The Lone Star Conference in the NPSL, home to both the Denton Diablos and Fort Worth Vaqueros, will look rather different for the 2020 season.
First up, Dallas City FC is changing conferences, joining the Heartland Conference, which features teams in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas. They’ll be taking the spot of FC Wichita, who are sitting out the 2020 season ahead of a rumored professional relaunch.
Also leaving the conference are Tyler FC and Katy 1895 FC, with Tyler moving to the UPSL and Katy’s future still uncertain. Tyler encountered stadium issues last season, with games they were due to host moved to their opponent’s stadiums. Both teams finished at the bottom of the conference in 2019.
Replacing the 3 departed teams are three new NPSL teams in Texas.
Austin United FC – not to be confused with future MLS side Austin FC or the Austin Bold of the UCL Championship – is an extension of a previously existing academy club.
FC Brownsville returns from a 1-year hiatus, having last competed in 2018.
Coyotes FC, from Temple, TX, join the NPSL having spent several seasons in the UPSL.
The conference is now finalized with 7 teams set to play a 12 game, home-and-away schedule. Schedule details will be announced over the coming weeks.
While the NPSL season openers for the conference have yet to be announced, two local teams qualified for the 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fort Worth will be making its second appearance and Denton making its debut.
Fort Worth travels to Tulsa to play Tulsa Athletic on Tuesday, March 24, while Denton hosts NTX Rayados on Wednesday, March 25
