period. UTA led the conference moving up to the University Division level starting in 1971 based on the UTA football Wikipedia site and NCAA statistics. Based on NCAA Statistics, it looks like Lamar competed at the DI level starting in 1973 while the remainder of the conference moved up in 1975. The early years of the conference were so crazy that in the 1968-69 basketball season, Lamar was ranked #1 in the AP College Division poll for part of the year and also ranked as high as #18 in the UPI Major College poll in the same year.

All of this indirectly pertains to the Sun Belt because during the early years of the Southland Conference, in addition to UTA, current Sun Belt members Arkansas State and Louisiana were Southland Conference members as well as former Sun Belt members Louisiana Tech and Lamar.

Thanks for the history lesson, Cardinal! The Billy Tubbs era was a great time for Lamar basketball. In football, not so much. You guys dropped football a few years after beating Baylor. We dropped it a few years after beating TCU (twice). So I guess ULM is lucky that beating 'Bama didn't put a stake in their program's heart.

Hats off to Lamar for restarting football even after their campus was devastated by a hurricane. Now, when are you going to return to FBS? The 'Belt may need you back before that other LU comes knocking again.