Wild Ride Ends

Schroyer leaves McNeese in a better place

By Jim Gazzolo

Heath Schroyer is far from your typical athletic director.

He doesn’t wear button-down suits, except when he absolutely must.

He loves to shake hands with people, get out in public, and make just about everybody he meets feel like they know him.

No other A.D. in the land spent more time promoting their school than Schroyer. He was McNeese’s biggest cheerleader, largest promoter, and the school’s ultimate pitchman for its athletic department.

Schroyer became the face of the university in many ways. All this from a guy with no administrative experience. He was a basketball coach who had been all over the country looking for a landing spot.

What he found was a home at McNeese. To him, it was more than a job.

This week, Schroyer, after a long courtship, accepted a job at LSU, bringing his time as a Cowboy to an end. Schroyer’s tenure will officially come to an end April 10, but he is already making moves in Baton Rouge. 

LSU signed former McNeese head coach Will Wade to lead its basketball program, as he did before being fired from the school in 2022. It has all come together as they planned, but it was not easy for Schroyer to leave his seat in the Cowboy saddle.

"This was an incredibly difficult decision for me," said Schroyer. "I love McNeese and Lake Charles. I've been here longer than I've been anywhere and Louisiana has become home for both myself and my son.

“I'm so grateful to my team, our community, and Poke Nation for believing in the vision and putting in the work it took to get us to where we are today. Over the years, I have had opportunities to leave for bigger jobs that paid more money, and I have turned all of them down for one reason only: I wanted to finish what we started, and I felt we hadn't completed what we set out to do.

“At this point, I feel McNeese is on an unparalleled trajectory, and as hard as it is to leave a place I love so much, it's time for me to move on and take on a new challenge.”

Anybody who knows Schroyer believes him when he says he struggled with the decision to leave McNeese. He has created a department that has become a national brand and continues to grow. 

He has taken the program to unprecedented highs, including three straight trips to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. That was unthinkable before he said it was possible.

Schroyer sold a product that few wanted before he turned into a gem, making you believe it was great all along. He leaves the Cowboys on solid financial footing and positioned to remain a mid-major school with a growing following. 

His six years at the helm of McNeese athletics will be remembered for how far the program has come and how entertaining the ride was.

Now he heads down the road, but his legacy at McNeese is secure. 

Most importantly, Schroyer leaves McNeese a better place than he found it, and that’s all anybody could ever hope for or ask.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers sports in Southwest Louisiana. He is also the host of Poke Nation, which airs weekly on CBS-Lake Charles.