General History
Athletics at Lamar University began when the school began as South Park Junior College in September 1923. Initially the school was using the name "Brahmas" as its mascot. When the school changed its name in 1932 to reflect that it served a much wider area than just south park, a contest was held to determine the school's name. When Lamar was finally chosen, John Gray — head coach and athletic director at the time dropped the old athletic nickname "Brahmas" and chose a new name, "Cardinals."
When Lamar became a four-year college in 1951, it entered the highly competitive Lone Star Conference, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) association.
The school has been in several conferences, including:
Conference History:
- Lone Star Conference 1951-52 to 1962-63
- Southland Conference 1963-64 to 1985-86; rejoined 1999-2000 to Present
- American South Conference (Football Independent) 1986-87 to 1990-91
- Sun Belt Conference (American South Conference was merged into the Sun Belt) 1991-92 to 1997-98
- NCAA Division I Independent 1998-99
Read more about this topic: Lamar Cardinals And Lady Cardinals
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