After a year-long pandemic, and an appearance in the national quarterfinals in 2019, David Bailiff and his team are more than ready to hit the field and start making statements that both the former Rice Head Coach and his Lion squad are not being taken seriously by outsiders. That is the not the case in…
The much anticipated 2021 season kicks off in 75 days and before our great big preseason write up and then our August Hiatus before the season starts. The Lone Star Conference is changing and the power is shifting from traditional powers to newcomers and some programs on the rise are now looking to crash and…
While we are patiently waiting for the college season to begin and other professional leagues to get completely back to “normal”, Russ and I have really been taken in with other leagues that are not the NFL. One reason is that we are Cowboy fans and are used to disappointment by now, another is the…
Your Monday Morning Dose of all things Lion related. Let’s get to it. Track- Both the Lion Men and Women won the respective team titles at the East Texas State in Commerce. The Lion Women’s track team is ranked # 10 national polls, while the Men are ranked at 11th. Both scored 1st out of…
As I write this article, it is hard to believe that yet another college basketball season has come and gone. Thankfully, this one was the bridge to normal given everything that has happened. This past season was a down year for the Lion Men’s program, while the Women continued their sure and steady progress as…
Well, we are back. I never thought that would feel so good to say, but we are. I would hope that most everyone has come out of the past year with a thankfulness of what you have, however mundane it may seem. I know I am. Anyway, let’s get to it. Women’s Basketball- First, my…
In his nearly 30 years of coaching offense for East Texas State, Ernest Hawkins coached a lot of Quarterbacks. Some went to the NFL and started games. Some had great college careers and set records that might never be broken, even in today’s passer conducive offenses. However, when Hawkins took over as Head Coach in…
It has been just over a month since Azusa Pacific University out of the Los Angeles Area announced they would be immediately shutting their football program down. The Cougars were typically one of the top programs in the GNAC and also played to usually packed crowds at Citrus Stadium in Glendora, California. A beautiful scene…
With the end of the year that nobody will soon forget coming to an end, it is hard to believe that even if Division II football had been played, in less than 2 weeks it be for the National Championsip, and this was the year that many people felt the Lions would add National Title…
Football returns to Commerce, America for at least one day this Saturday, and I could not be more excited. To return to Commerce. To return to The Hawk. To see the improvements on our team and inside our stadium. I am excited and just cannot wait to see what we have going on. Here are…
Most Texas A&M-Commerce Lion fans are Dallas Cowboys fans. That is due to a lot of reasons. We have had some great Lions play for America’s team (Harvey Martin, Wade Wilson, Alan Veingrad, Kevin Mathis). Also, just due to the proximity of the metro area places Commerce right in the heart of Dallas Cowboy country.…
As we close the decade out on this era of Lion football, those of us at the Wire and also at those of us who either witnessed great football teams like my colleagues Russ and Billy did or like me, watched very mediocre if not bad football during my college days want to look at…
“I love football, when it’s pure, but not this. This isn’t pure.”-Jonathan “Mox” Moxon-Varsity Blues 1998 If you had told me that as I was 6 years into being a college sports blogger, I would be quoting James Vanderbeek in a non-satirical column in one of the most off the wall sports movies that included…
70 years ago today, the East Texas State Lions took the field in front of 12,000 fans against regional rival North Texas State for the first game at Memorial Stadium on the campus of East Texas State University on a crisp fall evening. I wish I could tell you that our beloved Lions came out…
Texas A&M-Commerce kicker Jake Viquez is one of the last people off the field after a spring practice. He looks around as he sets up his place holder and boots through a 45 yarder into the gentle but ever-present Commerce breeze. No problem, it would have been good from 55 yards. He kicks a few…
November 18, 1995. The scoreboard at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon read PORTLAND STATE-56, EAST TEXAS-35. The clock had hit all zeros, and for the final time, the gridiron warriors of the blue and gold of ET had worn their jerseys with the name EAST TEXAS strapped across their jerseys. It was the final year…
Justin Petersen is a loud and proud alum of Azusa Pacific University. We crossed paths when he was just randomly searching the internet regarding APU football and found The Lion Wire. He publishes an alumni sports newsletter and wanted to sit down and discuss the site, TAMUC the school and our athletic department, and just…
I once heard a story about a hiker who had gotten lost in the thick mountain forests of Southern Colorado. He was at least 3 miles from his base camp when he had gone off the trail. He cut his way to and fro among the dense woods, but could not find his way back…
In many Football programs across the country, there is somewhat of an initiation for new players who come into the program. Usually it involves pain, a test of endurance, and an attempt to see who has what it takes to be in that respective program. For over 60 years, there was a tradition that every…
Contrary to what some might think or might not even know, Texas A&M-Commerce/East Texas State has a strong tradition in Men’s Basketball, and as many know has had a lot of recent success in Women’s Hoops. This past season saw the largest attended Women’s game in program history as the Lion Women took down defending…
