The Sam Houston Bearkats are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

, located in

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. Its population was 45,941 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville United States micropolitan area, micropolitan area ...

. Sam Houston's colors are

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

. Sam Houston sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS-formerly known as Division I-A) for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

) in

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

(CUSA), having joined that conference on July 1, 2023 after spending 34 years in the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...

and two years in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

(WAC). SHSU's primary rival is Stephen F. Austin (SFA) and tensions between the two schools can run high before major sporting events that pit one against the other. As a whole, the Sam Houston athletic department captured the Southland Conference Commissioner's Cup in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019 for all-around athletic department and topped the Southland Conference for all-academic recognition. The Kats are the only athletic department in the Southland Conference to get the Commissioner's Cup for 3 consecutive years while the 7 total cups are the most in league history. Sam Houston's move to the WAC was announced on January 14, 2021 as part of a major expansion of that conference. Also announced as future WAC members were three other Southland members from Texas ( Abilene Christian, Lamar, SFA) plus

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

member

Southern Utah Dixie is a nickname for the populated, lower-elevation area of south-central Washington County, the southwest corner of the State of Utah, bordering nearby Arizona to the south, and Nevada to the west. The area lies in the northeastern Mojave ...

. Initially, all five schools were to join in July 2022, but the entry of SHSU and the other Texas schools was moved to 2021 after the Southland expelled its departing members. Sam Houston was announced as a future member of

effective July 1, 2023 on November 5, 2021.

Sports sponsored

Baseball

Bryce Johnson Bryce Owen Johnson (born April 18, 1977) is an American actor. Early life Johnson was born in Reno, Nevada. He has an older brother, Brendon, and a younger brother, Brett. He moved to Denver, Colorado, at the age of five. He graduated from high ...

, now an outfielder for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in Major League Baseball, played for the Bearkats.

Basketball

Both men's and women's basketball teams hold home games in

Bernard Johnson Coliseum Bernard Johnson Coliseum is a 6,110-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. It was built in 1976 and is home to the Sam Houston Bearkats men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the Bear ...

located on the campus of Sam Houston State University. Built in 1976, Johnson Coliseum is a 6,100 multi-seat arena that serves as host to both basketball and volleyball home matches.

Men's basketball

The men's program has been the most consistent in the conference over the past decade under the direction of former head coach

Bob Marlin Robert Lee Marlin (born March 5, 1959) is an American college basketball coach who is the former head men's basketball coach for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team. He was relieved of his coaching duties on December 19, 2024 ...

, winning regular season titles in 2000 and 2003 with an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2003 (the first in school history), and again in 2010. The Bearkat men's basketball team has won more games in the 11 seasons under Coach Marlin than any other Southland school. The team also ranks #2 in wins among Division I schools in Texas in the current decade behind the Texas Longhorns. The Bearkat teams under Coach Marlin have compiled five 20-win seasons. Marlin's teams have been the only teams among Texas Division I programs to win at least 2 conference championships in the past 6 seasons. Under the direction of Bob Marlin, Bearkat men's basketball players have broken 23 school records and 30 Division I school records. Since the departure of

to the University of Louisiana in 2010, the Bearkat Men's Basketball team has been under the direction of

Jason Hooten Jason Trey Hooten (born April 20, 1969) is the head coach of the New Mexico State University men's basketball program as of March 2025. Hooten was previously head coach at Sam Houston State University for 13 seasons. And was an assistant coach ...

, who had previously served as an assistant under Bob Marlin. In his first year as

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

, Hooten produced an 18–13 record, while garnishing a #3 seed in the

tournament.

Women's basketball

The women's basketball team began play in 1969 under coach Jody Conradt and were a force in their first 5 seasons with an overall 92–31 record. Under current head coach Brenda Nicholls the Bearkats have seen success in recent years, earning Southland Conference tournament berths in each of the last four seasons, including one regular season conference championship, a tournament final, a

Women's Basketball Invitational The Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) is a women's college basketball tournament created in 2009 by Sport Tours. The inaugural tournament occurred at the conclusion of the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Selections for ...

appearance and a WNIT appearance. In team history, the squad has seen postseason action in 20 seasons, with the most successful run being in 2013 where the Bearkats earned berth into the

Women's National Invitation Tournament The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a women's national college basketball tournament. It used to feature both a preseason and postseason version played every year, but the preseason tournament was last held in 2023. It is operate ...

, where the team lost to

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

in the opening round, 57–65. The Bearkats lone Women's Basketball conference championship came in 2013. The women's basketball program is among the most efficient programs in NCAA Division I, ranking #2 nationally in cost per win in 2006 at less than $25,000 per win with 18 wins against Division I opponents (21 overall).

Football

K. C. Keeler is currently the head coach of the Bearkats. Keeler previously coached

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

to three FCS Championship games, winning one in 2003. The Sam Houston Bearkats won the 2020 NCAA Division I Championship with a 23–21 victory of South Dakota State. During their time in the FCS, Sam Houston became a powerhouse name in the subdivision. The Bearkats made 11 FCS Playoff appearances between 2000 and 2021, their final season of eligibility in the FCS. In that time frame, the Bearkats boast 22 playoff wins, 8 conference titles, 7 semifinal appearances and a National Championship. Every year, the "

Battle of the Piney Woods The Battle of the Piney Woods is a college football rivalry between Sam Houston State University (SHSU) located in Huntsville, Texas and Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) located in Nacogdoches, Texas. The rivalry The Battle of the Pin ...

" rivalry game is held between the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and the Bearkats. The Bearkats have dominated the rivalry for the past decade and own an all-time advantage in the football series 58-35–2, including 18 of the last 21 and each of the last 10. Since 2010 the rivalry game has been played at NRG Stadium in Houston, the home of the Houston Texans. The game annually draws one of the largest crowds of the season in the FCS. Sam Houston usually brings about 20,000 fans to the game in Houston. The Bearkats shared the NAIA national title with Concordia (MN) in 1964, when they finished the national championship game in a 7–7 tie.

Previous coaching history

Willie Fritz Willie Fritz (born April 2, 1960) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of Houston. Fritz served as the head football coach at University of Central Missouri from 1997 to 2009, Sa ...

was the head football coach (2010–2013) at Sam Houston and was the 2011 American Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year and 2012 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year. In 2011, Fritz's second year as head coach, the Bearkats were the only FCS school to have an undefeated regular season thus earning the team the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The 2011 Bearkats were NCAA Division I National Championship Finalists, eventually losing to the

North Dakota State Bison The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison. Sports sponsored ...

in the FCS National Championship game. They would return to the title game the following season, only to lose to the North Dakota State Bison again. However, on May 2, 2021 the Bearkats defeated the NDSU Bison in the quarterfinals of the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS championship.

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Sam Houston State Bearkats, color=white , list = {{Conference USA navbox {{Texas sports