When David Flores was named the third Commissioner in the history of the American Southwest Conference on June 21, he inherited a conference in disarray. Add another challenge to the list for Flores after UT Dallas announced their intention to transition to NCAA Division II and compete in the Lone Star Conference beginning in the Fall of 2025 in a press release.

According to the release, UTD will apply for membership to Division II in February 2024 and begin a three-year transition if accepted. The Comets have been a member of the ASC since the school’s athletic department began in 1998. UTD is in the first phase of a $30 million facility upgrade, including a new track and field facility and upgrades to the baseball and soccer fields. 

UTD becomes the second institution to depart the ASC for Division II, with Sul Ross State receiving official acceptance earlier this month. The LSC currently has 17 members. That number will increase to 18 members when the 2025-2026 school year begins. Arkansas-Fort Smith is moving from the LSC to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Conference following the 2023-2024 academic calendar.

The most significant question following the announcement today was the future of the ASC without the Comets. When the 2025-2026 school year begins, the ASC will begin play with six fewer members sponsoring football and nine fewer members total than at the start of the 2021-2022 campaign.

So how does a conference with only four football members, and five members total, survive in the current collegiate landscape? That’s the question facing ASC Commissioner David Flores, who has completed exactly one month on the job.

I spoke with Commissioner Flores for a DCTF Exclusive Q&A two weeks ago. His answer to my question about the speculation surrounding the remaining members seeking ‘greener pastures’ immediately came to mind following UTD’s announcement.

Flores understands the business, and sources close to the commissioner indicated that today’s news did not surprise the conference leadership. It’s important to note that Flores watched the Big 12 go through similarly dire situations twice over the last ten years. He stated during our previous conversations how much he learned from Bob Bowlsby.

Bowlsby’s approach inside the conference office was to insist that everyone remain calm and not make rash decisions. According to sources close to the situation, Flores is using Bowlsby’s calm approach inside the conference despite the UTD news. UTD leaving the ASC is significant, and sources indicate Flores was disappointed by the news. However, rumors of this signaling the beginning of the ASC’s demise are premature.

There are currently no talks of Howard Payne leaving the ASC for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference as rumored, and keeping the remaining five members in the ASC must be priority number one for Flores if the ASC is to survive. The ASC won’t lose its automatic qualifier status until 2026, and UTD will remain with the conference until the 2025-2026 academic year. 

The reality is that Flores still has some time to save the ASC. Granted, the time is measured in months instead of years right now. All indications are that Flores is set on continuing to fight to save the conference. Godspeed, Commissioner Flores.