Lamar University head coach Pete Rossomando – now in his fourth season with Big Red – and players John Hester (6-4, 327, Sr., OL) and Mar Mar Evans (5-11, 186, Jr., DB) were in Houston, Texas Monday and Tuesday for the 2026 Southland Conference Opening Drive (formerly known as SLC Media Day) presented by Big Game USA. The two-day event which has been held in San Antonio each of the past two seasons moved to the George C. Brown Convention Center and is considered the official start to the football season within the league.
The two-day event consisted of meetings for coaches, athletics directors and media relations personnel Monday while the players took part in social media stations, with Tuesday dedicated to media interviews. LU’s coaches and players joined the league’s other nine football institutions making the rounds of local, regional and national media.
Coming off their second NCAA FCS playoff appearance, and first since 2018, the Cardinals have already started making national headlines. Lamar ended last season ranked in the STATS Perform Top 25 poll for the first time in program history. The poll, which is viewed as the preeminent poll in FCS football, also oversees the national awards and LU’s Andrew Huff has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2026 Buck Buchanan Award, an award given annually to the defensive player of the year. A senior from Missouri City, Texas, Huff becomes the first player named to the Buchanan preseason watch list and the first Cardinal named to one of the preseason watch list for a national award since running back Kade Harrington was named to the Walter Payton Award watch list in 2016.
“I’m very excited to be here and get this process started,” said Hester. “I can’t wait for the first game to get here. Ever since the arrival of Coach Ross, we have improved a lot. Everyone sees the wins during his time here, but he has done a great job changing the culture.”
“This is a great experience and I’m very blessed to be a part of this and be among my peers,” said Evans. “I feel like this program continues to be on an upswing ever since the arrival of Coach Ross. He continues to bring in great players and all of us are focused on bringing a conference championship to Beaumont.”
The Cardinals have been turning heads ever since Rossomando’s arrival. LU enters the 2026 campaign looking to improve for a four consecutive season. The Cardinals have recorded back-to-back-to-back winnings seasons for the first time since the mid 1960s and will step on the field looking to return to the FCS playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history, but to do that Lamar will have to replace eight starters on offense and seven on defense.
“It is another Southland Opening Drive but these never get old because each season is a new challenge. We look at these as 12-month deals and we’re ready to start a new one,” said Rossomando. “The excitement is starting to build as we approach preseason camp. This is ‘Team 4’ for us and these guys have to set their own stage. They can build off of what happened last year but we closed the door on last season when we left Abilene. These guys will start their own chapter.”
Rossomando has already won more games in his first three seasons than any other Cardinal head coach after four other than Cardinal Hall of Honor inductee Vernon Glass.
The Cardinals who are going in search of their first Southland Conference title since 1971, will kick off the 2026 campaign Saturday, Aug. 29, against Abilene Christian in a rematch of the 2025 NCAA FCS Playoff opening-round game.
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