The 1983 East Texas State Lions football team represented East Texas State University—now known as Texas A&M University–Commerce—as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) during the 1983 NCAA Division II football season. Led by 19th-year head coach Ernest Hawkins, the Lions compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, sharing the LSC title with Southwest Texas State. It was the team team's final LSC title under Hawkins, who retired at the end of the 1985 season. East Texas State played home games at Memorial Stadium in Commerce, Texas
| 1983 East Texas State Lions football | |
|---|---|
LSC co-champion | |
| Conference | Lone Star Conference |
| Record | 8–2 (6–1 LSC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive scheme | Option |
| Defensive coordinator | Eddie Vowell (1st season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Southwest Texas State +^ | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Texas State + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stephen F. Austin | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abilene Christian | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Angelo State | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas A&I | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sam Houston State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Howard Payne | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
edit| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 10 | 2:00 pm | Cameron* | W 38–27 | 3,500 | |||
| September 17 | 6:00 pm | at Southern Arkansas* |
| W 24–15 | 4,500 | ||
| September 24 | 5:00 pm | at Southeastern Louisiana* | L 31–23 | 6,500 | |||
| October 8 | 6:00 pm | Sam Houston State |
| W 51–14 | 7,000 | ||
| October 15 | 2:00 pm | at Howard Payne |
| W 24–0 | 3,000 | ||
| October 22 | 2:00 pm | Abilene Christian |
| W 31–28 | 5,500 | ||
| October 29 | 2:00 pm | at No. 5 Southwest Texas State | No. 10 | L 44–21 | 14,616 | [1] | |
| November 5 | 2:00 pm | Texas A&I |
| W 35–24 | |||
| November 12 | 6:00 pm | Stephen F. Austin State |
| W 23–21 | 7,500 | ||
| November 19 | 2:00 pm | at Angelo State | W 27–3 | 1,500 | |||
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Postseason awards
editAll-Americans
edit- Ricky Dirks, Second Team, running back
Lone Star Conference superlatives
edit- Coach of the Year: Ernest Hawkins
- Outstanding Back of the Year: Kyle Mackey
All-Lone Star Conference
editLSC First Team
edit- Javier Cardenas, tight end
- Ricky Dirks, running back
- Alan Veingrad, offensive tackle
LSC Second Team
edit- Chris Flynn, defensive back
- Vince Murray, defensive back
- Gaylon Surratt, defensive back
- Kyle Mackey, quarterback [4]
References
edit- ^ "SWT bounces back to level Lions". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. October 30, 1983. Retrieved March 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Final 1983 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ "Lion Football History" (Press release). Texas A&M University Commerce Department of Athletics. December 12, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- ^ "A&M-Commerce Football Award History" (Press release). Texas A&M University Commerce Department of Athletics. December 12, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2019.