BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University first-year head coach Pete Rossomando has been named the Southland Conference Mid-Season Coach of the Year by the Our Coaching Network which was announced Wednesday afternoon.
 
After going 1-10 during the 2022 campaign, Rossomando has re-energized the program having already equaled the Cardinals' win total from the previous two seasons combined. Big Red enters the week riding a three-game win streak and currently sits 3-3 on the season and tied for first in the Southland Conference with a perfect 2-0 record.
 
Rossomando and his Cardinals faced arguably one of the toughest non-conference slates in all of FCS football with a home game against then No. 8 Idaho, before traveling to UL Monroe and South Dakota (who just recently knocked off then No. 2 North Dakota State).
 
The Cardinals three-game win streak is the longest since the 2018 season when LU rattled off six straight on their way to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. Big Red's conference-opening win at Houston Christian was the first league-opening victory since 2015. Lamar is 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 1974 campaign.
 
Rossomando is joined on the mid-season list along with FBS coaches Deion Sanders (Colorado) and Lane Kiffin (Mississippi), and FCS coaches Jason Eck (Idaho), Jason Simpson (UT Martin) and Jimmy Rogers (South Dakota State) among others.
 
The Cardinals return to action Saturday when they travel to Hammond, La., to take on Southeastern Louisiana. The game against the Lions will kick off at 3 p.m. from Strawberry Stadium.