Sul Ross State Moving to DII

On Thursday, the Texas State University System voted unanimously to allow Sul Ross State to execute a move to Division II and to the Lone Star Conference (LSC). Sul Ross State is currently a member of the ASC but was a member of the LSC from 1950 to 1976. They joined the ASC as a founding member back in 1996.

My understanding is that the process has started but that there are still more hurdles to clear before anything becomes official but once you start this ball rolling, it’s pretty much a done deal. The LSC has a number of teams in western Texas so it makes more sense for Sul Ross State logistically.

With McMurry recently announcing that they were leaving the ASC for the SCAC in 2024, it left the conference with just 8 members. The Sul Ross State defection would drop them down to 7. As a reminder, a conference needs 6 teams to maintain their automatic qualifier in volleyball (and other sports). I haven’t seen a timeline for the move but I’m sure the biggest concern for the conference is football. This past season they had 9 teams but if you eliminate the SCAC schools (affiliated members) and departing schools, they would field just 4 teams moving forward.

Lots of moving parts still in this decision and an unknown timeline but an interesting development in Region X and the ASC.