LAKE CHARLES – "Heath Schroyer is my vote for Athletic Director of the Year," said Victor Howell on LPB's Louisiana: The State We're In (
https://www.lpb.org/programs/lswi/). Howell cited Schroyer's success in raising more than $11 million in 2025, along with a series of high-impact coaching hires, as reasons for the recognition.
McNeese Athletics' climb has been anything but linear. The devastation caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta in the summer of 2020 resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, leaving McNeese widely viewed as one of the most challenged Division I athletic programs in the country. In the aftermath, teams and student-athletes were displaced across the region, without consistent access to facilities or housing.
Since being named Athletic Director nearly six years ago, Schroyer has overseen a transformation of McNeese Athletics—one rooted in vision, alignment and sustained investment.
"It's been an absolute honor leading this department for nearly six years now," Schroyer said. "I've learned a great deal during this time, but one of the most important lessons is that a leader is only as good as the people he or she surrounds themselves with. A strong team is how you reach your full potential, and at McNeese, we have exactly that."
In 2025 alone, Schroyer raised more than $11 million in private support. That includes $5 million for the naming of Navarre Stadium—the largest naming rights agreement in McNeese and Southland Conference history—$4.5 million for Townsley Law Arena, the university's basketball and volleyball facility and the second-largest naming rights deal in school and league history, $1.2 million for a basketball floor sponsorship (Boudreaux's New Drug Store), $1.5 million for a new football weight room and nutrition center, and $500,000 for football weight room naming rights (Navarre Performance Center).
On the field and court, the results followed. Under Schroyer's leadership, the McNeese men's basketball team landed its second consecutive conference regular-season and tournament championships and earned a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cowboys' first-round victory over Clemson marked the program's first ever NCAA Tournament win, generating national attention and overwhelming web traffic causing the university's website to crash.
The Cowgirl softball team added to the momentum, winning its fourth straight conference championship—an unprecedented achievement in Southland Conference history.
Academically, McNeese student-athletes continued to excel. Nearly 300 were named to the Southland Conference Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll across the fall and spring semesters, and nearly 100 student-athletes earned their degrees.
Through adversity, rebuilding, and record-setting growth, McNeese Athletics has reached a level of sustained success previously unachieved. What was once a department defined by recovery is now one defined by momentum under Schroyer's leadership.
