Southwestern and Texas Lutheran Join the ASC as Football Affiliate Members
12/3/2015 2:28:00 PM
Texas Lutheran Release | Southwestern Release
RICHARDSON, Texas – The number of football teams in the American Southwestern Conference will grow by two for the start of the 2017 season as the ASC announced today (Dec. 3) the addition of Southwestern University and Texas Lutheran University as affiliate members for football.
With the addition of Southwestern and TLU, American Southwest Conference football will number 10 teams playing a nine-game league schedule beginning in fall 2017. The additions also signal a return to a 10-team football alignment for the first time since 2005 and will make the ASC the 10th NCAA Division III conference with at least 10 football teams. The football affiliate membership of both institutions was accepted by unanimous vote of the ASC Council of Presidents.
"The American Southwest Conference is excited to bring both Southwestern and Texas Lutheran into our football program for the 2017 season, strengthening further the quality of ASC and NCAA Division III football within our Texas-Louisiana-Mississippi footprint," said Amy Carlton, ASC commissioner.
"We look forward to working with ASC football administrators and coaches in providing all students on our campuses the opportunity to enjoy spirited rivalries and top-level competition," Carlton added.
Southwestern and Texas Lutheran will join Belhaven University, East Texas Baptist University, Hardin-Simmons University, Howard Payne University, Louisiana College, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, McMurry University and Sul Ross State University as ASC football-playing members.
The oldest institution of higher learning in the State of Texas (chartered 1840), Southwestern began organized football on its campus in 1903. Football became an intercollegiate sport in 1908 before being disbanded after the 1950 season. The first 42 intercollegiate years included charter membership in the Southwest Conference with Texas, Texas A&M, Rice and Baylor, and back-to-back Sun Bowl championships (1944, '45).
"We are very excited about our partnership with the American Southwest Conference," said Southwestern President Edward Burger. "We thoughtfully explored several options, but the ASC was the absolute best fit for our football program and our University. Joining the ASC reinforces our commitment to student-athlete success, as we continue to challenge our bright players to think, create and connect, both academically and athletically."
Southwestern carries a long history against several present ASC teams with a contest vs. Howard Payne in 1916 being the oldest. The Pirates initially competed against Hardin-Simmons (1926), McMurry (1930) and East Texas Baptist (1947) before football was discontinued. After a 63-year absence, Southwestern reinstated its football program and played its first game on Sept. 7, 2013 vs. Texas Lutheran.
Texas Lutheran joined the American Southwest Conference in 1998 as an affiliate member for football before moving to full sport membership in 2000. TLU departed the ASC for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference after the 2012-13 academic year. The Bulldogs sponsored football from 1912 through 1987, winning back-to-back NAIA national titles in 1974 and 1975. TLU reestablished football in 1998 and over the next 14 seasons twice finished as high as third in the ASC standings (2004, '06).
"TLU coaches, players and Bulldog fans are eagerly looking forward to the challenge of the ASC, which we believe is the most competitive Division III football conference in the nation, top to bottom," said Stuart Dorsey, Texas Lutheran president. "The TLU community will be treated to exciting, well-played football contests with our traditional rivals on fall Saturdays at our new stadium."
In three seasons with the SCAC (2013, '14, '15), Texas Lutheran has been one of the most successful football programs in Division III, going undefeated in the conference, winning three consecutive SCAC championships and posting a 25-5 overall record. In 2014 TLU was an at-large selection to the NCAA Division III Football Championship, facing ASC member Mary Hardin-Baylor in the first round.
Southwestern and Texas Lutheran remain as members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for all sports except football. The SCAC announced in mid-November that it would end sponsorship of football after the 2016 season. The other two football-playing SCAC institutions – Austin College and Trinity University – announced they would affiliate the sport with the Southern Athletic Association.
Notables
AQ Return: As its football membership grows, the ASC will continue moving forward toward regaining its automatic qualifier (AQ) for the NCAA Division III Football Championship with Southwestern and Texas Lutheran, active Division III members, coming under the league's football roster for the 2017-18 year and as both McMurry and Belhaven advance toward full Division III membership. Depending on the outcome of the proposal 2016-9 vote at the NCAA Convention in mid-January, the American Southwest Conference could become eligible for an AQ as early as the 2018 season.
Counting by Tens: ASC football was a 10-team league for six seasons in the early 2000s (2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05). Division III conferences with at least 10 football members for the 2015 season include the Middle Atlantic Conference, New England Small College Athletic Conference, New Jersey Athletic Conference, North Coast Athletic Conference, Ohio Athletic Conference, Centennial Conference, Presidents’ Athletic Conference, Midwest Conference and the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
Roll-Call: The American Southwest Conference has 13 members for the 2015-16 year – Belhaven, Concordia University Texas, East Texas Baptist, Hardin-Simmons, Howard Payne, LeTourneau University, Louisiana College, Mary Hardin-Baylor, McMurry, University of the Ozarks, Sul Ross State, University of Texas at Dallas and University of Texas at Tyler. In addition to 13 full members, the ASC lists the University of California, Santa Cruz as an affiliate member in women's golf.