Lamar Cardinals
SouthlandBeaumont, TXProvost Umphrey Stadium
2026: 5–2 (3–1 Southland). Last: lost at SE Louisiana 34–31. Next: Houston Christian, Saturday, Oct 24, 4 p.m. ET.
- W 21–14Abilene Christian
- L 7–38at Louisiana
- W 23–17at Idaho
- W 49–18at Nicholls
- W 42–14Northwestern State
- W 38–35Incarnate Word
- L 31–34at SE Louisiana
- Oct 24Houston Christian
- Oct 31at UT Rio Grande Valley
- Nov 7Stephen F. Austin
- Nov 14East Texas A&M
- Nov 21at McNeese
Lamar has played football since 1923 and is officially 229–311–9; 311 of its 549 games are in our file. They have won four Southland Conference titles (the last in 1971) and one Lone Star Conference title, counting shared titles. Vernon Glass (1973–1975) won more games here than any other coach: 14. The most-played rival is McNeese: 24 meetings, McNeese leads 16–7–1. This season, they’re 5–2.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 229–311–9 official; 117–190–4 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 1–0 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1376
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 17 · Composite No. 15 in FCS, Oct 17. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 5 last in 1971
- Bowl record
- 2–1 official, bowls only
- Seasons
- 44 since 1961, 311 games
Identity
- Fight song
- Cardinals Fight!
2026 season 5–2
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | vs Abilene Christian | W 21–14 | 48% |
| Sep 5 | at Louisiana | L 7–38 | 24% |
| Sep 12 | at Idaho | W 23–17 | 50% |
| Sep 26 | at Nicholls | W 49–18 | 55% |
| Oct 3 | vs Northwestern State | W 42–14 | 90% |
| Oct 10 | vs Incarnate Word | W 38–35 | 67% |
| Oct 17 | at SE Louisiana | L 31–34 | 50% |
| Oct 24 | vs Houston Christian | Preview | 73% |
| Oct 31 | at UT Rio Grande Valley | Preview | 48% |
| Nov 7 | vs Stephen F. Austin | Preview | 37% |
| Nov 14 | vs East Texas A&M | Preview | 81% |
| Nov 21 | at McNeese | Preview | 60% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 2026 rosterThe moneyOn the 2026 team
- Aiden McCown1,292 passing yards, 12 TD (leads Lamar in passing yards)
- Jojo Uga447 rushing yards, 5 TD (leads Lamar in rushing yards)
- Blake Thomas29 catches, 386 yards, 5 TD (leads Lamar in receiving yards)
- Andrew Huff29 tackles, 4 sacks (leads Lamar in sacks)
- Parker Jenkins261 rushing yards, 3 TD
- Jamarion Evans38 tackles (leads Lamar in tackles)
Program strength since 1961
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Larry Kennan | 1979–1981 | 13–17–3 |
| Bob Frederick | 1976–1978 | 6–26–1 |
| Vernon Glass | 1973–1975 | 14–17 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- McNeese
7–16–1 in 24
- 2015 L 14–20
- 2016 L 10–41
- 2017 L 3–13
- 2018 W 21–17
- 2019 L 3–27
- 2020 W 27–26
- 2022 L 20–24
- 2023 W 52–27
- 2024 W 26–24
- 2025 L 19–21
Lost the last one.
Next: Nov 21
- Northwestern State
8–10 in 18
- 2016 W 32–31
- 2017 L 28–35
- 2018 L 48–49
- 2019 L 13–34
- 2020 W 31–23
- 2022 L 27–35
- 2023 W 27–13
- 2024 W 42–10
- 2025 W 41–14
- 2026 W 42–14
Won the last four.
- SE Louisiana
4–11 in 15
- 2016 W 38–14
- 2017 L 21–49
- 2018 L 24–30
- 2019 L 34–45
- 2020 L 12–42
- 2022 L 31–47
- 2023 W 30–24
- 2024 L 27–30
- 2025 W 14–12
- 2026 L 31–34
Lost the last one.
| Opponent | Games | LAM record |
|---|---|---|
| McNeese | 24 | 7–16–1 |
| Northwestern State | 18 | 8–10 |
| SE Louisiana | 15 | 4–11 |
| Nicholls | 14 | 8–6 |
| Louisiana | 14 | 4–9 † |
| Sam Houston | 13 | 4–9 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 13 | 4–9 |
| Incarnate Word | 13 | 5–8 |
Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.
Rivals the program names: Louisiana.
