Having built it not once but twice, it is time to see if the fans will really come.

The Legacy Center is McNeese State’s basketball showcase, an arena designed in hopes of turning around a pair of struggling programs.

Making McNeese basketball meaningful was the goal. However, with the best court in the conference it has also put a spotlight on the Cowboys and Cowgirls.

Adding to the attention was becoming the home for the Southland Conference postseason tournaments for the near future.

That put a target on the teams as well.

While there have been some big moments and even a few sellouts in the 4,242-seat facility, the complete turnaround has yet to take place.

Nobody said it was going to be easy. McNeese has never been a hot spot for basketball, but with increased investments and greater interest, the clock is ticking.

With all that has happened it might not be fair to either group considering how bad things have been within the programs through the years, but with more eyes watching, the pressure is on.

Both the Cowboys and Cowgirls are coming off extremely tough pre-conference schedules and have scuffled with each winning three games.

Injuries and illness have played a part in those struggles, but on Saturday an old year ends with fresh opportunities for both.

Each team opens SLC play with higher than usual hopes. However, when the teams take the court in Beaumont, Texas, on New Year’s Eve, there is a greater sense of urgency.

Athletic Director Heath Schroyer, himself a former basketball coach at McNeese, has made it clear that winning is the next step to his department’s total rebuild.

It is what he himself was brought here to do.

In Lynn Kennedy’s first season last year, the Cowgirls did show progress, finishing fourth in the regular season but flaming out in the conference tournament.

But it is the Cowboys where interest must grow. The McNeese men have had decent moments, but four games against Top 25 teams has made it tough.

They have beaten Lamar already this season so Saturday’s contest should be a solid indication what the conference season might look like.

There is no question the Cowboys need to show improvement in John Aiken’s second season. But what that improvement is exactly is tougher to say.

The Cowboys must be better than their seventh-place, four-win conference performance last year. The Cowboys did win a tournament game, though.

Winning games is the only thing left for McNeese’s basketball programs. The arena and investments are in place.

But winning, in the end, is the only thing that makes any real difference.

The rest is window dressing.

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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