The University of Texas at Dallas starts a new chapter in its athletics history as the Comets officially begin membership with the Lone Star Conference today (July 1).
 
Accepted for LSC membership in July 2024, UT Dallas is completing its first year of the two-year NCAA Division II expedited membership process. The Comets are projected to gain full Division II status in fall 2026. UTD has been affiliated with NCAA Division III and the American Southwest Conference since 1998.
 
“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.”
 
UT Dallas sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletics programs that will compete 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 track and field, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field and volleyball. Comets 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 LSC receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Championship.
 
The Comets’ first scheduled LSC competition comes Sept. 17 when they host St. Mary’s in women’s soccer.
 
Located in Richardson, Texas, UT Dallas was founded in 1961 and approved as a University of Texas System institution in August 1969. UTD enrolls more than 31,000 students seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional certifications. The University is 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.
 
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 and 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.