1981 Lamar Cardinals football team
| 1981 Lamar Cardinals football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Southland Conference |
| 1981 record | 4–6–1 (1–3–1 Southland) |
| Head coach | Larry Kennan (3rd year) |
| Home stadium |
Cardinal Stadium (Capacity: 17,500) |
| 1981 Southland Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas–Arlington $ | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| McNeese State | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas State | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana Tech | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lamar | 1 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southwestern Louisiana | 0 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 9 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1981 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals played their home games at Cardinal Stadium now named Provost Umphrey Stadium in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar finished the 1981 season with a 4–6–1 overall record and a 1–3–1 conference record. A highlight for the season was a last second victory over the defending Southwest Conference champion Baylor Bears at the Bears' home field, Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.[1]
Postseason
Move to NCAA Division I-AA
The 1981 season marked the Cardinals' final season at the NCAA Division I-A level. The Southland Conference along with several other conferences including the Ivy League, Southern Conference, several members of the Missouri Valley Conference, as well as several other teams were forced down to NCAA Division I-AA after failing to meet attendance / stadium size attendance requirements.[2]
Head coach resignation
The 1981 season was Larry Kennan's last season as the Cardinals' head football coach. Kennan left the team after the conclusion of the 1981 season to take an assistant coaching position with the Los Angeles Rams.[3]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5 | at Baylor* | Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX | W 18–17 | ||||||
| September 19 | vs. Sam Houston State* | Astrodome • Houston, TX | W 50–7 | ||||||
| September 26 | Southwest Texas State* | Cardinal Stadium • Beaumont, TX | L 7–24 | ||||||
| October 3 | Stephen F. Austin* | Cardinal Stadium • Beaumont, TX | L 10–13 | ||||||
| October 10 | at Northeast Louisiana* | Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA | W 17–13 | ||||||
| October 17 | Louisiana Tech | Cardinal Stadium • Beaumont, TX | L 7–16 | ||||||
| October 31 | McNeese State | Cardinal Stadium • Beaumont, TX | T 20–20 | ||||||
| November 7 | at Arkansas State | Indian Stadium • Jonesboro, AR | L 9–16 | ||||||
| November 14 | Southwestern Louisiana | Cardinal Stadium • Beaumont, TX | W 14–12 | ||||||
| November 21 | at Texas–Arlington | Maverick Stadium • Arlington, TX | L 7–31 | ||||||
| November 28 | at Southern Miss* | M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS | L 14–45 | ||||||
*Non-conference game.  Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time. | |||||||||
References
- ↑ "Alabama Beats L.S.U.; Lamar Upsets Baylor 18-17". The New York Times. New York Times. September 6, 1981. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
Mike Marlow kicked a 42-yard field goal with three seconds to play to give Lamar an upset of Baylor, the defending Southwest Conference champion, in a nonconference game.
- ↑ Gordon S. White, Jr. (December 5, 1981). "Ivy League is Forced to Lose Major-team Football Status". The New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ↑ Thomas Rogers (June 7, 1982). "Sports World Specials; Quality Control Engineer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ↑ "2015 Lamar University Football". Lamar University Athletics. pp. 109–110. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ↑ David DeLassus. "Lamar Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved March 28, 2016.