Overview: In Commerce, Texas, there is a lot going on, and for a town of only 10,000 residents on the Northeast Texas Blackland Prairies, that says quite a bit. However, when what was a teacher’s college 75 years ago and a member of the NAIA is now officially an NCAA Division I athletic institution, it is a note that a lot of change and growth has been happening. Much of it started just over a decade ago, but with almost a decade of unprecedented success in the athletic department writ large, the University decided to make a bold move and make the jump to the NCAA Division I’s Southland Conference. It caused former rivalries from yesteryear to be renewed and moved the school in a direction that hopes that the growth of the Dallas metro area will intertwine with the growth of a major regional university. The University that was called Texas A&M University-Commerce, much to the consternation of many alums and even many students, became East Texas A&M University last fall, bridging the gap between it’s membership with the A&M University System and the great history of East Texas State University and fulfilling a wish of over 25 years. 365 days ago, East Texas A&M was Texas A&M-Commerce, the blackland prairie soil south of campus was still intact and now it is turning and getting ready to pour a foundation for a new events center that will house the university’s basketball programs and volleyball team, along with making it the main hub of indoor activity. The T’s have been crossed and I’s have been dotted to remake the University and athletic department in a new image that combines the East Texas name traditions with the progressive ideals of being in a multi-university system. As much as the ET fan base cares about the sports teams, this is Northeast Texas, and football is still the uncontested king, and whether one agreed or disagreed with the move to Division I, both would agree the move has caused the school kicking and screaming into the new millennium with facilities and growth minded attitudes. The end zones are now pained EAST TEXAS A&M LIONS. It’s time for the next step.

East Texas A&M Lions

2024 Record-3-9

Head Coach: Clint Dolezel-4-18 Overall Record

Last Winning Season-2021 (7-4)

Last 10 Win Season-2019 (11-3)

Last Postseason Appearance-2019 NCAA Division II National Quarterfinalist

Last Top Ten Finish-2019 (#10)

Last Conference Title (2016) (As Member of Division II’s of Lone Star Conference)

Lion Head Coach Clint Dolezel enters his third year as the head coach at his alma mater, hoping to bring the magic to Commerce that be brought as a player and a coach to the Arena Football League. 2 years in and a lot has changed, including the name of the school, the overall outlook, and the status as a fully fledged Division I member. With familiar foes and some new big names on the schedule, it could be a season that is full of surprises, and for Dolezel, his seat was already quite warm with the fan base heading into last year, but a better overall record and some wins against some quality opponents and losses that could have easily been wins, another set of improvements could have easily cooled down the head coach hot seat and let the former Lion signal caller not only stay, but flourish at his Alma Mater. He has a serious chance to wipe away the bitter taste from the rough 2023 season and last year’s disappointing losses.

Looking back at 2024: On Labor Day weekend 2024 when the Lions opened their season against San Diego State, it looked like the Lions might send a shock to the college football world as they held a lead over the FBS Aztecs. Many things were apparent as well. The team looked bigger, faster, stronger, and overall much more suited as a team than the disastrous 2023 season which only yielded one win. It also gave Lion fans a new look at a new signal caller in Ron Peace (Malakoff) as long time QB Eric Rodriguez once again fell to injury. Attrition and a deeper roster got to the Lions as the Aztecs delivered a 45-14 beating, but even in the losses to UC-Davis, Grambling State, and even Sacramento State, it was apparent the Lions were a much better squad than the previous year. The Lions started out the year 0-4 but could have easily been 2-2. Southland Conference play started and once again lack of discipline and an offense that had been struggling for so long reared it’s head in a loss to Southeastern Louisiana, but the Lions broke through with a 42-21 win at Northwestern State, followed by a last second loss on homecoming to a ranked Lamar team. An out of conference tilt saw the Lions fall behind 21-0 to Prairie View A&M before outscoring the Panthers 27-13 in the final 3 quarters but it was too little too late and the season’s lowest point came when McNeese embarrassed the Lions 31-3.

Then, “ET Magic” came back. The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved a name change 28 years later than it should have, but Texas A&M University-Commerce became East Texas A&M University, and in almost poetic fashion, the Lions defeated long time foe Stephen F. Austin and former head coach Colby Carthel, who brought the last conference title to Commerce. The 19-14 win over an SFA team in the running for the playoffs and the conference title was a shock but just enough to give the Lions enough momentum into the next game. Houston Christian ran out to a huge lead to start the fourth quarter and in the earlier part of the season and in previous seasons, the Lions would have folded up shop, but the Lions roared back to score 13 unanswered points and block an HCU field goal which would have won the game, and in the final game of the season, ET had conference champion Incarnate Word on the ropes before succumbing to the Cardinals firepower to end the season with 3 wins and 4 games that could have just as easy been wins, but that is the big theme that Dolezel has been preaching to his players, “Learn to Win.” It sounds easy, but last year was an example of the Lions learning how to win in the latter part of the year, and heading into this season Dolezel believes he has the talent to win, the question is have the Lions learned to win yet?

