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American Southwest Conference

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American Southwest Conference
AssociationNCAA
First season1996
CommissionerDavid Flores[1]
Sports fielded
  • 16
    • men's: 8
    • women's: 8
DivisionDivision III
No. of teams6 (4 in 2025)
HeadquartersRichardson, Texas
RegionGulf Coast
Official websiteascsports.org
Locations
Location of teams in

The American Southwest Conference (ASC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. The schools are located in Texas and Arkansas. The conference competes in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and women's volleyball.

The American Southwest Conference operates from the same headquarters complex in the Dallas suburb of Richardson as the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference.

History

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American Southwest Conference
Map
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150km
100miles
Hardin-Simmons
Texas–Dallas
LeTourneau
East Texas Baptist
Mary Hardin-Baylor
.
Howard Payne
Location of ASC members: current and departing members

The American Southwest Conference was announced in May 1996. The new league included some former members of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA). Founding members of the ASC were Howard Payne University, Austin College, Hardin–Simmons University, McMurry University, Mississippi College, Sul Ross State University, the University of Dallas and the University of the Ozarks.

The expansion soon began as the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor joined the ASC in 1997; followed by East Texas Baptist University, LeTourneau University, Schreiner University and the University of Texas at Dallas in 1998; then Concordia University Texas in 1999, and finally Louisiana Christian University, then known as Louisiana College, and Texas Lutheran University in 2000.

The University of Dallas was a member of the ASC until the end of the 2000–01 season to become a Independent; and Austin College withdrew the ASC in the 2005–06 season to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). The University of Texas at Tyler began athletics in 2002 and became a member in 2003, but as a provisional member of the NCAA, was ineligible to participate in ASC or NCAA postseason tournaments until 2007. Centenary College of Louisiana joined the conference in 2011, after completing their transition from Division I to Division III, but almost immediately announced its departure for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.[2][3]

Recently, however, several schools have announced plans to leave the conference in favor of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, which lost seven of its members at the end of the 2011–12 school year. Centenary[4] departed at the end of the 2011–12 season after joining the ASC in that same season; Schreiner[5] and Texas Lutheran[6] left at the end of the 2012–13 season.

In 2012, McMurry left the ASC and completed the process of reclassifying to a full-scholarship, Division II institution and joined the Heartland Conference.[7] Additionally, Mississippi College announced that it would be also leaving the conference and reclassifying to Division II in 2014.[8] Mississippi College will re-join the Gulf South Conference, a league that it had been a member of until 1996.[9]

The departures of McMurry, Texas Lutheran and Mississippi College will leave the conference with only six football playing members, below the minimum seven participating schools required to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA football playoffs. The conference has not announced a plan to maintain its automatic bid.

ASC officials announced on March 13, 2014, the forthcoming addition of McMurry University and Belhaven University to its membership.[10][11] McMurry will re-join the ASC after a two-year stint in the Division II level, competing as a member of the Heartland Conference; while Belhaven is scheduled to join the ASC as a provisional member in 2015.

On December 3, 2015, ASC officials reported that Texas Lutheran University and Southwestern University would join the conference for football in 2017 [12] as football-only members. Both schools are members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, but the conference only had four remaining schools competing in football. Two other SCAC schools. Austin College and Trinity University (Texas), announced they would play football in the Southern Athletic Association beginning with the 2017 season. The SCAC dropped football as a conference sport after the 2016 season.

In July 2018, the NCAA approved UT Tyler's application to begin a transition to NCAA Division II effective with the 2019–20 school year. Accordingly, UT Tyler left the ASC at the end of the 2018–19 school year. While the school did not immediately announce its future affiliation, it stated that it expected to join the Lone Star Conference.[13] The following month, UT Tyler was officially unveiled as an incoming LSC member.[14]

In July 2020, Louisiana College announced that it would leave the NCAA and applied to rejoin the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics after the 2020–21 school year.[15]

