| American Southwest Conference | |
| Inaugural: | 1996 |
| Association: | NCAA |
| Division: | Division III |
| Teams: | 6 (4 in 2025) |
| Sports: | 16 |
| Mens: | 8 |
| Womens: | 8 |
| Region: | Gulf Coast |
| Headquarters: | Richardson, Texas |
| Commissioner: | David Flores |
| Website: | ascsports.org |
| Map: | ASW-USA-states.svg |
| Map Size: | 250 |
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| Font Color: |
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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.
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.[1] [2]
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[3] departed at the end of the 2011–12 season after joining the ASC in that same season; Schreiner[4] and Texas Lutheran[5] 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.[6] Additionally, Mississippi College announced that it would be also leaving the conference and reclassifying to Division II in 2014.[7] Mississippi College will re-join the Gulf South Conference, a league that it had been a member of until 1996.[8]
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.[9] [10] 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 [11] 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.[12] The following month, UT Tyler was officially unveiled as an incoming LSC member.[13]
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.[14]
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,[15] 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.[16] and on November 26, 2021, when the USA South Athletic Conference initially named Belhaven as its newest member in the 2022–23 academic year.[17] 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.[18]
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.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22] [23] 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.[24]
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 | Nickname | Joined | 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 &<br>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 | |
| Richardson, Texas (103,297) | 1961 | Public | 31,570[27] | 142 National | $743,000,000 | Comets | 1998 | Temoc | No |
The ASC currently has four affiliate members, all but one are private schools. The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz) joined the conference as an affiliate member in women's golf in 2013. Southwestern University and Texas Lutheran University joined as affiliate members in football in 2017.[28] Austin College joined as an affiliate member in football in 2021.[15]
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Current conference | ASC sport | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin College | Sherman, Texas | 1849 | Presbyterian | 1,278 | 'Roos | 2021 | Southern (SCAC) | football | |
| University of California, Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz, California | 1965 | Public | 18,783 | Banana Slugs | 2013 | Coast to Coast (C2C) | women's golf | |
| Texas Lutheran University | Seguin, Texas | 1891 | Lutheran ELCA | 1,400 | Bulldogs | 2017 | Southern (SCAC) | football |
The ASC has thirteen former full members, all but two were private schools:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current conference | ASC sport | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern University | Georgetown, Texas | 1840 | United Methodist | 1,536 | Pirates | 2017 | 2023 | Southern (SCAC) | football | |
| Texas Lutheran University | Seguin, Texas | 1891 | Lutheran ELCA | 1,400 | Bulldogs | 1998 | 2000 | Southern (SCAC) | football |
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1996 till:2026
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#
Colors =
id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:Full from:1996 till:2006 text:Austin (1996–2006) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2021 text:SCAC bar:1 color:AssocF from:2021 till:2024 text:(2021–2024) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:SCAC
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1996 till:2001 text:Dallas (1996–2001) bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:2011 text:Independent bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:2011 till:end text:SCAC
bar:3 color:Full from:1996 till:end text:Hardin–Simmons (1996–present)
bar:4 color:Full from:1996 till:end text:Howard Payne (1996–present)
bar:5 color:Full from:1996 till:2012 text:McMurry (1996–2012) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2014 text:Lone Star bar:5 color:FullxF from:2014 till:2016 text:(2014–present) bar:5 color:Full from:2016 till:2024 bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:SCAC
bar:6 color:Full from:1996 till:2014 text:Mississippi College (1996–2014) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:Gulf South
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1996 till:2024 text:University of the Ozarks (1996–2024) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:SCAC
bar:8 color:Full from:1996 till:2024 text:Sul Ross State (1996–2024) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:Lone Star
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1997 till:1998 text:Mary Hardin–Baylor (1997–present) bar:9 color:Full from:1998 till:end
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2000 text:East Texas Baptist (1998–present) bar:10 color:Full from:2000 till:end
bar:11 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:LeTourneau (1998–2025) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text:SCAC
bar:12 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2013 text:Schreiner (1998–2013) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:SCAC
bar:13 color:FullxF from:1998 till:2025 text:UT Dallas (1998–2025) bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text:Lone Star
bar:14 color:FullxF from:1999 till:2024 text:Concordia (TX) (1999–2024) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:SCAC
bar:15 color:Full from:2000 till:2021 text:Louisiana College (2000–2021) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text:RRAC
bar:16 color:AssocF from:1998 till:2000 bar:16 color:Full from:2000 till:2013 text:Texas Lutheran (2000–2013) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2017 text:SCAC bar:16 color:AssocF from:2017 till:2024 text:(2017–2024) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:SCAC
bar:17 color:FullxF from:2003 till:2019 text:UT Tyler (2003–2019) bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:end text:Lone Star
bar:18 shift:(-100) color:FullxF from:2011 till:2012 text:Centenary (La.) (2011–2012) bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:SCAC
bar:19 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:end text:UC Santa Cruz (2013–present)
bar:20 color:FullxF from:2015 till:2017 text:Belhaven (2015–2022) bar:20 color:Full from:2017 till:2022 text: bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text:CCS
bar:21 color:AssocF from:2017 till:2023 text:Southwestern (Tex.) (2017–2023) bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:SAA
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1996
| School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross Country | Football | Golf | Soccer | Tennis | Track & Field (Outdoor) | Total ASC Sports | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETBU | 8 | |||||||||
| Hardin-Simmons | 8 | |||||||||
| Howard Payne | 6 | |||||||||
| LeTourneau | 7 | |||||||||
| UMHB | 7 | |||||||||
| UT Dallas | 7 | |||||||||
| 2025-26 Totals | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 30 |
| School | Basketball | Cross Country | Golf | Soccer | Softball | Tennis | Track & Field (Outdoor) | Volleyball | Total ASC Sports | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETBU | 8 | |||||||||
| Hardin-Simmons | 8 | |||||||||
| Howard Payne | 6 | |||||||||
| LeTourneau | 8 | |||||||||
| UMHB | 7 | |||||||||
| UT Dallas | 8 | |||||||||
| 2025-26 Totals | 4 | 3 | 4+1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 31+1 | |
| UC Santa Cruz | 1 |
| School | Acrobatics & Tumbling | Beach Volleyball | Clay Target Shooting | Esports | Swimming & Diving | Track & Field (Indoor) ! | Wrestling | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETBU | Independent | |||||||
| UMHB | Independent | Independent |