Offense-From 2013-2019, the Lions put up tons of yards, points, and big time wins with an aerial attack that also featured a strong running game and a string of very talented starting quarterbacks. Then 2021 hit and the Lions have struggled with keeping a healthy quarterback since then. Although last year, it was the best season health wise that ET QB’s have had as Peace took the starting job and ran with it. Peace showed himself to be good when he was taking care of the ball, but he threw almost as many interceptions as he did touchdown passes and turned the ball over at critical times. If Peace can cut down on those turnovers and take advantage of big play guys like Christian Jourdain, who might be the best receiver in the entire conference, the Lion offense could really make a breakthrough this year and allow Dolezel to implement his quick strike vertical attack that he has been working on the past 2 seasons. This year he has an entrenched starter at Quarterback, a somewhat reliable backup in Will Madonna, and receiving threats such as Jourdain, Preston Kilgore, Jayden Proctor, and Sean Sallis. The offensive line has improved massively due simply getting more experience and also relying on the transfer portal and JUCO additions. If the O-Line keeps Peace upright, this could be the best passing attack the Lions have had in over a half decade. KJ Shankle and EJ Oakmon could also be the beneficiaries of an improved offensive line if the two Lion Running backs which add size and speed could be the completion of an offense that has been puzzle to complete, but with an experienced QB, a superstar wideout and 2-3 other good targets, a much improved line, and 2-3 reliable running backs, this could be the year that the Lion offense takes off.

Defense-The Blue Gang defense will no doubt face it’s toughest challenge of the DI era. Graduation and the transfer portal decimated the unit, with perhaps the biggest and toughest blow coming when conference defensive player of the year Brandon Tucker transferred to UT-San Antonio and took an NIL with him (or so we have been told). The Lions will have to replace 9 of the 11 starters that kept them in so many games last year, but at times could give up big time plays and streaks of other teams scoring a lot of points before finally being able to shut them down. This is probably the unit that will cause more worry than any other. The unit will be led by Kyree Anderson, who had 125 tackles and 4 sacks last season. He will have to be able to lead this unit and it shows that he has relished that challenge by being a team representative at Southland Conference Media Days. It will be a challenge, but with a great tradition of Lion defenders that have bloomed earlier than expected, this would be a great time to do it. There are no true starters set in stone yet with fall camp still going on, but as the Lions get closer to the season opener against SMU, expect to see more than just 1-2 names. Out of the 3 defensive units, the strongest one appears to be the defensive line, but the secondary is full of hard hitters but also guys who need to learn the coverage schemes to prevent last second losses or getting behind early.

Special Teams-Special teams for ET have been awful in the past 2-3 seasons. The lone bright spots were punter Mitchell McGarry and placekicker Aiden Martin. Both have graduated and have left the program leaving the spots open for place kicker, punter, extra point and field goals, and deep snapper, and holders. So far, nobody has distinguished themselves to replace McGarry and/or Martin. The good news is the roster is loaded with potential punters and kickers and Dolezel hit the portal and also the high school ranks and found some proven kickers on the collegiate level, juco level, and also high school. The place kicking unit of field goals and extra points have been absolutely awful the past 3 seasons and the “gimme points” are now needed as much as they have ever been. At this level, having a reliable field goal kicker and extra point kicker is an absolute must. The coverage units have also been subpar and need a kick in the pants in sticking to their running lanes and learning how to make routine tackles rather than trying to make the ESPN Top Ten, and that goes to coaching.

Schedule & Season Outlook-

For the third straight season, the Lions will have a very rough schedule to start things off with, but at the same time it could be an opportunity to see how good and truly how much improvement this program has made.

Aug 30-@ SMU-The Lions kick off the season 50 minutes down the road in University Park in Dallas and face a Southern Methodist team that has slowly been creeping up to being a national contender. The Mustangs came off an 11-3 season where they went to the FBS playoffs. It was their best season since before the death penalty era, but this team is getting good again and will no doubt be the toughest team for the Lions to play.

Sept 6-@ Florida State-ET has a chance to play in front of it’s biggest crowd ever at Doak Campbell Stadium against college football royalty. 70,000 fans will be waiting to hope to see the Seminoles take a Lion trophy home with them on their hunt. However, Florida State, just 2 years removed from an ACC title still has their pride back, but the Lions have played well on the road against these tough teams from FBS conferences. How good the Lions fare against the Seminoles will be a true measuring stick.

