JOURNAL SPORTS

PINEVILLE — Louisiana Christian has announced that Shreveport native Reni Mason, formerly a basketball star at Captain Shreve High School and a successful coach at Evangel Christian Academy, has relinquished his role as head coach of the Wildcat men’s basketball team and will continue as the school’s vice president of intercollegiate athletics.

Mason, who played college ball at Louisiana Tech and UNO, took the LCU basketball job in May 2015 after a successful run as head coach of the ECA boys basketball team. The Eagles posted a 154-53 record in seven seasons and won three district championships under Mason. He was also a three-time district coach of the year.

Mason previously was the general manager and assistant coach of the USBL’s Dodge City Legends. He also served on the staffs at UNO and University of Minnesota – Morris, working with highly regarded coaches including Tic Price and Tim Floyd.

Mason, 54, has led LCU men’s basketball since the 2015-16 season and notched more than 120 wins, the fourth most in program history. His Wildcats have been to seven conference tournaments, including three conference championship appearances, as he coached a pair of all-Americans, and had numerous student-athletes chosen for all-conference honors.

He has served as vice president of intercollegiate athletics/athletics director since 2017. Mason helped guide LCU through a reclassification process, saw multiple programs win and compete for championships and facilitated improvements in student-athlete success in the classroom.

The decision to step away from his coaching duties is part of a strategic shift to focus entirely on overseeing the continued growth and success of the department, LCU officials said.

“Simply put, it’s time — not because Coach Mason says so, but because the Lord has made it clear this season in my life has run its course,” Mason said. “I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to serve as head coach at Louisiana Christian. It was truly a privilege to be part of so many young men’s journeys.

“As I move forward, I’m excited for the opportunity to continue serving our coaches, staff, players and our (new) president, Dr. Mark Johnson. I’m especially thankful to Dr. Johnson for allowing me to continue in my role as Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics.”

New Bossier Parish Community College coach Jeff Moore, who has known Mason for many years, praised him on social media.

“His impact on people is amazing, and it will always continue,” said Moore. “He truly cares about others.”

Mason led the Wildcats to immediate success in his first season as coach with a trip to the American Southwest Conference Tournament championship game in 2015-16. Three seasons later he guided LC to a 19-7 overall record, its most wins in a season in nearly 20 years. The Wildcats’ returned to the ASC title game 2021 and reached the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament title game in 2022.

Kae’ron Baker was one of two all-Americans coached by Mason and helped lead the Wildcats to those two straight conference tournament title game appearances, while also earning RRAC Player of the Year honors in 2021-22.

“As a coach, his number one goal was to make sure that everybody in that locker room, once they left the team and the university, that they left a better young man than they were when they got there,” Baker said. “Every time that we had a team conversation, whether it was a discipline issue or something strictly about basketball, he always found a way to relate that to the real world and what it takes to be a successful young man.”

Mason’s commitment to seeing his players develop beyond just the game of basketball has been a pillar of his coaching and leadership philosophy throughout his entire career.

“He made it evident to us that sports are a representation of life,” Baker said. “In a game, if things weren’t going our way or we couldn’t see a shot fall, there are going to be issues and adversity in life that feel almost exactly what that basketball game felt like.

“So it puts you in a position where you’re going to keep pushing forward, keep showing up or are you going to give up.  I remember him saying once you give up, that’s when you actually lose. Whatever opportunity you had, you’ll never be able to get it because you gave up. So his belief in us and the program and what he wanted the program to stand for was phenomenal. And he carried that on his sleeve each and every day.”

As AD, Mason helped lead the Wildcats through a reclassification back to the NAIA, after a 20-year run as a Division III school in the NCAA, where they have competed successfully since the 2021-22 athletic year. LCU competes in the Red River Athletic Conference along with LSUS.

LCU has won three Red River Athletic Conference soccer championships (two men, one women), a baseball title, and a football championship in four short seasons in the league. Wildcat programs have appeared in 28 different conference tournaments and eight tournament championship games over the past four seasons since joining the RRAC.

Mason, a UNO graduate, has remained a Shreveport resident while his son attended high school locally.

Assistant coach Zach Barnes took over as LCU’s interim head coach, effective last week, school officials said.