1998 to 2021, and then again beginning in 2022 following a single year in the Western Athletic Conference.
=== Football ===
Under former head coach Larry Kennan, his first team compiled a 6–3–2 record in 1979. LU set all-time attendance records under Kennan by averaging 16,380 fans in 1980. Games against Louisiana Tech (17,600) and Langston University (17,306) rank second and third, respectively, behind the standing-room-only 18,500 Baylor drew for the 1980 opener. The football program's signature win came on September 5, 1981, in Waco with an 18–17 victory over the No. 20 (UPI) Baylor Bears. In 1987 LU football went independent to join the American South Conference, and the program was dropped altogether after 1989.
On January 30, 2008, 78% of LU students voted to approve the athletics fee required for football's resurrection. This vote set in motion the football team's return for the 2010 season. Regents of The Texas State University System approved the athletics fee to reinstate football at its regular …
