American Southwest Conference

American Southwest Conference
American Southwest Conference
ASC
Established	1996
Association	NCAA
Division	Division III
Members	11
Sports fielded	16 men's: 8; women's: 8; ;
Region	Gulf Coast
Headquarters	Richardson, Texas
Commissioner	Amy Carlton (since 2006)
Website	ascsports.org
Locations

The American Southwest Conference (ASC) is a college athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. The schools are located in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. 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 shares operates from the same headquarters complex in the Dallas suburb of Richardson as the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference.

History[]

American Southwest Conference

[Interactive fullscreen map]

Location of ASC members:

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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 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 an 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]

The most recent change in the ASC membership was announced on August 13, 2020, when Austin announced 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]

Member schools[]

Current members[]

Institution	Location (Population)^[16]	Founded	Type	Enrollment	U.S. News Ranking ^[17]	Endowment ^[17]	Nickname	Joined	Mascot	Football?
East Division
Belhaven University	Jackson, Mississippi (173,514)	1883	Private	3,245	59 (Regional: South)	$4,952,872	Blazers	2015	N/A	Yes
East Texas Baptist University	Marshall, Texas (24,751)	1912	Private/Baptist	1,714	19 (Regional College: West)	$58,780,000	Tigers	1998	Toby	Yes
LeTourneau University	Longview, Texas (81,092)	1946	Private	3,758	27 (Regional: West)	$10,500,000	Yellowjackets	1998	Buzz	No
University of the Ozarks	Clarksville, Arkansas (9,288)	1834	Private/Presbyterian	630	6 (Regional College: South)	$87,540,000	Eagles	1996	N/A	No
University of Texas at Dallas	Richardson, Texas (103,297/1,241,000 metro)	1961	Public (University of Texas)	24,554	142 National	$273,570,000	Comets	1998	Temoc	No
West Division
Concordia University Texas	Austin, Texas (842,592)	1926	Private/Lutheran	1,200	not ranked	$18,570,000	Tornados	1999	Mr. Tornado	No
Hardin–Simmons University	Abilene, Texas (118,887)	1891	Private/Baptist	2,333	39 (Regional: West)	$120,430,000	Cowboys and Cowgirls	1996	N/A	Yes
Howard Payne University	Brownwood, Texas (18,972)	1889	Private/Baptist	1,400	14 (Regional College: West)	$45,700,000	Yellow Jackets	1996	Buzzsaw	Yes
University of Mary Hardin–Baylor	Belton, Texas (19,409)	1845	Private/Baptist	2,713	54 (Regional: West)	$59,500,000	Crusaders	1997	CRUnk the Sader	Yes
McMurry University	Abilene, Texas (120,099)	1923	Private/Methodist	1,430	15 (Regional College: West)	$84,000,000	War Hawks	1996, 2014¹	Wally	Yes
Sul Ross State University	Alpine, Texas (5,972)	1917	Public (Texas State University)	2,070	not ranked	N/A	Lobos	1996	Sully	Yes

Notes:

¹ - McMurry left the ASC to join the NCAA Division II ranks and the Heartland Conference from 2012–13 to 2013–14 before rejoining the conference.

Affiliate members[]

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.^[18] Austin College joins as an affiliate member in football in 2021.^[15]

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Current Conference	ASC Sport
Austin College	Sherman, Texas	1849	Private	1,278		2021^*	SCAC	Football
Southwestern University	Georgetown, Texas	1840	Private	1,536	Pirates	2017	SCAC	Football
University of California, Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz, California	1965	Public	18,783	Banana Slugs	2013	C2C	Women's Golf
Texas Lutheran University	Seguin, Texas	1891	Private	1,400	Bulldogs	2017^**	SCAC	Football

Notes:

^* - Austin College will rejoin the conference for football only in 2021, but was a full member before leaving in 2006 for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
^** - Texas Lutheran University rejoined the conference for football only in 2017, but was a full member before leaving in 2013 for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Former members[]

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current Conference	Football?
Austin College	Sherman, Texas	1849	Private	1,320	Kangaroos	1996	2006	SCAC	Yes^*
Centenary College of Louisiana	Shreveport, Louisiana	1825	Private	787	Gentlemen (men's) Ladies (women's)	2011	2012	SCAC	No
University of Dallas	Irving, Texas	1956	Private	2,977	Crusaders	1996	2001	SCAC	No
Louisiana College	Pineville, Louisiana	1906	Private/Baptist	1,265	Wildcats and Lady Wildcats	2000	2021	RRAC (NAIA)	Yes
Mississippi College	Clinton, Mississippi	1826	Private/Baptist	4,162	Choctaws	1996	2014	Gulf South (DII)	Yes
Schreiner University	Kerrville, Texas	1923	Private	1,117	Mountaineers	1998	2013	SCAC	No
Texas Lutheran University	Seguin, Texas	1891	Private	1,400	Bulldogs	2000	2013	SCAC	Yes^**
University of Texas at Tyler	Tyler, Texas	1971	Public University of Texas)	5,326	Patriots	2002	2019	Lone Star (DII)	No

^* Austin College rejoins the ASC for football in 2021.
^** Texas Lutheran University rejoined the ASC for football in 2016.

