College Sports Established
1925
Location
Hammond, Louisiana
College Name
Southeastern Louisiana University
Collegiate History
1997 - Present / NCAA Division I
Conference History
1997 - Present / Southland Conference
Nickname
Lions - We will explore the origins of the Southeastern Louisiana Lions' nickname in the NCAA. The university is located in Hammond, Louisiana, and was founded as a regular school in 1925. It wasn’t until 1940 that they began competing athletically at the Division I level and adopted their current mascot – The Lions - shortly after that.
The story behind why this particular animal was chosen goes back to the late 19th century when two lion cubs were presented as gifts from an African King to President Theodore Roosevelt during his visit there on a hunting expedition. When he returned home with them, they became national celebrities overnight due to their exotic nature. They even made appearances at public events across America, including one held near Southeastern Louisiana University's campus, where local students were inspired by these majestic creatures, leading them to choose it as their official mascot for the athletics program over other contenders like bears or eagles.
In addition, the choice of lions also reflected well with the university's core values, including courage, strength & leadership qualities- all traits associated with lions symbolizing power & dominance. Furthermore, the Lion being native species of Africa- the birthplace of many student-athletes attending college here further added symbolic weightage, making it a perfect fit for the school’s athletic team's name.
So there you have it, folks! That is how "Southeastern Louisiana Lions" came into existence, giving us another great example showcasing power symbolism can play a significant role while picking up the right mascots for any team/organization representing its spirit on the field/court or anywhere else out there!
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men's Basketball 0
Women's Basketball 0
Football 0
Soccer 0
- 1930
- 1948
- 2005
- 2019
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Southeastern Louisiana Lions football program is established
In 1930: The Southeastern Louisiana Lions football program is established as the intercollegiate American football team for Southeastern Louisiana University located in Hammond, Louisiana. -
Southeastern Louisiana Lions basketball team plays its first season
In 1948: The Southeastern Louisiana Lions basketball team plays its first season as a member of the Gulf States Conference. -
Southeastern Louisiana Lions baseball team wins its first Southland Conference tournament
in 2005: The Southeastern Louisiana Lions baseball team wins its first Southland Conference tournament and makes its first NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament appearance. -
Southeastern Louisiana Lions men’s basketball team wins its second Southland Conference
In 2019: The Southeastern Louisiana Lions men’s basketball team wins its second Southland Conference regular season title and makes its second NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament appearance, losing to Villanova 86-61 in the first round.
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
History of the Lions
The Southeastern Louisiana Lions have been a college football team in the NCAA since 2003. The Lions have had an impressive history of success, including multiple conference championships and bowl game appearances. They recently won the Southland Conference championship in 2019 and earned their first-ever bowl game victory with a win over Jacksonville State University in the 2020 Cure Bowl.
Since joining Division, I FCS, Southeastern Louisiana has compiled an impressive record of winning seasons and postseason berths. They have made it to four straight postseasons from 2016-2019 under head coach Ron Roberts, including back-to-back Southland Conference Championships (2017 & 2018). This streak was broken when they finished 4th place in 2020 due to several critical injuries throughout the season, but they still managed to make it into a bowl game for only their second time ever as members of Division I FCS play!
Offensively, quarterback Cole Kelley led one of SLU’s most explosive offenses during his tenure at SELA leading them all four years he was there (2016 - 2019) while throwing for 8500+ yards and 73 touchdowns and rushing for nearly 1000 yards himself! During this same span, wide receiver Juwan Petit Frere set numerous school records, including receptions (192), receiving yards (2753), and touchdown catches(23), among other categories making him one of SLU’s most outstanding players ever on offense! On defense, linebacker Chason Virgil also left his mark here at SLU, recording 340 tackles, good enough for 5th all-time amongst Lion defenders, and picking off 7 passes during his career here.
Overall, fans should be excited about what is going on down south at Southeastern Louisiana Football program because not only do we have great coaches like Ron Roberts who know how to develop talent, but we also boast some great athletes such as Cole Kelley, Juwan Petit Frere, and Chason Virgil name few who can help us continue our winning ways moving forward! Go lions!!
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