University of Central Arkansas President Houston Davis has been named chair of the Southland Conference Board of Trustees for 2019-21. The two-year appointment was announced at the Southland Conference 2019 Spring Meeting in Frisco, Texas.

“We are very excited to announce that President Davis will be leading the Southland Conference Board of Directors as the group’s chair during the next two academic years,” said Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett. “His executive experience and academic background, his knowledge of the Southland and NCAA matters and his genuine interest in the well-being of students make him a great fit for this important league role. We look forward to his term, and know the entire Southland Conference will benefit from his leadership.”

“I am honored by the opportunity to represent both the Southland Conference and the University of Central Arkansas in this capacity,” said Davis. “I look forward to the great work we will continue to do in the coming years.”

According to a press release issued from the Southland Conference, the four-day spring meeting brought together institutional presidents, athletic directors, faculty representatives, senior female administrators, student-athletes, league staff members and other special guests to address a number of competitive, administrative and strategic initiatives.

During an Honors Ceremony, several awards were given as well. Among those, the Steve McCarty Citizenship Awards were presented to a pair of UCA student-athletes: softball’s Oakley Sisemore, a native of Farmington, who recently earned her master’s degree in environmental sciences, and football’s Breylin Smith, a sophomore from Conway, who is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in health education.

Founded in 1963, the Southland Conference is a dynamic and respected consortium of 13 member universities in three states — the University of Central Arkansas; Lamar University; McNeese State University; Nicholls State University; Northwestern State University; Sam Houston State University; Southeastern Louisiana University; Stephen F. Austin State University; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; Abilene Christian University; Houston Baptist University; the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio; and the University of New Orleans. The Southland sponsors 17 championship sports, all at the NCAA Division I level, and encompasses nearly 140,000 current students and an alumni base of 800,000. For more information, visit Southland.org.