UTD will begin competing in the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference this fall semester after 26 years in the Division III American Southwest Conference. As a Division II school, UTD is now eligible to offer athletic scholarships.  

The NCAA announced July 11 that UTD’s petition to move into Division II was approved on an “expedited provisional membership” which would take only two years to complete instead of the typical three-year membership process. 

Since its creation in 1998, the UTD Comet Sports program has exclusively participated within the Division III ASC conference. 

Vice President of Student Affairs Gene Fitch said that $3 million will be added to the annual budget of the UTD Athletics department so as to cover the costs of hiring new staff and coaches to support the various sports Comets participate in while also providing for the creation of a select few sports scholarships that are regulated by the NCAA and awarded by UTD’s coaches. 

“We’re not touching academic money,” Fitch said. “None of that is being impacted, and I don’t want our students to think that something’s being taken away from them.” 

UTD will be competing as an independent during the fall 2024spring 2025 academic year during its first year with provisional membership in the Lone Star Conference.