# Southland Conference men's basketball tournament

The Southland Conference's men's basketball tournament began in 1981, with the winner of the tournament receiving the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
From 1981 to 2001, the first round of the tournament took place at the higher seed, with the remaining rounds at a set location. In 2002, the Southland changed the format to play games at the campus of sites of each higher seed, during every round of the tournament. This was changed again in 2007, the first year that the conference selected a neutral site for all rounds of the tournament.
Starting with the 2023 edition, the event is held at The Legacy Center on the campus of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, reportedly as part of a deal that kept McNeese in the Southland after it had been courted by Conference USA and nearly joined the Western Athletic Conference. This move followed a 15-season run (2008–2022) at Leonard E. Merrell Center in the Houston suburb of Katy, Texas.

## Tournament results

| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up | Tournament MVP | Location |
| 1981 | Lamar | 83–69 | Louisiana Tech | Mike Olliver, Lamar | first round at campus sites; rest at Beaumont Civic Center, Beaumont, Texas |
| 1982 | Southwestern Louisiana | 81–75 | Texas–Arlington | Alford Turner, Southwestern Louisiana | Blackham Coliseum, Lafayette, Louisiana |
| 1983 | Lamar | 75–54 | North Texas State | Kenneth Lyons, North Texas & Lamont Robinson, Lamar | Beaumont Civic Center |
| 1984 | Louisiana Tech | 68–65 | Lamar | Willie Simmons, Louisiana Tech | first round at campus sites; rest at Beaumont Civic Center |
| 1985 | Louisiana Tech | 70–69 | Lamar | Jerry Everett, Lamar | first round at campus sites; rest at Thomas Assembly Center, Ruston, Louisiana |
| 1986 | Northeast Louisiana | 59–57 | McNeese State | Arthur Hayes, Northeast Louisiana | first round at campus sites; rest at Fant–Ewing Coliseum, Monroe, Louisiana |
| 1987 | Louisiana Tech | 58–51 | Arkansas State | Robert Godbolt, Louisiana Tech | first round at campus sites; rest at Thomas Assembly Center |
| 1988 | North Texas | 87–70 | Northeast Louisiana | Tony Worrell, North Texas | first round at campus sites; rest at UNT Coliseum, Denton, Texas |
| 1989 | McNeese State | 85–68 | North Texas | Michael Cutright, McNeese State | first round at campus sites; rest at UNT Coliseum, Denton, Texas |
| 1990 | Northeast Louisiana | 84–68 | North Texas | Anthony Jones, Northeast Louisiana | Fant–Ewing Coliseum |
| 1991 | Northeast Louisiana | 87–60 | Texas–Arlington | Anthony Jones, Northeast Louisiana | Fant–Ewing Coliseum |
| 1992 | Northeast Louisiana | 81–77 | Texas–San Antonio | Ryan Stuart, Louisiana-Monroe | Convocation Center, San Antonio, Texas |
| 1993 | Northeast Louisiana | 80–66 | Texas–San Antonio | Ryan Stuart, Northeast Louisiana | Fant–Ewing Coliseum |
| 1994 | Southwest Texas State | 69–60 | North Texas | Lynwood Wade, Southwest Texas State | Fant–Ewing Coliseum |
| 1995 | Nicholls State | 98–87 | Northeast Louisiana | Reggie Jackson, Nicholls State | first round at campus sites; rest at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana |
| 1996 | Northeast Louisiana | 71–60 | North Texas | Paul Marshall, Northeast Louisiana | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum |
| 1997 | Southwest Texas State | 74–64 | Northeast Louisiana | Dameon Sansom, Texas State | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum |
| 1998 | Nicholls State | 84–81 | Texas–Arlington | Donald Harris, Texas–Arlington | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum |
| 1999 | Texas–San Antonio | 71–63 | Southwest Texas State | Steve Meyer, Texas–San Antonio | Gold Dome, Shreveport, Louisiana |
| 2000 | Lamar | 62–55 | Northwestern State | Landon Rowe, Lamar | first round at campus sites; rest at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum |
| 2001 | Northwestern State | 72–71 | McNeese State | Michael Byars-Dawson, Northwestern State | first round at campus sites; rest at CenturyTel Center, Bossier City, Louisiana |
| 2002 | McNeese State | 65–43 | Louisiana-Monroe | Fred Gentry, McNeese State | all at campus sites; finals at Burton Coliseum, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2003 | Sam Houston State | 69–66 (OT) | Stephen F. Austin | Donald Cole, Sam Houston State | all at campus sites; finals at Bernard Johnson Coliseum, Huntsville, Texas |
| 2004 | Texas–San Antonio | 74–70 | Stephen F. Austin | LeRoy Hurd, Texas–San Antonio | all at campus sites; finals at Convocation Center |
| 2005 | Southeastern Louisiana | 49–42 | Northwestern State | Ricky Woods, Southeastern Louisiana | all at campus sites; finals at Prather Coliseum, Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| 2006 | Northwestern State | 95–87 | Sam Houston State | Clifton Lee, Northwestern State | all at campus sites; finals at Prather Coliseum, Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| 2007 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 81–78 | Northwestern State | Chris Daniels, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Campbell Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2008 | Texas–Arlington | 82–79 | Northwestern State | Anthony Vereen, Texas–Arlington | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2009 | Stephen F. Austin | 68–57 | UTSA | Matt Kingsley, Stephen F. Austin | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2010 | Sam Houston State | 64–48 | Stephen F. Austin | Ashton Mitchell, Sam Houston State | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2011 | UTSA | 75–72 | McNeese State | Devin Gibson, UTSA | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2012 | Lamar | 70–49 | McNeese State | Mike James, Lamar | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2013 | Northwestern State | 68–66 | Stephen F. Austin | Shamir Davis, Northwestern State | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2014 | Stephen F. Austin* | 68–49 | Sam Houston State | Thomas Walkup, Stephen F. Austin | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2015 | Stephen F. Austin* | 83–70 | Sam Houston State | Thomas Walkup, Stephen F. Austin | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2016 | Stephen F. Austin* | 82–60 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Thomas Walkup, Stephen F. Austin | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2017 | New Orleans | 68–65 (OT) | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Erik Thomas, New Orleans | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2018 | Stephen F. Austin* | 59–55 | Southeastern Louisiana | T. J. Holyfield, Stephen F. Austin | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2019 | Abilene Christian | 77–60 | New Orleans | Jaren Lewis, Abilene Christian | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2020 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 |
| 2021 | Abilene Christian | 79–46 | Nicholls | Kolton Kohl, Abilene Christian | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2022 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 73–65 | Southeastern Louisiana | Terrion Murdix, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas |
| 2023 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 75–71 | Northwestern State | Jalen Jackson, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2024 | McNeese | 92–76 | Nicholls | Shahada Wells, McNeese | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2025 | McNeese | 63–54 | Lamar | Quadir Copeland, McNeese | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2026 | | | | | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2027 | | | | | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2028 | | | | | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2029 | | | | | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
Note: Northeast Louisiana and Southwestern Louisiana became Louisiana–Monroe and Louisiana–Lafayette, respectively, in 1999; the latter has since changed its athletic branding to solely Louisiana. Southwest Texas State became Texas State in 2003.
Note on asterisks: Stephen F. Austin kept academically ineligible players from 2013-2020.

