Gulf Star Conference

The Gulf Star Conference was an NCAA Division II^[1] conference that existed for three academic years from 1984–85 to 1986–87. All of the schools subsequently joined the Southland Conference. Dave Waples was the only commissioner, with the conference office located in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Gulf Star Conference

Conference	NCAA
Founded	1984
Ceased	1987
Division	Division II
No. of teams	6
Region	Southern United States
Locations

Aftermath

Although the Southland eventually took in all of the former Gulf Star schools, only four (Northwestern State, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, and Southwest Texas State) joined the Southland immediately upon the Gulf Star's demise. The other two Gulf Star members, Nicholls State and Southeastern Louisiana, initially became independents. Nicholls State joined the SLC for the 1991–92 school year. SLU became a member of the Trans America Athletic Conference (now known as the Atlantic Sun Conference) in that same year, and moved to the Southland in 1997–98. To date, only Nicholls State, Northwestern State, and Southeastern Louisiana remain in the Southland Conference, as Southwest Texas State (now known as Texas State) joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2013 while Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin moved to the Western Athletic Conference in 2021.

Member schools

Final members

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Joined[a]	Left[b]	Subsequent conference(s)	Current conference
Nicholls State University[2]	Colonels	Thibodaux, Louisiana	1948	Public	1984	1987	D-I Independent (1987–91)	Southland (1991–present)
Northwestern State University	Demons	Natchitoches, Louisiana	1884				Southland (1987–present)
Sam Houston State University	Bearkats	Huntsville, Texas	1879				Southland (1987–2021) Western (WAC) (2021–2023)	C-USA (2023–present)
Southeastern Louisiana University	Lions	Hammond, Louisiana	1925				D-I Independent (1987–91) Trans America (TAAC)[c] (1991–97)	Southland (1997–present)
Southwest Texas State University[d]	Bobcats	San Marcos, Texas	1899				Southland (1987–2012) Western (WAC) (2012–13)	Sun Belt (2013–present) (Pac-12 in 2026)
Stephen F. Austin State University	Lumberjacks & Ladyjacks	Nacogdoches, Texas	1921				Southland (1987–2021) Western (WAC) (2021–2024)	Southland (2024–present)

Notes

1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
2. Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
3. Currently known as the Atlantic Sun Conference since 2001.
4. Currently known as Texas State University since 2003.

Membership timeline

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football)   Associate member (sport) 

Championships

Baseball

Gulf Star Conference baseball champions

Season	Team	Record
1985	Nicholls State	12–6
	Sam Houston State
1986	Sam Houston State	16–4
1987	Sam Houston State	17–3

^[3]

Football

Gulf Star Conference football champions

Season	Team	Record
1984	Nicholls State	4–1
	Northwestern State
1985	Sam Houston State	4–1
	Stephen F. Austin
1986	Sam Houston State	3–1

^[4]

Men's basketball

See also: Gulf Star Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

Gulf Star Conference basketball champions

Season	Team	Record
1984–85	Southeastern Louisiana
1985–86	Sam Houston State
1986–87	Stephen F. Austin