When Schroyer and McNeese introduced Will Wade as the next men’s basketball head coach in March of 2023, Schroyer talked about wanting to be regionally dominant, and nationally relevant, and Schroyer believes McNeese took a big step towards that in 2024.“We had an unbelievable 2024,” said Schroyer. “We brought in beach volleyball who had their […]
When Schroyer and McNeese introduced Will Wade as the next men’s basketball head coach in March of 2023, Schroyer talked about wanting to be regionally dominant, and nationally relevant, and Schroyer believes McNeese took a big step towards that in 2024.“We had an unbelievable 2024,” said Schroyer. “We brought in beach volleyball who had their first season, we brought in Will Wade and men’s basketball had a historic season, and let’s not forget baseball had a great spring, they made the conference championship game, and of course there’s James Landreneau as softball won their third consecutive regular season conference championship. So all of that said, it really was a banner year, but of course there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”2024 for McNeese football was a big improvement, after not winning a game during the 2023 season, McNeese went 6-6 in 2024, and was an untimed play away from going 7-5. Following the season, the Cowboys made the decision to make a coaching change and in doing so, they were able to bring back Matt Viator, the program’s all-time winningest head coach. Because of the decision, Cowboy fans, and McNeese State University alike, are looking forward to the future for McNeese football.“You can’t go anywhere in this state or this region without people talking about how great of a coach Matt Viator is, but also what a great mentor he is,” Schroyer said. “To get Coach V back and lead our football program into the future, was icing on the cake for 2024.”For Director of Athletics Heath Schroyer, 2024 was about establishing the McNeese brand, and getting back to becoming a regional powerhouse, and a national brand.“It’s honestly difficult to talk about just how exciting it is,” Schroyer concluded. “I truly believe that we’re on the frontier of greatness for McNeese Athletics. I think we have the right people on the bus sitting in the right seats, and I truly believe that we’re about to take off. Our fanbase truly is unbelievable, when you look at our colleagues not only in our conference, but in the State of Louisiana, hats off to Poke Nation and our fans because without them we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what we have in 2024, and what I think we will accomplish in 2025.”Copyright 2024 KPLC. All rights reserved.“I have an unbelievable president in Dr. Wade Rousse who understands the importance of athletics, and because of that we’ve been investing, and doubling down in athletics, and you can start to see it pay dividends,” he said. “We have the new Navarre Performance Center, thank you to Ryan Navarre for an unbelievable .5 million donation towards a new weight room. We have the new baseball facility coming, the new press box is million, so we’re investing in athletics and doubling down, and we’re starting to see that it was a good investment.”For the full sit-down interview with McNeese Athletics Director Heath Schroyer, click below:“When you think about McNeese State as a university, we as the athletics department, are the marketing tool for the university,” he said. “That said, the better we are, the more championships we win, and the better we represent ourselves on the national stage, the more it helps the university with enrollment.”As McNeese brings in the new year, it’s about building on their momentum from 2024, and bringing the McNeese brand to even greater heights in 2025.2024 was also a big year for McNeese from a facilities standpoint as they rolled out plans for new facilities such as the baseball facility, updated weight rooms and locker rooms for football, the brand new football press box and more, and they began to break ground on those facilities, as well.
LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – 2024 was a massive success for McNeese Athletics, from men’s basketball making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in more than two decades, to softball winning yet another regular season conference title, to introducing a new beach volleyball team, and everything in between.
