UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros face the Nicholls Colonels in Southland Tournament
Nicholls Colonels (16-13, 9-11 Southland) vs. UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (16-15, 11-9 Southland)
Lake Charles, Louisiana; Monday, 2:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: UT Rio Grande Valley squares off against Nicholls in the Southland Tournament.
The Vaqueros' record in Southland play is 11-9, and their record is 5-6 against non-conference opponents. UT Rio Grande Valley averages 14.9 turnovers per game and is 8-3 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents.
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American Press
03-06-2025
- American Press
SLC going to 9 games
The Southland Conference is moving to a nine-game football schedule. Monday, the league's athletic directors voted unanimously to add the ninth conference game starting in the fall of 2026. Currently, the SLC's 10 football-playing schools will play eight league games this season. For instance, McNeese will not play defending Southland champ Incarnate Word, which would likely be one of the conference's showcase contests in the fall. This is the first season with 10 football schools since the league regrouped after the 2021 purge, when five schools left the conference. This will also be the first season with Texas-Rio Grande Valley playing football. 'I like the idea of playing everybody in the conference,' McNeese head coach Matt Viator said. 'It makes a lot of sense to me. You get a true champion that way. It gives us another game against a like opponent.' The A.D.s were on the same page, as each school continues to struggle to find the proper schedule. 'We were all in agreement about it,' said McNeese A.D. Heath Schroyer. 'I think this is a great move by our league as we look to the future. Moving forward, it will be a lot easier for scheduling for all of us and will give us more shared revenue.' The Southland's decision comes as the Football Championship Subdivision looks to expand to a 12-game schedule overall every year. The Cowboys and the rest of the FCS typically play an 11-game schedule, unless the weekly calendar allows for 12 games before the Thanksgiving break. That usually happens about every four or five seasons. However, they have 12 games scheduled for next season, following a dozen games and a 6-6 finish last year. Twelve FCS games could be on the horizon as of 2026. Earlier this spring, the FCS Oversight Committee met and recommended that its schools play 12 games annually, starting with the 2026 schedule. The one-game extension is expected to be finalized during the Division I Council meeting June 24-25. 'I think it will pass and that is good for our programs,' said SLC Commissioner Chris Grant. 'It is another game for us to get revenue, and it has been hard for some of our teams to get games.' Securing another Division 1 contest and avoiding the need to travel outside the league's footprint is a significant win. 'This keeps our regional rivalries going,' said Grant. 'This is a big thing for our schools. We hope it could help lead to getting two or three teams back in the postseason. 'Our schools have upgraded their schedules, but we haven't seen the advantages of that yet.' Grant added that at the meetings, the league discussed a new contract with ESPN and efforts to secure more games on linear networks. Last year, McNeese opened its season with a game at Tarleton State on ESPN. Nicholls and UIW will open this year the same way. 'I'm really excited about the nine and 12 games,' Viator said. 'Anytime you get an opportunity to play a game, I think it is great for everyone.' Grant said the good news this year is that the league is not concerned with expansion; instead, it is focusing on moving forward as a group. That includes the 22-game conference basketball schedule that starts next season. Also discussed was the possible expansion of the postseason basketball tournaments. Currently, the top eight teams qualify for the tournament; however, the league is considering expanding to 10 teams in the future. Grant said the league would need more hotel rooms in Lake Charles, which has a limited number, as the state high school tournament is in town at the same time.
