(Rodrick Anderson / American Press)

In just 11 days, the Southland Conference will host its annual Football Media Day in San Antonio.

The league will once again welcome a newcomer, a trend that has been happening frequently in the Southland recently.

The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley will kick off its football program this fall, bringing the league to 10 teams in the sport. It is the most football teams the league has had since five left in the summer of 2021.

It’s not that long ago since the league was on the verge of extension, meaning this is a good time to celebrate and look ahead. All 10 head coaches will be on hand, accompanied by a player from both sides of the football, on July 21.

The one-day event will be broadcast live on the SLC YouTube channel starting at 9 a.m.

Matt Viator, back as the Cowboys head coach after a nine-year absence, will be joined by junior defensive end Masey Lewis and senior offensive lineman William Bressi in representing McNeese State.

What makes this group so interesting is that only one quarterback, Sam Vidlak from Stephen F. Austin, will be on hand. It is hard to think of many other conferences that will have just one of their 20 representatives be a quarterback.

Vidlak is considered the best returning quarterback in the league, but there is also only one running back, Houston Christian’s Champ Dozier. Most of the players attending play on the lines.

That is a significant issue when trying to market a conference. It also shows the change in college football. Skill positions are often the quickest to hit the NCAA transfer portal.

At least at the start of this season, the Southland appears to be void of returning big-name stars. That makes things interesting this fall.

It also makes things hard to predict.

Southland football might be in a better place than it was a couple of years ago, but where it is exactly compared to the rest of the Football Championship Subdivision is a more important question.

Last year the league managed to get one team into the 24-team playoffs, a huge disappointment. Since 2013, when the playoffs expanded from 20 to 24 teams, the years the league could count on two, sometimes three of its teams into postseason.

Not last year.

This season the league must find out if that is a trend or a one-time thing. That is what makes this fall so crucial for the league, which used to be one of the best in the nation on the FCS level.

So maybe the SLC hasn’t fully recovered from the losses of four years ago. That helps put into focus what this league needs most.

The Southland needs to make a statement in big games. The only team to have done that consistently of late is Incarnate Word, which was also the lone program to make the playoffs last year.

McNeese had perhaps the biggest nonconference win for the Southland when it beat Weber State on the road. Weber State was ranked No. 25 in the nation at the time. However, the Cowboys finished the season 6-6.

With two games against mid-major Football Bowl Subdivision programs (Louisiana-Lafayette and Utah State) along with a home game against Weber, McNeese has a chance to make a statement or two in not only its own favor but that of the league as well.

Southland Commissioner Chris Grant has said it’s one thing to schedule these games, but it’s winning them that will send the message the league is back.

For now, we will start with Media Day and just getting some fresh names out there for the SLC.

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Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@yahoo.com