CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Southland Conference officially took a major hit Wednesday when it was formally announced that four of its members would be heading out to the Western Athletic Conference.
These moves have been in the works for a few months, but it is now official with Sam Houston State, Stephen F Austin, Lamar and Abilene Christian all leaving for the WAC.
They leave behind Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and (for now) seven other schools in the Southland. The conference has already hired a search firm to explore potential new members.
3Sports had a chance to talk with Islanders Athletic Director Jon Palumbo to see what these moves mean for the Islanders and the conference as a whole going forward. Even though the move made by the "Texas 4" schools was mostly football-driven, Palumbo says there are currently no plans for A&M-Corpus Christi to explore the viability of a football program.