American Press
22-05-2025
- American Press
Jim Gazzolo column: NCAA should give SLC softball second look
McNeese State second baseman Reese Reyna reaches to field a ground ball during an NCAA Tournament game against host Northwestern Saturday in the Evanston (Ill.) Regional. (Phillip Mitchell / Special to the American Press) It is time for the NCAA to take a closer look at what is happening in the Southland Conference regarding softball. When it comes to the postseason, NCAA committees often find it easy to overlook the SLC. I get that. You need big wins to establish your league as a contender, and you do that in the postseason. However, softball has left a mark on the last few tournaments, taking out some big names. That should turn more than a few heads on the selection committee. Since 2022, the Southland champs have had a winning record in regional play at 9-8. All of those games have been wins against teams from power conferences. During that time, the Southland entry reached a regional final each year. This season, Southeastern Louisiana did it again, going 2-2 in last weekend's Baton Rouge Regional. The Lions, who finished second in the SLC and beat McNeese State in a dramatic title game in walk-off fashion in Lake Charles, toppled No. 10 LSU not once but twice on the Tigers' home field. They lost twice to Nebraska, but it was still an impressive run for a No. 4 regional seed. It was the second consecutive season SELA has gone 2-2 in the NCAA Tournament. You would think a club that went to a regional final the season before would be more than a four seed the following season, but respect takes time for a conference. Two seasons before that, it was McNeese that made consecutive runs at a regional title. In fact, in 2023, the Cowgirls came within a couple of times of becoming the first Southland team to reach a super regional. After years of playing top teams in the nation both home and away, McNeese had closed the gap as it played No. 7 Washington in Seattle. A late collapse saw the Cowgirls falter at the end, losing 3-2 in the regional. That season, the Cowgirls won four games against Top 25 opponents, more than proving they were worthy of a spot in the NCAA Tournament if they had not won the Southland's automatic bid. Just to make the NCAAs, McNeese needed an extra-inning home run by Reese Reyna to beat Southeastern for the SLC title. SELA likely deserved a spot in the big tournament but was overlooked because the league's rating was not high enough. The year before, McNeese served notice that it was a surging program with two tournament wins over No. 21 Notre Dame, the second knocking the Irish out of the Evanston (Ill.) Regional hosted by Northwestern. The softball tournament committee might not be looking closely at the Southland, but it should. The league has improved, and teams are much more competitive. While it is likely the big-name schools will continue to dominate the bids, the Southland is finding itself at least raising eyebrows once it makes the party It deserves a second invitation, some years, to be taken seriously. a Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@
American Press
15-05-2025
- American Press
Landreneau staying put
James Landreneau looking forward to next season. (McNeese Athletics) James Landreneau will be back next season as the head coach of the McNeese State softball team. McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer said Landreneau's contract was rolled over for the fourth year, as officially agreed upon on Wednesday. Landreneau signed a three-year deal after the 2022 season, which included a fourth-year rollover. The news comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with the program. 'Everything is going as planned,' said Landreneau. 'This is what we had expected.' Schroyer and Landreau met on Wednesday as part of the annual season-ending review. 'We are just moving forward, that is the best way to get over the tough loss,' said Landreneau. 'We are disappointed in how it finished, but I'm proud of the way our team fought back this year.' McNeese was an extremely young team that ended strong after a 17-16 start. The Cowgirls rallied to finish 41-20, their fourth straight 40-plus win season. They also won their fourth straight Southland Conference regular-season title, becoming the first program in league history to do that. They were one out of winning a fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in five seasons. McNeese lost a controversial 6-5 decision to rival Southeastern last Saturday night when the umpires reversed a late call after the Cowgirls had actually celebrated getting the final out. 'Coach Landreneau did an exceptional job, maybe his best year coaching yet,' Schroyer said. 'We're excited to have him back next year. 'We had a very young roster this year, and the team came together and grew as the season progressed. I'm looking forward to watching this team continue to grow next year.' In his nine seasons at McNeese, Landreneau has posted a 339-181 record, winning five tournament and five regular-season crowns. He was named the league's Coach of the Year for the fourth time earlier this month after becoming the winningest skipper in program history early in the season. Landreneau and his pitching staff will return at least seven starters next season. The only everyday player who will definitely not be back will be all-conference shortstop Reese Reyna, who is out of eligibility. 'We have a young team and we learned a lot this year,' said Landreneau. 'We have gone through great exit interviews this week and have gotten a lot of positive feedback on where we are headed. I'm excited about getting back at it in the fall.' On Thursday, the organization announced that junior third baseman Jada Muñoz was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's All-Region team . Muñoz was selected to the Gulf Region third team. Muñoz led McNeese with 15 home runs, 19 doubles, 56 RBI, 26 walks, 126 total bases, 52 runs scored, .720 slugging percent, and was third on the team with a .343 batting average. Ironically, despite finishing second in the league in homers and leading in RBIs, Muñoz was not named to the all-Southland team.
