After seven long months, the 2017 Southland Conference football season see its first bit of action today.

Well, kind of. 

The SLC will host its annual Media Day today at the Hilton in Houston where coaches from all 11 football-playing schools (New Orleans and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi don’t field teams) will preview the season. 

Not exactly game day, but it’s something, right?

The event — which ESPN will air online — is slated to begin at 9 a.m. with SLC Commissioner Tom Burnett taking the stage followed by coaches and athletes from 9:30 a.m. through 4:10 p.m.

McNeese State head coach Lance Guidry will step onto the podium at 2:15 p.m., joined by Cowboys quarterback James Tabary and defensive lineman Jammerio Gross-Whitaker. 

With McNeese returning a large number of starters from last season on both sides of the ball, Guidry will likely be asked about his squad’s experience and how it will lead to improvement from his inaugural season at the helm. 

Last season the Cowboys finished with an underwhelming 6-5 record and placed fourth in the SLC with a 5-4 record a year after winning the conference championship with an undefeated season.

Still, there were bright spots in which the Cowboys showed promise, including Tabary who emerged as one of the most efficient passers in McNeese history.

Guidry will also likely discuss his new and expanded role on the defensive side of the ball where he worked as coordinator before becoming the Cowboys’ head coach. 

Last year’s SLC champions and Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinalist Sam Houston State will take the stage at 3:15 p.m. 

The Bearkats — led by K.C. Keeler entering his fourth year as head coach — have become a perennial national powerhouse, winning two SLC titles in Keeler’s three seasons. 

With Keeler will be quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe, who finished second in the FCS, passing for 4,602 yards and 57 touchdowns last season. And with all seven of his top receivers returning, the chances he slows down are slim. 

Due to recent expansion in the SLC, 2017 will mark the first season since Sam Houston State joined the SLC in 1987 in which the Cowboys and Bearkats do not square off in the regular season.

The SLC football season may not have seen the last of effects caused by expansion, either, as it is possible New Orleans and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi could enter the mix within the next few years. 

How the odd-numbered conference deals with this seemingly ever-changing size in the future, whether it be by creating divisions or putting teams on a schedule cycle, is yet to be seen. 

Also notable going into media day are Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian, each of which joined the SLC in 2013, will both be fully eligible to compete for a conference championship and a spot in the postseason for the first time since joining the conference. 

Incarnate Word’s Larry Kennan will be the second coach to take the stage at 10 a.m., while Abilene Christian head coach Adam Dorrel — entering his first season with the program — and the Wildcats will begin speaking at 11:30 a.m., right before the scheduled lunch break. 

While media day may not be the most exciting day on the calendar, and it certainly is far from the most important, it should provide fans with an opportunity to sink their teeth into some meaningful story lines. 

If nothing else, at least it means football season is at the doorstep.

l

Tyler Nunez covers McNeese State athletics. Email him at

tnunez@americanpress.com