About Texas A and M Commerce

The Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football team (formerly the East Texas Lions and East Texas State Lions) is the college football program representing Texas A&M University–Commerce. The school competes in the Southland Conference (SLC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Prior to joining the Southland, they competed in the Lone Star Conference of Division II. The A&M–Commerce football team plays its home games at Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium on the university campus in Commerce, Texas. On Dec. 16, 2017, A&M-Commerce won its first NCAA Division II national championship, by defeating West Florida, 37-27, in Kansas City. The Lions recorded a perfect record in 1934, won the NAIA National Championship in 1972, and have amassed a total of 24 LSC conference championships since joining as a charter member in 1931. On September 28, 2021, the university accepted an invitation from the Southland Conference, moving the university's athletics programs up to the NCAA Division I level. This ended a 90-year affiliation with the Lone Star Conference, as A&M-Commerce was the last founding member remaining. The football team will compete at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level beginning in the 2022 season.

The school, which has fielded football teams since 1915, has produced numerous National Football League players, including Autry Beamon, Dee Mackey, Harvey Martin, Alan Veingrad, Dwight White, and Wade Wilson. Beginning in 2023, the program will be coached by Clint Dolezel.