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…
Lion Wire contributor Billy Minor has a ton of great stories when it comes to his playing days. The two time All-LSC Receiver and 1990 conference champion told us the story of playing in one of the best small college towns in America, Pittsburg, Kansas. B.Minor recounts; ” I saw for me what was the…
This is Part 3 in a Multi-Part series of the great traditions of our Alma Mater. In sports, the old saying goes that “defense wins championships.” Personally I have not bought totally into that, I prefer that “the best defense is an unstoppable offense.” That being said, nobody can doubt that a team that plays…
This is Part 2 in a Multi-Part series of the great traditions of our Alma Mater. Part of this article is taken from my piece on the Championship Chronicles for the 1958 team. Every great college team has a tradition. Texas A&M has yell practice the night before home games. Texas Tech picks members of…
This is Part 1 in a Multi-Part series of the great traditions of Alma Mater Dear. In the Fall of 1964, Sports Illustrated visited the small hamlet of Commerce, Texas to feature the Football program of East Texas State College. They were there to cover the recent passing of Head Coach J.V. Sikes, and the…
Before I get started in revealing who I believe is the greatest ETSU/TAMUC football team ever, I just wanted to say a few words with this being Easter (or as I call it, Resurrection Sunday). First I wanted to wish everyone a Blessed Sunday and let everyone know those of us at the Wire are…
Note: The following information is NOT from the Texas A&M-Commerce Athletic Department. It is from the releases of the Lone Star Conference. The Lone Star Conference has just announced that all spring sports and postseason sports have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus emergency that has now hit the national, state, and local levels. This…
Yesterday the Lion Football program released the 2020 Football schedule that had some nice surprises and some thought provoking things came to mind. With what returns next year, is this the year that the Lions go undefeated during the regular season for the first time since 1953? We will have weekly preview during the offseason…
Here is your weekly dose of everything Texas A&M-Commerce related. Women’s Hoops- After winning their Division and winning the regular season Championship, The A&M-Commerce Lion women found themselves in the LSC tournament championship game after defeating St. Mary’s 70-60 in the LSC quarterfinals, defeated Eastern New Mexico in the Semifinals 68-59 to set up a…
Well, it is March, and for Basketball fans, this is the second best month of the year, (other than October, when the season starts). For the Lion Women Basketball team, we are witnessing history with the best team record wise to ever play for Texas A&M-Commerce Women’s Basketball. The Lion women finished first overall in…
Here is your weekly dose of all things A&M-Commerce Lion related. Women’s Hoops- For the first time in almost a calendar year, the Lion Women basketball team tasted defeat. Saturday afternoon in Commerce, the West Texas Lady Buffs took down the Lions 58-55. The Good news is, the Lions are still in the NCAA D2…
Here is your weekly dose of everything Texas A&M-Commerce Lion related. Let’s get to it. Women’s Hoops- Well, the Lion Women finally had more than 2 competitive games, as they Lady Aggies from Cameron gave them a good one, but the Lions did what they have done all year, and that is pull together and…
