2021 changed the trajectory of Sam Houston State’s football program.
In January of 2021, the Bearkats announced the agreement to leave the Southland Conference and later that year they joined the Western Athletic Conference.
But before the turf could be laid down to include the WAC logos at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium, Sam Houston had to play its belated COVID-19 season.
Going 7-5 the year before, Sam Houston stepped up to go on a six-win run, making it through the Southland Conference undefeated in the strange spring season. Earning a spot in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, Sam Houston went on to win its three games en route to the championship — all in one-score fashion.
The close-win trend did not stop there, as with 16 seconds left on the clock, quarterback Eric Schmid connected with receiver Ife Adeyi for a 10-yard touchdown to propel the Bearkats to a 23-21 victory over South Dakota State in the FCS National Championship.
“It just showed such character by our kids. You’re talking about the ultimate game and you have to make one last drive,” said K.C. Keeler, the former Sam Houston State head coach. “It’s really a special group when you consider this thing started in June and we had no idea when this thing would ever end. You know, we decided not to play a fall season … It’s been an emotion-draining year, a physically draining year.”
Two months later, Sam Houston fulfilled its move to the WAC, starting conference play in Aug. 2021.
However, before its first season in its new conference could end, the Bearkats decided to accept an invitation to join the Conference USA in July 2023, bringing the program from the FCS to the NCAA’s Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision level. Sam Houston produced a 16-5 record in the two years it spent in the WAC.
“While the landscape of college athletics has been changing rapidly, this is not a decision that was made overnight,” said Bobby Williams, the Sam Houston State athletic director. “The steps we have taken over the last decade have prepared us for this move. I think it says a lot about the overall success of our athletics programs, that our name was one of the first to come up.”
In their first season in the CUSA, the Bearkats had their first losing season in 14 years, with a 3-9 record, winning only two in conference play. However, in the following 2024 season, with Keeler still in charge, Sam Houston turned it around, producing a 9-3 regular season record.
Only two days after its final regular season game, Keeler stepped down as head coach. The Pennsylvania native had decided to go back home to take on the coaching job at Temple.
This decision came five days before the announcement that Sam Houston State would participate in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen took charge as interim head coach for the Bearkats’ first FBS bowl game.
Unlike its 2021 FCS Championship, the Bearkats did not wait until the waning seconds in the New Orleans Bowl, taking a nine-point lead with 11:37 left on the clock, winning 31-26. The win came with an impressive defensive performance from Sam Houston State, with three sacks, four interceptions and three players racking up at least 10 tackles.
“It means everything to leave a legacy here,” then-graduate defensive back Jaylon Jimmerson said after the game.
While this season has not gotten off to the start many had imagined in Huntsville, entering this weekend 0-3, the Bearkats still have plenty of time to get back on track to become a Group of Five powerhouse.
