Lion Athletics Successfully Advances to Year Three in NCAA Division I Transition

By Lion Athletics

COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce has progressed one step closer to achieving full NCAA Division I status after being advanced to the third year of provisional membership by the NCAA earlier this month.

The Lion Athletics department is at the mid-point of its four-year transition into Division I. A&M-Commerce will achieve full membership in Summer 2026, thus being eligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason competition during the 2026-27 academic year.

Director of Athletics Jim Curry said, “A&M-Commerce continues to demonstrate its ascent towards becoming one of the preeminent Division I FCS programs in the country. Whether it be through brand exposure, philanthropic support, athletic outcomes or academic success, Lion Athletics has proven that we not only belong at this level, but can compete for championships in Division I.”

This past year was another stellar year for Lion Athletics, not just on the playing surface, but in the classroom and growth of the department as well. Below are some highlights of the 2023-24 academic year.

“We look forward to building on these early successes and using them to serve as the foundation for new growth. We are grateful to our Lion supporters, alumni, university leadership, the campus community, and our coaches and student-athletes for embracing the opportunity and pursuing excellence in all that we do. The future is bright for our university and Lion Athletics!”

Doing What Lions Do Best

• A&M-Commerce will have three representatives at this year’s 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris with Ibrahim Fuseini representing Team Ghana, Joseph Brown competing for Team USA, and Mariana Shostak racing for Team Ukraine.
  • The three Olympians are most of any Southland Conference school, top 10 in FCS, and more than 80 percent of all NCAA Division I institutions.
• The soccer team posted a historic 2023 season, while placing second in the Southland. The winning season marks the first for the Lions in the Division I era amongst any sport and recorded the best finish in conference play.
• The women’s golf team turned some heads at the SLC Championships by rising to a second-place finish, which is tied for the best finish for the sport at a conference tournament, and just the second time any sport at A&M-Commerce finished as the runner up at a Southland Conference Championships event.
• The women’s basketball team continued a myriad of impressive streaks in 2023-24, while also welcoming Houston during the regular season to the Field House, becoming the first Power Four conference team to play in Commerce. During the season, the Lions won a postseason game for the seventh straight season, won twice in the postseason for the fifth straight year, and posted 15 wins under coach Valerie King, the most wins by a first-year coach in school history.
• The track & field team continued to make its mark in the Southland Conference as the program had five individual conference championships, including Fuseini winning three gold medals and Kiara Brown finishing seventh in the country in the 60 meter dash at the USA Track & Field Indoor National Championships.
• The volleyball team put the entire Division I volleyball landscape on notice with a five-set win over Alabama, the first win over a SEC program in school history.
• The football program made its mark on a national stage, despite playing the toughest non-conference schedule in the country, as the Lions nearly upset FBS-Old Dominion, while Max Epps became the first All-American in the Division I era and Levi Drake Rodriguez was the first NFL Draft pick since 2000.  
• The men’s basketball team won its first postseason game since 2020 by beating Northwestern State in the first round of the SLC Tournament and picked up a road win at Saint Joseph’s, which is the highest ranked win in terms of NET rankings in school history.
• Both cross country teams improved upon their finishes at the conference championships, while the women’s program had its highest individual finisher in the Division I era and the men’s team had three top 10 finishes.
• The men’s golf team finished the season having recorded four top 15 individual finishes.
• The softball team hosted the most home games in the country in the regular season, which included two Power Four conference teams and no-hit No. 15 ranked Missouri.

Success in the Classroom

• The entire athletic department holds a cumulative GPA of 3.14.
• One hundred ninety-six student-athletes were named to SLC Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2023-24.
• Going into the 2024-25 academic year, 178 student-athletes hold a cumulative GPA over a 3.00.
• Nineteen student-athletes were named to Academic All-Southland teams.
• Two programs posted perfect 1,000 APR scores, while six additional programs were over 950.

Growing the Lion Footprint

• Signed a multi-year landmark partnership with Hunt Regional Healthcare, largest partnership in terms of cash value in department history
• Launched the Lion Athletics Scholarship Fund for greater transparency and aligned fundraising efforts.
• The first ever Lion Athletics Scholarship Giving Day raised $102,880, receiving contributions from a total of 130 donors.
• A total of over $71,000 was raised at the Night of Champions.
• With less than two months left in the fiscal year, the department is on pace to break all-time records in all aspects of fundraising, including total dollars and amount of donors.
• Partnered with Influxer for official co-branded NIL merchandise, ranked top 25 in the country as of June 2024.
• Total sponsorship dollars increased by 152% as part of a multi-year partnership with Taymar Sports.
• Double-digit increases in ticket revenue at all ticketed sports, set new single season revenue record for basketball and softball.
• Produced highest number of broadcasts based on available inventory in the Southland on ESPN+.
• Set new broadcast viewership record, with over 260,000 total viewers on Lion Athletics produced broadcasts in 2023-24.
• LionAthletics.com recorded over 1.17 million views in 2023-24.
• Increased social media engagement, with all accounts growing by at least 10%
• Installed external-facing video boards at Memorial Stadium.