It sometimes feels like every corner of the state of Texas has a college basketball program to call its own. In the southeast corner of the state, the Lamar Cardinals are that program. As a small-conference program, finding cheap Lamar basketball tickets is usually a little easier than it is in other parts of the state. But that’s not to say that the Cardinals are a program to overlook. Lamar was once a great program at the Division II level, and since making the leap to Division I, the Cardinals have continued to move up the ladder and gain credibility. It’s gotten to the point that the Cardinals are on the precipice of something great, creating a huge demand for last-minute Lamar basketball tickets.

Starting Something

The story of Lamar basketball truly begins in the 1950s when the Cardinals played their first seasons as a four-year college under head coach Jack Martin. Starting in 1960, Martin coached Lamar to four straight conference titles despite the Cardinals moving to the Southland Conference during that period. Martin’s success also led the program to reach the Division II NCAA Tournament four times in a five-year span.

The Protege Becomes the Master

One of Martin’s players in the 1950s was Billy Tubbs, who went on to become Lamar’s head coach in 1976. His tenure at his alma mater only lasted four seasons because Tubbs led the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level in both 1979 and 1980. Lamar won the Southland Conference in both seasons before making a remarkable run to the Sweet 16 in 1980. Despite Tubbs leaving after that Sweet 16 run, the Cardinals made the NCAA Tournament again in 1981 and 1983, winning their first-round game each time.

Born Again

Between 1983 and 2012, the Cardinals made just one trip to the NCAA Tournament, enduring a down period for the program. However, Pat Knight, the son of legendary coach Bobby Knight, took Lamar back to the Big Dance in 2012 in his first season with the program. While he couldn’t sustain that success, Knight did succeed in putting Lamar back on the map, creating something for his successors to aspire to and creating a buzz around the Cardinals for the first time in decades.