[4] During this time, the Cowboys won three conference championships: 1942 (shared with Texas Tech) and 1946 under head coach and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Warren B. Woodson, and 1958 under head coach and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Sammy Baugh.

The chairman of the board said the move was necessitated by "financial difficulties and losses" in the athletic program.

The football program returned in 1990, but the school now competes at the NCAA Division III level.

Jimmie Keeling was the head coach for 21 years from 1990 to 2010, winning 11 American Southwest Conference championships and compiling a record of 172–53 (.764).

[9] The Cowboys have made thirteen appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with a combined record of 4–13.