Membership timeline[]

Sports[]

Men's sponsored sports by school[]

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Football	Golf	Soccer	Tennis	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Total ASC Sports
Belhaven	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Concordia Texas	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
ETBU	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Hardin-Simmons	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Howard Payne	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	6
LeTourneau	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
UMHB	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	7
McMurry	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Ozarks	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	6
Sul Ross State	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	6
UT Dallas	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Totals	11	11	10	7+3	9	11	11	8	78+3
Austin				Y					1
Southwestern				Y					1
Texas Lutheran				Y					1

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

School	Bass Fishing	Clay Target Shooting	Esports	Ice Hockey	Lacrosse	Swimming & Diving	Track & Field (Indoor)	Wrestling
ETBU	MLF	N	N	Independent	Independent	N	N	N
McMurry	N	N	Independent	N	N	SCAC	Independent	N
Ozarks	N	ACUI	N	N	N	SCAC	N	Southeast

Women's sponsored sports by school[]

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Golf	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Total ASC Sports
Belhaven	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Concordia Texas	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
ETBU	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Hardin-Simmons	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Howard Payne	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	6
LeTourneau	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
UMHB	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	7
McMurry	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Ozarks	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Sul Ross State	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	6
UT Dallas	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Totals	11	10	9+1	10	11	8	10	11	80+1
UC Santa Cruz			Y						1

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

School	Acrobatics & Tumbling	Beach Volleyball	Clay Target Shooting	Esports	Swimming & Diving	Track & Field (Indoor)	Wrestling
ETBU	Independent	N	N	N	N	N	N
UMHB	Independent	Independent	N	N	N	N	N
McMurry	N	N	N	Independent	SCAC	Independent	N
Ozarks	N	N	ACUI	N	SCAC	N	NCWWC

References[]

^ "Centenary Approved for Div. III Reclassification". American Southwest Conference. July 20, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
^ "Centenary College of Louisiana to Join the SCAC". SCAC. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
^ Members leave ASC for SCAC Archived July 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ "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.
^ "Texas Lutheran University to join Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference". Texas Lutheran University. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
^ "NCAA accepts McMurry's application to transition to Division II - The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks". The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
^ "Mississippi College chooses Division II". D3 Sports. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
^ "Mississippi College Takes Steps to Rejoin NCAA Division II". D3 Sports. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
^ "American Southwest Conference - American Southwest Conference Announces McMurry and Belhaven as Future Additions". ascsports.org. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
^ "McMurry University and Belhaven University Set to Join ASC". uttylerpatriots.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
^ "ASC Announces Football Expansion - The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks". The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
^ "UT Tyler Accepted into NCAA Division II" (Press release). University of Texas at Tyler. July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
^ "Lone Star Conference to Add UT Tyler in 2019" (Press release). Lone Star Conference. August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
^ "Louisiana College applies for NAIA for 2021-22 school year". WBRZ. Associated Press. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "'Roo Football to Join ASC as Affiliate Member". Austin College Athletics. August 13, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ US Census via Google
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Rankings Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
^ "The American Southwest Conference". American Southwest Conference. Retrieved October 10, 2017.

External links[]

Official website

[1] "Centenary Approved for Div. III Reclassification". American Southwest Conference. July 20, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.

[2] "Centenary College of Louisiana to Join the SCAC". SCAC. Retrieved October 11, 2012.

[3] Members leave ASC for SCAC Archived July 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

[4] "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.

[5] "Texas Lutheran University to join Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference". Texas Lutheran University. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2018.

[6] "NCAA accepts McMurry's application to transition to Division II - The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks". The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks. Retrieved April 20, 2018.

[7] "Mississippi College chooses Division II". D3 Sports. Retrieved October 11, 2012.

[8] "Mississippi College Takes Steps to Rejoin NCAA Division II". D3 Sports. Retrieved October 11, 2012.

[9] "American Southwest Conference - American Southwest Conference Announces McMurry and Belhaven as Future Additions". ascsports.org. Retrieved April 20, 2018.

[10] "McMurry University and Belhaven University Set to Join ASC". uttylerpatriots.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.

[11] "ASC Announces Football Expansion - The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks". The Official Site of McMurry War Hawks. Retrieved April 20, 2018.

[12] "UT Tyler Accepted into NCAA Division II" (Press release). University of Texas at Tyler. July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.

[13] "Lone Star Conference to Add UT Tyler in 2019" (Press release). Lone Star Conference. August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.

[14] "Louisiana College applies for NAIA for 2021-22 school year". WBRZ. Associated Press. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.

[Austin_College_Athletics-15] Jump up to: ^a ^b "'Roo Football to Join ASC as Affiliate Member". Austin College Athletics. August 13, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.

[16] US Census via Google

[Rankings-17] Jump up to: ^a ^b Rankings Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

[18] "The American Southwest Conference". American Southwest Conference. Retrieved October 10, 2017.

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show v t American Southwest Conference
East Division	Belhaven East Texas Baptist LeTourneau McMurry Ozarks
West Division	Concordia (TX) Hardin–Simmons Howard Payne Mary Hardin–Baylor Sul Ross State UT Dallas