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Humble Beginnings
Sam Houston Athletics Through the Years
1900s
April 2, 1906. Sam Houston fields its first athletic team in the sport of baseball.
1910s
October 6, 1912. Rice defeats Sam Houston 20-6 in the first football game ever played by either school.
January 29, 1918. Known then as “The Normals,” Sam Houston’s first basketball team defeats Alexander College 35-2 in the first game of an undefeated 7-0 season.
1920s
April 1, 1923. Sam Houston joins the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA), its first intercollegiate athletics conference affiliation. During the season, Sam Houston adopts “Bearkats” as the nickname for athletic teams.
1930s
November 24, 1930. The Bearkats defeat Stephen F. Austin 20-0 in Huntsville to complete an undefeated (9-0-1) season and clinch the TIAA football championship for Sam Houston’s first conference title on the gridiron.
April 25, 1931. Sam Houston joins East Texas State, North Texas, Southwest Texas and Stephen F. Austin as charter members of the Lone Star Conference.
1940s
March 1, 1940. As a member of the Lone Star Conference, Sam Houston makest its first intercollegiate affiliation by becoming a member of the Nat. Assoc. of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
1950s
December 1, 1956. Sam Houston defeats Middle Tennessee 27-13 in the Refrigerator Bowl in Evansville, Ind., to complete the Bearkats’ only perfect football season (10-0).
1960s
June 8, 1963. Fred Beene allows only three hits against Grambling as Sam Houston defeats the Tigers 2-1 to win the NAIA World Series Baseball National Championship in Emporia, Kansas.
12, 1964. The Bearkats and Concordia (Minn.) battle to a 7-7 tie in the NAIA finals in Augusta, Ga., as the Bearkats become NAIA Football National co-champs.
1970s
March 2, 1973. The Bearkats defeat St. Mary’s (Texas) 61-54 to earn a berth in the NAIA National Basketball Championships in Kansas City, ending the regular season with a 27-0 record and a number one ranking in the Associated Press poll.
November 29, 1979. The first Sam Houston women’s basketball team takes the floor as women’s varsity sports teams come under the umbrella of the Bearkat athletic department. The first women’s softball squad begins competition one year later.
1980s
June 15, 1981. The affiliation of Sam Houston and the other Lone Star Conference members with the NCAA at the Division II level is accepted. The NCAA designates the 1982-83 season as Sam Houston’s first as an NCAA Division II team.
May 28, 1981. A game-winning double in the bottom of the seventh inning gives Sam Houston a 1-0 victory over Emporia State and its first women’s sports title as the Bearkats capture the first ever NAIA softball national championship.
May 17, 1982. In Sam Houston’s first season of competition at the NCAA Division II level, they defeated Northridge State 3-2 to win the NCAA Division II softball national championship at the NCAA World Series in Bridgeport, Conn.
September 26, 1983. Sam Houston joins Nicholls, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, Southwest Texas and Stephen F. Austin to form the Gulf Star Conference. Competition in the new league begins during the 1984-85 school year.
September 13, 1986. Bearkat Stadium (renamed Bowers Stadium in 1990 to honor former SHSU president Elliott T. Bowers) opens with a 23-6 victory over Montana State. The 14,000-seat complex is considered one of the finest in NCAA Division I-AA football.
April 24, 1987. Sam Houston completes its move up to the NCAA Division I level (NCAA Division I-AA in football) as the university moves with four other Gulf Star members (Nicholls, Northwestern State, Southwest Texas and Stephen F. Austin) into the Southland Conference.
1990s
November 20, 1993. Sam Houston volleyball defeats Stephen F. Austin in four games to win the Southland Conference postseason tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament, the Bearkats’ first appearance in an NCAA Division I women’s national championship event.
May 23, 1996. Sam Houston baseball, making its third NCAA Division I national playoff appearance, upsets No. 2 Miami (FL), 5-4, in Austin for the highest ranked NCAA Division I victory by any Bearkat team.
2000s
March 14, 2003. The Bearkats defeat Stephen F. Austin in overtime 69-66 to earn Sam Houston its first NCAA Division I basketball tournament berth.
August 29, 2003. Women’s soccer takes the field as the 16th NCAA Division I sport for Sam Houston athletics in a home game against SMU.
2010s
March 13, 2010. Sam Houston defeats Stephen F. Austin 64-48 on ESPN2 to win the Southland Conference men’s basketball tournament championship.
December 16, 2011. Sam Houston football beats Montana in an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) semifinal game, holding on for a 31-28 win to advance to the first national championship game in program history.
April 13, 2014. The women’s bowling program beats Nebraska to claim the first NCAA Division I national championship for Sam Houston Athletics.
June 5, 2017. Baseball wins a winner-take-all game seven in the Lubbock Regional over Texas Tech to clinch a spot in the NCAA Super Regionals. The Kats, who were one loss from elimination, won three games in less than 24 hours over the Red Raiders and Arizona to become the first Southland Conference team to advance to a Super Regional.
January 5, 2018. Jeremiah Briscoe repeats as the Walter Payton Award winner joining Appalachian State’s Armanti Edwards as the only repeat winner of the award.
March 10, 2018. Tyler Adams finishes third at the NCAA Track & Field Indoor Championships in College Station in the Heptathlon. By taking the bronze, he became the first SHSU athlete to medal at an NCAA Championship event.
April 17, 2019. Women’s golf wins their first Southland title in 12 years and earn the program’s first trip to the NCAA Regionals.
May 10, 2019. Softball wins the Southland Conference tournament to claim both the regular season and postseason titles in the same season. The Kats went on to upset Texas 2-1 in the opening game of the NCAA Austin Regional.
2020s
March 14, 2020. Southland Conference shuts down all athletic activities in response to worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
January 14, 2021. Sam Houston officially accepts invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference, joining fellow SLC members Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian and Lamar in the move.
April 11, 2021. Women’s tennis finishes 10-1 in Southland Conference play to win the first Division I conference championship in program history.
May 16, 2021. With a touchdown in the closing seconds, Football wins the FCS National Championship over South Dakota State 23-21. It’s the first national championship for the program at the NCAA Division I level. It also capped a perfect 10-0 record in the unique spring football season.
May 30, 2021. Men’s Golf makes the cut at the NCAA Championships at Greyhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. Competing on the final day of stroke play, the Bearkats finished in a tie for ninth at the championship.
July 11, 2021. Colton Cowser is selected fifth overall by the Baltimore Orioles in the Major League Baseball Draft. It’s the highest selection of a Bearkat and Southland Conference player in the draft.
November 5, 2021. Sam Houston officially accepts invitation to join Conference USA and began the process of transitioning the football program to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level.
June 9, 2022. Clayton Fritsch takes silver at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in the pole vault. Fritsch capped a historic career as one of the most decorated track and field athletes in school history. He placed third at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships and he took the bronze at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
