COMMERCE – The No. 12 Texas A&M University-Commerce football team opens Lone Star Conference play on Saturday evening, welcoming Eastern New Mexico University to Memorial Stadium for the CommUniverCity Day and Family Weekend game.
 
WHO: Eastern New Mexico University at Texas A&M University-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium
WHEN: 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 21
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 2-0 after defeating Western Oregon 34-27 in their road opener. Eastern New Mexico is 2-0 as well, having defeated Colorado Mesa 44-37 in overtime last week.
RANKINGS: A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 12 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and the D2Football.com Media Poll. Eastern New Mexico is receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches' Poll.

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network -- KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: Lone Star Conference Digital Network - http://www.lonestarconferencenetwork.com/commerce/
LIVE STATS: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=tame
TICKETS: WeAreLionsTix.com

BAILIFF BEGINS ON RIGHT FOOT
• Lion Football head coach David Bailiff was hired in December 2018 as the 20th head football coach at A&M-Commerce.
• Since East Texas joined the Lone Star Conference as charter members in 1931, Bailiff is the 13th head coach of the Lions.
• He has won both of his "firsts" games at A&M-Commerce, defeating Nuevo Leon for the win in his first game, and beating Western Oregon for the win in his first road game.
• Bailiff was the head coach at Texas State University from 2004-06 and at Rice University from 2007-17. The Lions' 2019 season will be Bailiff's 15th season as a collegiate head coach.
 • As a collegiate head coach, Bailiff has led a team to the NCAA Division I National Semifinals and has made five total postseason appearances with a 5-2 postseason record.
• The 2005 Texas State Bobcats were Division I National Semifinalists, and Bailiff led the Rice Owls to four bowls with a 3-1 record in those games.
 • Bailiff has led teams to 10-win seasons in three seasons (one at Texas State, two at Rice). Under his watch, the Owls had the most wins in school history over a two (18), three (25), and four (30) year periods. Rice's 18-9 mark from 2013-14 was the second-best of any FBS program in Texas.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST ENMU
•  This is the 33rd meeting between the two schools.
• The Lions took a 17-15 lead in the all-time series with last season's win in Portales.
• The Lions have won the last five meetings, which is their longest-ever winning streak against the Greyhounds.
• This also marks the longest winning streak by either team in the series.
• The Lions are 12-4 against the Greyhounds at Memorial Stadium.
• Since 2008, A&M-Commerce has won four of the last five games against Eastern in Commerce.
• The series dates back to 1984, as the teams had never played prior to ENMU joining the Lone Star Conference in that season.
• The average margin of victory for the Lions in the five game win streak is 20.6 points.
 
LION COACHES IN THEIR FIRST SEASON

Year	Coach	Overall	LSC
2019	David Bailiff	2-0	-
2013	Colby Carthel	7-5	2-4
2009	Guy Morriss	5-5	5-4
2004	Scotty Conley	4-6	4-5
1999	Eddie Brister	4-7	4-5
1986	Eddie Vowell	2-9	1-5
1964	Ernest Hawkins	2-7	1-5
1954	J.V. Sikes	6-3-1	5-0-1
1951	M.A. "Catfish" Smith	9-2	5-0
1946	Bob Berry 2nd Stint	5-2-2	3-1-1
1942	Dennis Vinzant Only Season	4-3-1	2-0-1
1935	Bob Berry 1st Stint	6-2-1	3-1
1931	J.W. Rollins	3-6

 
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!
• By qualifying for their fourth straight NCAA Division II Playoff berth in 2018, the Lions have the third-longest active playoff streak in the nation.
• Only Northwest Missouri State (15 straight) and Ferris State (five straight) have longer active playoff streaks than A&M-Commerce.
• In Lone Star Conference history, only A&M-Kingsville (1992-98, 7 straight) has a streak of more than four appearances.
• The Lions have also advanced to the regional semifinal round for three consecutive seasons. National runner-up Ferris State has reached the regional semifinal four times in a row.
 
LIONS CONTINUE RANKINGS RUN
• The Lions stayed at No. 12 nationally in the 2019 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll released Monday.
• A&M-Commerce has been ranked in 55 consecutive AFCA polls, dating back to the 2015 preseason poll.
• This is A&M-Commerce's 61st all-time appearance in the AFCA poll since its inception in 2000.
• In the polls recognized by Division II as the top rating system, the Lions have been recognized as a nationally ranked team 110 times since joining Division II in 1981.
 
SENIORS SUCCEED OVER CAREER SPAN
• The 2018 senior class claimed sole possession of the school record for wins in a four-year period with 43.
• The 2019 senior class is already on pace to challenge that record, with a record of 40-6 through 46 games.
• They are seven games away from tying the school record for most games played by a senior class.
 

