RICHARDSON, Texas - The University of Texas at Dallas is now an official member of the Lone Star Conference, effective Tuesday, July 1.
 
The Comets started the transition process to NCAA Division II in the summer of 2023 after being invited to join the LSC. They are expected to begin the final year of an expedited, two-year transition process to NCAA Division II, becoming a full member on September 1, 2026.
 
"We are thrilled to welcome UT Dallas to the Lone Star Conference as our 18th member," LSC Commissioner Jay Poerner said. "With tremendous leadership and a rich history of academic and athletic success, I expect UTD will make an immediate impact on our league. We are proud to welcome the Comets' student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and fans to the LSC."



UTD sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletics programs that will be playing under the LSC banner – baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field and volleyball. Comet teams and individuals are immediately eligible for LSC regular season championships and awards, but will be ineligible for postseason conference tournaments in sports where the conference receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II championship.
 
"This is a historic day in the history of UT Dallas and UTD Athletics. We are delighted to be joining the esteemed ranks of the Lone Star Conference," said Angela Marin, UTD's Director of Athletics. "The LSC's core values of competitive and academic excellence, student-athlete well-being, respect, leadership-building and community service, align with ours at UT Dallas," she said. "It is an opportunity to build new rivalries and rekindle old ones with programs with rich, athletic traditions."

Marin noted that the LSC, which has deep roots in Texas dating to 1931, is regarded as an elite Division II conference with 83 NCAA team national championships in the past 42 years.
 
Schools in the LSC span three states – Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico – and currently has 17 members. The institutions include Angelo State University, Cameron University, Dallas Baptist University, Eastern New Mexico University, Lubbock Christian University, Midwestern State University, Oklahoma Christian University, St. Edward's University, St. Mary's University, Sul Ross State University, Texas A&M International University, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, University of Texas Permian Basin, Texas Woman's University, University of Texas at Tyler, West Texas A&M University and Western New Mexico University.

Founded April 25, 1931, Lone Star Conference membership includes 18 institutions in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The LSC opens its 94th year of competition this fall and is coming off a successful 2024-25 year with NCAA Division II national championships in women's golf and softball, and national semifinal finishes in men's basketball, men's tennis (two teams), women's tennis and volleyball. Individual national titles were claimed in men's cross country, men's indoor track and field, women's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field and women's outdoor track & field. In addition, seven LSC student-athletes were recipients of the prestigious NCAA Elite 90 Award -- the most single-year honorees in any Division II conference in the history of the national award.

The University of Texas at Dallas, home to more than 30,000 students, is an innovative institution in the heart of North Texas. UT Dallas offers rigorous academic programs, with curricula serving a variety of undergraduate and graduate student interests. With eight schools offering more than 145 undergraduate and graduate programs, plus professional certificates and fast-track programs, UTD is also recognized as an R1 institution — a Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education denoting the top tier of doctoral institutions with very high research activity.



Lone Star Conference release