More changes in the ASC membership were announced August 13, 2020, when Austin reported it would return to the conference as a football-only affiliate beginning with the 2021 season, committing to at least four years as an affiliate,[16] then on August 19, 2021, Southwestern University announced its football program will move to the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) to start the 2023 season as an affiliate member.[17] and on November 26, 2021, when the USA South Athletic Conference initially named Belhaven as its newest member in the 2022–23 academic year.[18] However, on February 18, 2022, Belhaven was announced as an inaugural member of the new Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) following a geographical split in the USA South, where the Blazers will remain as football associate members.[19]

On November 1, 2022, McMurry University announced that it will leave the ASC in the fall of 2024 to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.[20] While on February 1, 2023, Sul Ross State University announced that it will leave the ASC in the fall of 2024 to join the Lone Star Conference into Division II.[21] Additionally on May 15, 2023, the SCAC announced it would also be accepting Concordia and University of the Ozarks as members for the 2024-25 school year.[22] The rapid loss of members continued, with UT Dallas announcing their intent to transition to Division II and follow fellow conference member Sul Ross State to the Lone Star Conference on July 20, 2023 and LeTourneau announcing that they would be following McMurry, Concordia, and Ozarks to the SCAC on April 25, 2024, with both changes occurring for the 2025-26 school year.[23][24] If no more schools join the ASC, the conference will be down to four schools, below the minimum required to qualify for an automatic bid to the NCAA championships for those sports with 100% participation.

David Flores was named the new commissioner of the American Southwest Conference on June 21, 2023, replacing the long-time commissioner, Amy Carlton.[1]

Chronological timeline

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Member schools

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Current members

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The ASC currently has six full members, all but one are private schools:

Institution Location
(population)[25] 		Founded Affiliation Enrollment U.S. News
ranking [26] 		Endowment [26] Nickname Joined[a] Mascot Football?
East Texas Baptist University Marshall, Texas
(24,751) 		1912 Baptist 1,771 19
(Regional College: West) 		$58,780,000 Tigers 1998 Toby Yes
Hardin–Simmons University Abilene, Texas
(118,887) 		1891 Baptist 2,333 39
(Regional: West) 		$120,430,000 Cowboys &
Cowgirls 		1996 Hoss Yes
Howard Payne University Brownwood, Texas
(18,972) 		1889 Baptist 1,400 14
(Regional College: West) 		$45,700,000 Yellow Jackets 1996 Buzzsaw Yes
LeTourneau University Longview, Texas
(81,092) 		1946 Interdenominational 3,758 27
(Regional: West) 		$10,500,000 Yellowjackets 1998 Buzz No
University of Mary Hardin–Baylor Belton, Texas
(19,409) 		1845 Baptist 2,713 54
(Regional: West) 		$59,500,000 Crusaders 1997 CRUnk the Sader Yes
University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas
(103,297)[b] 		1961 Public[c] 31,570[27] 142 National $743,000,000[27] Comets 1998 Temoc No
Notes
  1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. ^ Metropolitan area population: 7,637,387
  3. ^ Part of the University of Texas System.

Affiliate members

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The ASC currently has one affiliate members, a public school.

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined[a] Current
conference 		ASC
sport
University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California 1965 Public 18,783 Banana Slugs 2013 Coast to Coast (C2C) women's golf
Notes
  1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.

Former members

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The ASC has thirteen former full members, all but two were private schools:

Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined[a] Left[b] Current
conference 		Football?
Austin College Sherman, Texas 1849 Presbyterian 1,320 Kangaroos 1996 2006 Southern (SCAC) Yes[c]
Belhaven University Jackson, Mississippi 1883 Presbyterian 3,245 Blazers 2015 2022 C.C. of the South (CCS) Yes
Centenary College of Louisiana Shreveport, Louisiana 1825 United Methodist 787 Gentlemen (men's)
Ladies (women's) 		2011 2012 Southern (SCAC) No[d]
Concordia University Texas Austin, Texas 1926 Lutheran LCMS 1,200 Tornados 1999 2024 Southern (SCAC) No
University of Dallas Irving, Texas 1956 Catholic 2,977 Crusaders 1996 2001 Southern (SCAC) No
Louisiana Christian University[e] Pineville, Louisiana 1906 Baptist 1,265 Wildcats &
Lady Wildcats 		2000 2021 Red River (RRAC)[f] Yes
McMurry University Abilene, Texas 1923 United Methodist 1,430 War Hawks 1996;
2014[g] 		2012;
2024 		Southern (SCAC) Yes
Mississippi College Clinton, Mississippi 1826 Baptist 4,162 Choctaws 1996 2014 Gulf South (GSC)[h] Yes
University of the Ozarks Clarksville, Arkansas 1834 Presbyterian 630 Eagles 1996 2024 Southern (SCAC) No
Schreiner University Kerrville, Texas 1923 Presbyterian 1,117 Mountaineers 1998 2013 Southern (SCAC) No
Sul Ross State University Alpine, Texas
(5,972) 		1917 Public[i] 2,070 Lobos 1996 2024 Lone Star (LSC)[h] Yes
Texas Lutheran University Seguin, Texas 1891 Lutheran ELCA 1,400 Bulldogs 2000 2013 Southern (SCAC) Yes[j]
University of Texas at Tyler Tyler, Texas 1971 Public[k] 5,326 Patriots 2002 2019 Lone Star (LSC)[h] No
Notes
  1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. ^ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
  3. ^ Austin College re-joined the ASC as an affiliate member for football, effective the 2021 fall season (2021–22 school year).
  4. ^ Centenary announced its plan to add football again in time for the 2024 fall season (2024–25 school year).[28]
  5. ^ Formerly known as Louisiana College, until it was renamed during mid-season of the 2021–22 school year.[29]
  6. ^ Currently an NAIA athletic conference.
  7. ^ McMurry left the ASC after the 2011–12 school year to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Heartland Conference; before re-joining the ASC in the 2014–15 school year.
  8. ^ a b c Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
  9. ^ Part of the Texas State University System.
  10. ^ Texas Lutheran University re-joined the ASC as an affiliate member for football, effective the 2017 fall season (2017–18 school year).
  11. ^ Part of the University of Texas System.

Former affiliate members

[edit]
Institution Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Joined[a] Left[b] Current
conference 		ASC
sport
Austin College Sherman, Texas 1849 Presbyterian 1,278 'Roos 2021[c] 2024 Southern (SCAC) football
Southwestern University Georgetown, Texas 1840 United Methodist 1,536 Pirates 2017 2023 Southern (SAA) football
Texas Lutheran University Seguin, Texas 1891 Lutheran ELCA 1,400 Bulldogs 1998 2000 Southern (SCAC) football
2017[d] 2024
Notes
  1. ^ Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. ^ Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
  3. ^ Austin College re-joined the conference for football only, effective the 2021 fall season (2021–22 school year); but was a full member from 1995–96 to 2005–06 before leaving for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC).
  4. ^ Texas Lutheran re-joined the conference for football only, effective the 2017 fall season (2017–18 school year); but was a full member from 2000–01 to 2012–13 before leaving for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC).

Membership timeline

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Southern Athletic AssociationSouthwestern UniversityCollegiate Conference of the SouthBelhaven UniversityUniversity of California, Santa CruzSouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceCentenary College of LouisianaLone Star ConferenceUniversity of Texas at TylerSouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceSouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceTexas Lutheran UniversityRed River Athletic ConferenceLouisiana Christian UniversitySouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceConcordia University TexasLone Star ConferenceUniversity of Texas at DallasSouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceSchreiner UniversitySouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceLeTourneau UniversityEast Texas Baptist UniversityUniversity of Mary Hardin–BaylorLone Star ConferenceSul Ross State UniversitySouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceUniversity of the OzarksGulf South ConferenceMississippi CollegeSouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceLone Star ConferenceMcMurry UniversityHoward Payne UniversityHardin–Simmons UniversitySouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceNCAA Division III independent schoolsUniversity of DallasSouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceSouthern Collegiate Athletic ConferenceAustin College

Sports

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Men's sponsored sports by school

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School Baseball Basketball Cross
Country		 Football Golf Soccer Tennis Track & Field
(Outdoor)		 Total ASC
Sports
ETBU Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Hardin-Simmons Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Howard Payne Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN 6
LeTourneau Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 7
UMHB Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN 7
UT Dallas Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 7
2025-26 Totals 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 30