Years	Record
2015-18	43-10
2014-17	42-10
2016-19	40-6
1951-54	36-5-2
2013-16	35-14
1957-60	34-7
1972-75	32-13-1
1936-39	31-8
1990-93	31-16-1

 
SHILLOW SHINES ON NATIONAL STAGE
• Redshirt junior defensive back Alex Shillow was announced as the National Chair of the NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in January.
• Shillow has represented the Lions at the national level as the Lone Star Conference representative to the Division II National SAAC since 2018.
• He is the president of the A&M-Commerce SAAC, which has won the LSC SAAC Cup in three of the last four years, including 2017 and 2018, when Shillow in leadership roles on the A&M-Commerce SAAC executive board.
• He has also been announced as one of 137 nominees for the 2019 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, one of the most prestigious off-the-field honors in college football.
• Shillow is one of 59 scholar-athletes from the Combined Divisions (FCS, Division II, Division III and NAIA) vying for 11 spots on the Good Works Team.
• A second team all-LSC selection in 2018, Shillow is a recipient of the 2018 Hunt County African American Leadership Conference - MLK Social Justice Award and a three-time LSC Commissioner's Honor Roll honoree.
• He has also been an exemplary student, earning Lone Star Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll distinction and appearing on either the President's List or Dean's List in every semester since he has been enrolled at A&M-Commerce.
• He interned with IMG/Learfield during the summer and graduated with honors in August.
• He will continue at A&M-Commerce in his postgraduate studies as one of eight winners nationwide of the John McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Award.
 
E.J. PUNCHES IT INTO PAYDIRT
• Junior running back E.J. Thompson was the top producer for the Lions in the road win at Western Oregon, scoring three touchdowns of 9, 1, and 5 yards.
• His touchdown with 8:22 to play in the fourth quarter tied the game at 27-all, and his score with 5:59 to play was the game-winner.
• He is the first Lion to have three rushing touchdowns in a game since Joe Bergeron did so twice in 2014.
• He now leads the LSC in scoring per game and had 120 all-purpose yards including his receiving yardage.

JAKE NAILS DEBUT
• Junior kicker Jake Viquez was good for 10 kicking points for the Lions in his first Division II game as the top kicker for the blue and gold.
• The Rockwall native was 4-for-4 on PAT attempts.
• He also made both of his field goals, connecting on kicks from 30 and 20 yards.
 
CHANCE TOOK NO CHANCES
• Junior wide receiver Chance Cooper made a hard-fought bobbling catch in the endzone in the third quarter at Western Oregon, and his highlight effort was seen and recognized all of the nation.
• The catch was recognized by ESPN SportsCenter on Instagram as the No. 4 Top Play of the Day in college football, and was the only non-FBS play featured.
• Cooper's catch from Miklo Smalls was also noted as Division II's No. 2 Play of the Week by the NCAA's official Twitter account.
• Cooper was the top target in the WOU game with five catches for 42 yards and the highlight score.
 
NO SMALLS FEAT
• Sophomore quarterback Miklo Smalls made his official debut in the Western Oregon game and was efficient in his first action since 2017.
• He completed 23-of-31 passes for 235 yards and the highlight reel scoring pass to Cooper.
• He ranks second in the Lone Star Conference in completion percentage at 74.2 percent, which ranks in the top five in Division II nationally.
• His 242 yards of total offense ranks in the top 50 in the nation.
 
GRADS KEEP ON TRUCKIN'
• Eight Lions are continuing their football careers after earning a degree. Here are the eight graduates and the school they earned their degree from
          • Neema Behbahani - A&M-Commerce
          • Terrell Collins – Arkansas
          • L.A. Dawson – West Texas A&M
          • Tyler Guice - A&M-Commerce
          • Deion Malone – Arkansas
          • Alex Shillow – A&M-Commerce
          • Darent White - A&M-Commerce
          • Preston Wheeler - A&M-Commerce
 
SEVEN PACK OF OPENERS
• The Lions have won the first official NCAA game of the season in each of the last seven seasons.
 

2019	at Western Oregon - Wk 2	W 34-27
2018	A&M-KINGSVILLE - Wk 1	W (2OT) 37-36
2017	at North Alabama - Wk 1	W 8-7
2016	at Delta State - Wk 2	W 40-28
2015	ADAMS STATE - Wk 1	W 48-17
2014	EAST TEXAS BAPTIST - Wk 1	W 98-20
2013	SUL ROSS STATE - Wk 1	W 51-6

 
ON THIS DAY IN A&M-COMMERCE/EAST TEXAS STATE FOOTBALL (3-5)
• 1963 - The Lions shut out Abilene Christian at home in the season opener, 17-0. The win was ETSU's third straight season-opening win over the Wildcats, and second straight shutout of ACC.
• 1968 - East Texas claims a 29-22 win at Abilene Christian in the season opener in Abilene.
•1974 - The Lions earn a 27-21 win over East Central in the home opener. The win was the Lions' sixth straight win.
• 1985 - ETSU heads east and the Lions are edged  by the Southern Arkansas Muleriders in Magnolia, 30-20.
• 1991 - A week after stunning Pittsburg State in the upset of the year, the Lions fall flat at Southern Arkansas in a 14-6 loss in Magnolia.
• 1996 - A&M-Commerce punches up a weight class and loses 33-7 in Natchitoches at Northwestern State.
• 2002 - The Lions lose a 21-7 decision at home against East Central.
• 2013 - Despite three Tyrik Rollison passing touchdowns and two Vernon Johnson receiving touchdowns, the Lions suffer a 62-28 loss at No. 4 West Texas A&M in the LSC opener for the year.