Southland Conference begins charitable efforts following Hurricane Harvey impact

League makes financial contribution to relief efforts on behalf of its membership

FRISCO, Texas – The Southland Conference, home to numerous institutions and communities directly impacted by the multiple landfalls of Hurricane Harvey, and its subsequent and unprecedented rainfall and flooding, announced Friday a contribution of $100,000 to the American Red Cross for storm relief efforts. It is also expected that the member institutions of the Southland will immediately begin charitable collection and giving efforts to address relief needs in their specific communities and the larger region.

“All of us in the Southland Conference are devastated by the unparalleled flooding and destruction, and the heartbreaking personal impacts the storm has had in our Gulf Coast communities,” said Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett. “For almost six decades, our organization has benefitted so much from the wonderful people in our region, and we are indebted to our home areas and those individuals that are currently in need and will be for an extended period. We hope this modest contribution can assist many of these great individuals and their families in their recovery. Further, I know our member institutions, their administrations, staffs and student-athletes are preparing for significant charitable and volunteer work for the storm victims in the foreseeable future.”

In addition to Harvey’s unthinkable impact in the Houston area, home of Southland member Houston Baptist University, it made its first destructive landfall last week near fellow member Texas A&M-Corpus Christi University. It brought more devastating rain and flooding with its second landfall overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday at the Texas/Louisiana coastal border, near the campuses of Lamar University and McNeese State. As the storm slowly moved in the past few days, it also created campus closings at Sam Houston State University, Stephen F. Austin, Northwestern State University, Nicholls State University, Southeastern Louisiana University and the University of New Orleans.

Thus, Harvey has adversely impacted 10 of the 13 Southland universities, and altered playing schedules for almost all of the league’s fall sports teams. The greater Houston area serves as a geographic center of the Southland Conference and is home to a large base of students and alumni from the league’s 13 institutions. The Southland’s annual men’s and women’s basketball tournament has been played in Katy, located in suburban west Houston, for the last decade. McNeese State is the longest continuous member of the Southland (1972), while Lamar was a charter member of the league in 1963 and returned as a member in 1998.

The Southland Conference also invites other individuals and organizations to make needed donations as they are able to. Below is a sampling (but not an exhaustive list) of charitable organizations involved in Harvey relief and recovery.

Sampling of (and links to) Charitable Organizations in Affected Areas:

American Red Cross

The Salvation Army

Houston Food Bank

Houston SPCA

Food Bank of Corpus Christi

Samaritan’s Purse

Americares

Catholic Charities of Southwest Louisiana

Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas

Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi

United Way of Greater Houston

United Way of Beaumont and North Jefferson County

United Way of Mid & South Jefferson County (Port Arthur)

United Way of Southwest Louisiana (Lake Charles)

United Way of the Coastal Bend (Corpus Christi)

Greater Houston Community Foundation

Texas Diaper Bank

Southeast Texas Food Bank

Goodwill Industries of Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana

Goodwill Houston