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the ASC that are played by ASC schools

[edit]
School Bass
Fishing		 Clay Target
Shooting		 Esports Ice Hockey Lacrosse Swimming
& Diving		 Track & Field
(Indoor)		 Wrestling
ETBU MLF Red XN Red XN Independent MCLA, LSA (DII) Red XN Red XN Red XN

Women's sponsored sports by school

[edit]
School Basketball Cross
Country		 Golf Soccer Softball Tennis Track & Field
(Outdoor)		 Volleyball Total ASC
Sports
ETBU Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Hardin-Simmons Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
Howard Payne Green tickY Red XN Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY 6
LeTourneau Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
UMHB Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Red XN Green tickY 7
UT Dallas Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8
2025-26 Totals 4 3 4+1 4 4 4 4 4 31+1
UC Santa Cruz Green tickY 1

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the ASC that are played by ASC schools

[edit]
School Acrobatics
& Tumbling		 Beach
Volleyball		 Clay Target
Shooting		 Esports Swimming
& Diving		 Track & Field
(Indoor)		 Wrestling
ETBU Independent Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN
UMHB Independent Independent Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN Red XN

References

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  1. ^ a b "David Flores Named Commissioner of the American Southwest Conference". American Southwest Conference. June 21, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  2. ^ "Centenary Approved for Div. III Reclassification". American Southwest Conference. July 20, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  3. ^ "Centenary College of Louisiana to Join the SCAC". SCAC. 28 September 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  4. ^ Members leave ASC for SCAC Archived July 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "SU News 2012: SCHREINER UNIVERSITY TO JOIN SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE ATHLE…". schreiner.edu. August 5, 2012. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  6. ^ "Texas Lutheran University to join Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference". Texas Lutheran University. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  7. ^ "NCAA accepts McMurry's application to transition to Division II - The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks". The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks. 12 July 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "Mississippi College chooses Division II". D3 Sports. 27 September 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  9. ^ "Mississippi College Takes Steps to Rejoin NCAA Division II". D3 Sports. 27 September 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  10. ^ "American Southwest Conference Announces McMurry and Belhaven as Future Additions". American Southwest Conference. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  11. ^ "McMurry University and Belhaven University Set to Join ASC". uttylerpatriots.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  12. ^ "ASC Announces Football Expansion - The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks". The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks. 3 December 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  13. ^ "UT Tyler Accepted into NCAA Division II" (Press release). University of Texas at Tyler. July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  14. ^ "Lone Star Conference to Add UT Tyler in 2019" (Press release). Lone Star Conference. August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  15. ^ "Louisiana College applies for NAIA for 2021-22 school year". WBRZ-TV. Associated Press. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  16. ^ "'Roo Football to Join ASC as Affiliate Member". Austin College Athletics. August 13, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  17. ^ SOUTHWESTERN FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES MOVE TO SAA IN FALL OF 2023 - Southwestern University
  18. ^ "Belhaven University Set to Join USA South". USA South Athletic Conference. November 22, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  19. ^ "USA South Announces Conference Restructuring". USA South Athletic Conference. February 18, 2022. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  20. ^ "McMurry accepts invitation to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference" (Press release). McMurry University. November 1, 2022 – via KRBC-TV.
  21. ^ "Sul Ross Applies to Move to NCAA Division II Level" (Press release). Sul Ross State University. February 1, 2023.
  22. ^ "Concordia University Texas and University of the Ozarks Set to Join SCAC in 2024-25". Southern Collegiate Athletic Association. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  23. ^ "UT Dallas Accepts Invitation to Join Lone Star Conference" (Press release). University of Texas at Dallas. July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  24. ^ "LeTourneau University Set To Join SCAC In 2025-26" (Press release). Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. April 25, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  25. ^ US Census via Google
  26. ^ a b Rankings Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ a b "UT Dallas State of the University 2022" (PDF). UT Dallas. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  28. ^ "Centenary Announces Return of Football". Centenary. November 10, 2021.
  29. ^ "Louisiana College Becoming Louisiana Christian University". Louisiana College. November 16, 2021.
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