The 2021 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Cardinals were led by second-year head coach Blane Morgan and played their home games at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The game against North American University is not included in the Western Athletic Conference or AQ7 standings because it was classed as an exhibition game and was not countable due to NCAA policies.
The Western Athletic Conference and ASUN Conference announced the formation of the WAC-ASUN Challenge (AQ7) for the 2021 season on February 23, 2021. The Challenge included the four fully qualified Division I (FCS) members of the WAC (Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, and Stephen F. Austin) and Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, and Jacksonville State of the ASUN Conference. The winner of the challenge received an auto-bid to the NCAA Division I FCS football playoffs.
The Cardinals finished the season with a 1âÂÂ9 overall record. They were 0âÂÂ6 in AQ7 Challenge play finishing in seventh place.
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The Western Athletic Conference coaches released their preseason poll on July 27, 2021. The Cardinals were picked to finish fifth in the conference. In addition, one Cardinal, Anthony Ruffin, was chosen to the Preseason All-WAC Defense Team.
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The AQ7 coaches also released their preseason poll on July 27, 2021. The Cardinals were picked to finish seventh in the ASUN-WAC Challenge.
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All Lamar games were broadcast on KLVI radio, also known as News Talk 560. Per a 2021 Western Athletic Conference agreement with ESPN, all home games were televised on one of the ESPN outlets.