Above photo courtesy of the American Southwest Conference
RICHARDSON, Texas- After months of silence on the topic of a new commissioner for the American Southwest Conference following the resignation of Amy Carlton, the conference announced David Flores will serve its next commissioner in a press release on Wednesday.
Flores comes to the league from the Big 12 Conference, where he previously served as Vice President for Governance. His tenure begins immediately.
“I want to thank Presidents Bruntmyer and O’Rear, the Council of Presidents and the search committee for the opportunity to serve as the next Commissioner of the American Southwest Conference,” said Flores in the press release. “I’m humbled by this opportunity, and I look forward to serving the student-athletes, coaches and administrators of the ASC member institutions in not only sustaining but strengthening the academic and athletic success of the American Southwest Conference.”
Flores comes to the ASC at a time when the league is in a fragile state, having lost a number of member institutions within the last year. Sul Ross State is set to depart to the D-II ranks, joining the Lone Star Conference, and Concordia (TX) and Ozarks are both headed to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in the summer of 2024. Additionally, McMurry will join the SCAC beginning in the 2024-25 athletic year as well.
A total of six full-member institutions remain in the ASC. Those being: UT-Dallas, LeTourneau, UMHB, Hardin-Simmons, East Texas Baptist, and Howard Payne. As previously outlined in our May 15 piece, the conference is on pace to lose its automatic NCAA qualifying bids in cross-country, track & field, and football by 2026 if no additional institutions join the ASC.
UMHB president Dr. Randy O’Rear was quoted in the press release, saying of Flores: “David Flores is a visionary leader with a proven track record of success and rich experiences throughout his career of service in collegiate athletics.
“He comes highly recommended, and the American Southwest Conference Council of Presidents is thrilled to have David serving as our new commissioner. The ASC has enjoyed remarkable success on a national level, and we look forward to even greater days ahead with David leading us into the future.”
Flores certainly has an exceptional level of experience within college sports, having worked as “a Student-Athlete Academic Advisor, Director of Compliance Services, Director of Student-Athlete Support Services, Associate Commissioner for Compliance and Governance, and Vice President for Governance through his 25 years of intercollegiate athletics service,” according to the release.
A graduate of UTEP and four-year letterwinner on the Miners’ football team, Flores previously served the Big 12 in overseeing operations surrounding compliance and governance as well as working as a “liaison to the Faculty Athletics Representatives, Directors of Student-Athlete Support Services and coordination of the academic awards program.” He also served as a liaison to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at the Big 12.
Prior to his stint at the Big 12, Flores held administrative athletic positions at UTEP, Kansas State, Texas State, New Mexico, and Texas Tech.
Read the full press release here: https://ascsports.org/news/2023/6/20/mens-cross-country-david-flores-named-american-southwest-conference-commissioner.aspx