## Performance by school

Schools indicated in italics with a pink background are no longer in the SLC, as of the current 2024–25 NCAA basketball season. In 2024–25, UTRGV is playing its first SLC season, and Stephen F. Austin returned to the SLC after a three-year absence.
| School | Championships | Championship Years |
| Louisiana–Monroe | 6 | 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 5 | 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 |
| Lamar | 4 | 1981, 1983, 2000, 2012 |
| McNeese | 4 | 1989, 2002, 2024, 2025 |
| Northwestern State | 3 | 2001, 2006, 2013 |
| Louisiana Tech | 3 | 1984, 1985, 1987 |
| UTSA | 3 | 1999, 2004, 2011 |
| Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 3 | 2007, 2022, 2023 |
| Abilene Christian | 2 | 2019, 2021 |
| Nicholls | 2 | 1995, 1998 |
| Sam Houston State | 2 | 2003, 2010 |
| Texas State | 2 | 1994, 1997 |
| New Orleans | 1 | 2017 |
| North Texas | 1 | 1988 |
| Southeastern Louisiana | 1 | 2005 |
| Southwestern Louisiana | 1 | 1982 |
| UT Arlington | 1 | 2008 |
| TOTAL | 43 | |
* 1 2 3 4 5 Stephen F. Austin used academically ineligible players from 2013-2020.

## All-Time Tournament Standings

| School | Record | Winning pct | Championships | Runners-up | Appearances |
| Current Members ||||||
| Lamar | 21–14 | .600 | 4 | 2 | 18 |
| Northwestern State | 21–15 | .583 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 23–17 | .575 | 5 | 4 | 22 |
| New Orleans | 5-4 | .556 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 8–8 | .500 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| McNeese | 24-28 | .461 | 2 | 3 | 29 |
| Southeastern Louisiana | 9-14 | .391 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Nicholls | 9–15 | .375 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| Houston Christian | 3-6 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Incarnate Word | 0-0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Former Members ||||||
| Abilene Christian | 2–0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana) | 4-1 | .800 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Louisiana Tech | 9-4 | .692 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Louisiana–Monroe | 21-16 | .568 | 6 | 4 | 22 |
| UTSA | 17-15 | .531 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
| Sam Houston | 20–20 | .500 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
| North Texas | 11-11 | .500 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| Arkansas State | 4-6 | .400 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Texas State | 10-15 | .400 | 2 | 1 | 17 |
| UT Arlington | 13-25 | .342 | 1 | 3 | 26 |
| Oral Roberts | 1-2 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Central Arkansas | 1–3 | .250 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Italicized indicates former member as of the 2024–25 NCAA basketball season. Sources:

## Television coverage

| Year | Network | Play-by-play | Analyst |
| 2024 | ESPN2 | David Saltzman | Ben Braun |
| 2023 | ESPN2 | David Saltzman | Ben Braun |
| 2022 | ESPN2 | David Saltzman | Ben Braun |
| 2021 | ESPN2 | Matt Schick | Joe Kleine |
| 2020 | ESPN2 | Lowell Galindo | Lance Blanks |
| 2019 | ESPN2 | Lowell Galindo | Reid Gettys |
| 2018 | ESPN2 | Lowell Galindo | Lance Blanks |
| 2017 | ESPN2 | Lowell Galindo | Lance Blanks |
| 2016 | ESPN2 | Bob Wischusen | Sean Harrington |
| 2015 | ESPN2 | Mark Neely | Stephen Howard |
| 2014 | ESPN2 | Carter Blackburn | Stephen Howard |
| 2013 | ESPN2 | Carter Blackburn | Mark Adams |
| 2012 | ESPN2 | Carter Blackburn | Dereck Whittenburg |
| 2011 | ESPN2 | Carter Blackburn | Dereck Whittenburg |
| 2010 | ESPN2 | Lou Canellis | Mike Kelley |
| 2009 | ESPN2 | Dave Barnett | Mike Kelley |
| 2008 | ESPN2 | Dave Barnett | Bucky Walters |
| 2007 | ESPN2 | Eric Collins | Jimmy Dykes |