Lamar Cardinals

The Lamar Cardinals bring a proud basketball tradition to the Texas Gulf Coast, playing home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont. Lamar has bounced between conferences over the decades but has landed back in the Southland, where it first built its reputation as a program capable of real NCAA Tournament noise. The Cardinals' style has long been built on tempo and toughness, punching above their mid-major weight against much bigger programs. Beaumont basketball fans know their Cardinals as a program with real history behind the name.

Basketball at what became Lamar began in 1923 with the founding of South Park Junior College, later renamed Lamar. The program's signature moment came in the 1979-80 season, when Lamar reached the Sweet Sixteen after upsetting 7-seed Weber State and 2-seed Oregon State — still the deepest NCAA Tournament run in school history. The Cardinals have made six total NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently in 2012, spanning stints in the Southland, Sun Belt, and Western Athletic conferences before returning to the Southland in 2022. That Sweet Sixteen run remains the high-water mark of Lamar basketball.