Sept 20-@Grambling State-Last season, the Lions lost an absolute heartbreaker to a team they should have run off the field. It was one of those “learn to win” games Dolezel spoke about. An overtime heartbreaker in Commerce took the air out of the program temporarily, but with an improved team that statistically was better last year, it comes down to execution and turnovers. A very winnable game.

Sept 27-VS. North Carolina Central-HC Trei Oliver has got a good program at NC Central. The Eagles have gone 27-8 the past 3 seasons, but play in one of the weaker conferences in the DI-FCS. Still, winning still takes skill and discipline and the Eagles seem to have both. The Lions are lucky to have this one at home as every single advantage they can muster will be necessary. Homefield will play a huge role in this one and this game is another winnable game.

Oct 4-@ Northwestern State-The legion of Demons will be a better team after having to basically knock the program down and build it back again, but with the Lions handling the Demons with no problem last year, this should be a change to really deliver a knockout punch in a game that the Lions should win easily. One thing to note, if the Lions look better after their first two very tough games and can avenge last year’s loss to Grambling and defend The Hawk against NC Central, it will add much more important to this game.

Oct 11-VS. Lamar-Last year, the Lions and Cardinals battled for 4 quarters until the Cardinals won the game on a walk off field goal on homecoming. If by some way the Lions are 3-2 headed into this game, expected Hawkins Field to be rocking and buzzing with anticipation of a revenge game, but Lamar is a tough squad and will certainly be no cake walk.

Oct 18-@ Incarnate Word-The other Cardinals, the team picked to win the conference yet again will be the toughest game. It is on the road against a team that has dominated Southland Conference football for close to a decade. This is another one of the measuring stick games. After an embarrassing blowout loss in 2022, the Lions have nipped at the heels of UIW the past two seasons and had them on the ropes last year. Again, it is learning how to win the big games, especially on the road.

Oct 25- VS. Stephen F. Austin-The Lumberjacks will come back up northwest to Commerce and will no doubt want to bury the Lions and get revenge for last year’s stunning loss. Colby Carthel has a place in his heart for Commerce and Commerce has a special place for Carthel but that is thrown out the window when these two play. It will be all about blood and the fact that ET dared to schedule this for homecoming will probably throw more gas on the fire. SFA is picked to give Incarnate Word a run for the SLC title and Carthel recruits well as we all know. Yes the intensity will be there, but SFA will be the second toughest Southland game whether the game is played here or in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Nov 1-@ Southeastern-Other than defeating SELA in the 2022 season, the other Lions in this conference have had ET’s number. They are always in contention for an SLC title. Expect nothing less.

Nov 8-VS. McNeese-The Cowboys finally defeated the Lions in the Division era and it was a painful experience for the Lions. Gary Goff is gone as head coach, but they did rehire Matt Viator, who took the Cowboys to a lot of playoff games and won 4 conference titles before taking the job at Louisiana-Monroe. He returns to Lake Charles and this will be an interesting game as the Cowboys did improve a lot from 2023, but with a new system and new coach that returns after a decade, nobody knows for sure how it will play out with how much the landscape of college football has changed. Expect the unexpected in this one.

Nov. 15-VS. Houston Christian-The Huskies have recruited and are also expanding their stadium under second year head coach Jason Batchel. Last year’ game in Commerce was a back and forth affair that looked like the Huskies would take a second straight win over the Lions, but a furious fourth quarter rally and a blocked field goal and just enough pressure on the retry of a game winner gave the Lions a win over a much better Houston Christian team. Thankfully, this one is at home, and Ron Peace shredded the Husky defense last year. Very winnable.

Nov. 22-@ Texas-Rio Grande Valley-ET travels way down south to welcome the Vaqueros (Spanish for Cowboys) to the Southland Conference and get to play in a first class stadium that was once built for soccer. It will be a long drive which will give UTRGV somewhat of an advantage, but this game should be an easy win assuming the Lions don’t nuke something during the season or lost multiple key players to injury.

Lion Wire’s Best Case-6-6 overall, 4-4 conference

Lion Wire’s Worst Case-3-9 overall, 3-5 conference

If the Lions do indeed win 6 or more games and have a .500 season or better, this will do a lot for the program. One thing that HC Dolezel mentioned at the Southland Conference media days is that Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium is “up next” with either a new stadium or a total renovation. New or improved facilities that are coming and a team on the upswing will do a lot for the athletic program and fill up the coffers and the seats and be proof to those of us who doubted that this move to Division I was not the terrible mistake it seemed to be 3 years ago. The opportunity is there. The motto for this year is not “win” but “Learn to Win.”