Every opponent (68)
Every program Lamar has played, A to Z, with Lamar’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Abilene Christian 5–4
- Arizona State 0–1
- Arkansas State 4–5
- Bacone College 2–0
- Baylor 1–3
- Bethel University Tennessee 1–0
- Central Arkansas 2–10
- Coastal Carolina 0–1
- Drake 1–3
- East Texas A&M 3–0
- Eastern Kentucky 0–1
- Georgia State 0–1
- Grambling 2–0
- Hawai’i 0–1
- Houston 0–4
- Houston Christian 5–3
- Howard Payne 1–0
- Idaho 1–1
- Incarnate Word 5–8
- Jacksonville State 0–1
- Kentucky Christian 1–0
- Langston 2–0
- Lincoln (CA) 1–0
- Long Beach State 1–2
- Louisiana 4–9 †
- Louisiana Tech 1–9
- McMurry 1–0
- McNeese 7–16–1
- Middle Tennessee 1–0
- Mississippi State 0–2
- Mississippi Valley State 2–0
- New Mexico State 4–7
- Nicholls 8–6
- North Dakota 0–1
- North Texas 1–2
- Northern Colorado 1–1
- Northern Illinois 1–0
- Northern Iowa 0–1
- Northwestern State 8–10
- Oklahoma Panhandle 2–0
- Oklahoma State 0–1
- Prairie View A&M 1–1
- Rice 0–4
- Sam Houston 4–9
- SE Louisiana 4–11
- SMU 0–1
- South Alabama 0–1
- South Dakota 2–1
- Southern Illinois 2–3
- Southern Miss 1–3
- Stephen F. Austin 4–9
- Tarleton State 0–1
- Texas A&M 0–2
- Texas College 1–0
- Texas Southern 3–0
- Texas State 0–3
- Texas Tech 0–3
- Texas–Arlington 3–8
- UL Monroe 3–4–1
- UNLV 0–0–1
- UT Rio Grande Valley 1–0
- UTEP 3–1
- UTSA 0–1
- Webber International 1–0
- Weber State 1–0
- West Texas 3–8–1
- Western Kentucky 1–0
- Western Michigan 0–1
Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.
Conference titles
5, counting shared titles- Lone Star Conference 1
- 1957 (shared)
As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.
Conferences
- Southland Conference 1982–1986
- Independent 1987–1989 and 2010
- Southland Conference 2011–2020
- Western Athletic Conference 2021
- Southland Conference since 2022
- 2010Went independent from the (non-football) in football. Source
- 2011Joined the Southland Conference from independence in football. Source
- 2021Joined the Western Athletic Conference from the Southland Conference, announced January 14, 2021. Source
- 2022Joined the Southland Conference from the Western Athletic Conference. Source
Lamar’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 7 since 1965
- First-round picks
- 0
The school
Lamar University- Enrollment
- 17,772 8,184 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Beaumont, Texas
- Public or private
- Public Research 2
- Founded
- 1923
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $49,652 10 years after starting
Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 1376 | ||||
| 2025 | 8–5 | 5–3 | 1329 | ||||
| 2024 | 7–5 | 4–3 | 1294 | ||||
| 2023 | 6–5 | 5–2 | 1222 | ||||
| 2022 | 1–10 | 1–5 | 1074 | ||||
| 2021 | 1–9 | 0–4 | 1097 | ||||
| 2020 | 2–4 | 1171 | |||||
| 2019 | 4–8 | 2–7 | 1175 | ||||
| 2018 | 7–5 | 6–3 | 1328 | ||||
| 2017 | 1–9 | 1–8 | 1107 | ||||
| 2016 | 3–8 | 3–6 | 1194 | ||||
| 2015 | 5–6 | 4–5 | 1303 | ||||
| 2014 | 6–4 | 5–3 | 1319 | ||||
| 2013 | 5–7 | 2–5 | 1255 | ||||
| 2012 | 4–8 | 1–6 | 1202 | ||||
| 2011 | 4–7 | 2–5 | 1189 | ||||
| 2010 | 4–5 | 1267 | |||||
| 1989 | 1–1 | 1292 | |||||
| 1988 | 0–2 | 1270 | |||||
| 1987 | 1–3 | 1277 | |||||
| 1986 | 0–1 | 1271 | |||||
| 1985 | 0–1 | 1280 | |||||
| 1984 | 0–1 | 1277 | |||||
| 1983 | 0–2 | 1300 | |||||
| 1982 | 0–2 | 1341 |
Every season back to 1961 (19 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 4–6–1 | 1–3–1 | Larry Kennan | 1311 | -4.9 | ||
| 1980 | 3–8 | 1–4 | Larry Kennan | 1311 | -27.6 | ||
| 1979 | 6–3–2 | 3–2 | Larry Kennan | 1461 | 6.5 | ||
| 1978 | 2–8–1 | 0–5 | Bob Frederick | 1276 | -18.1 | ||
| 1977 | 2–9 | 1–4 | Bob Frederick | 1266 | -18.5 | ||
| 1976 | 2–9 | 0–5 | Bob Frederick | 1222 | -19.7 | ||
| 1975 | 1–10 | 0–5 | Vernon Glass | 1291 | -15.5 | ||
| 1974 | 8–2 | 3–1 | Vernon Glass | 1431 | 4.6 | ||
| 1973 | 5–5 | 2–2 | Vernon Glass | 1238 | -30.3 | ||
| 1972 | 3–2 | 1212 | |||||
| 1971 | 1–2 | 1144 | |||||
| 1970 | 1–1 | 1153 | |||||
| 1969 | 1–0 | 1141 | |||||
| 1968 | 0–2 | 1129 | |||||
| 1967 | 0–1 | 1154 | |||||
| 1966 | 0–1 | 1186 | |||||
| 1965 | 1–1 | 1234 | |||||
| 1964 | 1–0 | 1247 | |||||
| 1961 | 1–0 | 1226 |
Officially 229–311–9 since 1923 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 117–190–4 (311 of its 549 games are on file). Our file starts in 1961; the program began in 1923. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1962–63, 1990–2009: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.