RFC Summer Semester--American Southwest Conference (ASC) Preview (NCAA Division III)

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2011 Final Standings

Looking back: Mary Hardin-Baylor won its seventh straight American Southwest Conference (ASC) championship in 2011, finishing 8-0 in conference play.  The Crusaders advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III playoffs, where they were knocked off by Wesley, 27-24.

Looking ahead: Can the "Cru" take home yet another ASC title in 2012? Or can Louisiana College finally get over that seven-win hump?  Or can Hardin-Simmons return to being one of the elite small college football programs in Texas, if not the nation?  These and other questions could be answered this autumn?  Off the field, the ASC lost McMurry to the NCAA Division II ranks, while Texas Lutheran will leave the league after this season to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) in 2013.




2012 Predicted Order of Finish (2011 overall record in parentheses)

1. Mary Hardin-Baylor (12-1):  Not only will the Crusaders try to win an unprecedented eighth straight ASC title in 2012, they'll also shoot for their seventh straight season of 10 or more wins.  Achieving the latter goal, though, might be more difficult than they think, as they open this season playing against three teams that advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs last season: Kean, Wesley, and Trinity (Tex.).  The combined overall record of the Cru's first three foes last season?  32-5 (.865).  Oh, and that second game they'll play against Wesley?  They'll have to travel all the way East to Delaware for that contest on September 15, against the very squad that eliminated them from last year's playoffs?  Ouch!


2. Louisiana College (7-3):  Should the "Cru" tumble from their lofty perch atop the ASC, the Wildcats could be poised to pounce on top, in their 13th season of football.  Over the last four years, however, they've finished each season with the exact same overall record of 7-3, even finishing in second place at 7-1 in conference play in 2010.  By the way, LC does play host to UMHB on October 13.

3. Hardin-Simmons (6-4):  The Cowboys hope to improve on last season's 4-4 mark in ASC play.  Their non-conference schedule for 2012 includes a visit to NCAA playoff participant Linfield on September 8.  


4. Texas Lutheran (5-5):  After finishing in a three-way tie for fourth place last season (4-4), the Bulldogs hope to make their swan song in the ASC a successful one.


5. East Texas Baptist (5-5):  The Tigers will shoot for not only their first conference championship, but also their first playoff appearance, since 2003. Of course, that would mean trying to get over the five-win hump, which they've been stuck on four times in the last five years.


6. Mississippi College (3-7):  The Choctaws look to get back on the rebound after a disappointing 2011 season.  Five of their seven losses came by 13 or more points.


7. Sul Ross State (2-8):  A couple of close wins over NAIA Bacone, as well as ASC foe Mississippi College for Homecoming, were the lone bright spots in an otherwise dismal 2011 season for the Lobos.  As for the 2012 season, the Lobos will face a pair of NCAA Division II squads in Western and Eastern New Mexico, then must face perennial D-III power Trinity (Tex.), before opening ASC play at home against Mary Hardin-Baylor on September 29.  Yet another "ouch!"


8. Howard Payne (1-9):  The Yellow Jackets must travel to San Antonio to open the 2012 season against, you guessed it, the Trinity Tigers.