Oregon State and Washington State took the first steps towards rebuilding the Pac-12 last summer. The two schools, left behind by their former conference-mates who fled to the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12, moved to add Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State in July. Utah State and basketball power Gonzaga joined in September, with the Bulldogs joining as a non-football full member for all sports.
While adding Gonzaga was a coup for the league's basketball hopes, the Pac-12 still needs to add an eighth football school to preserve FBS status when its new members join in 2026. The league has bided its time in doing so, but one fast-rising program has emerged as a "heavy favorite" to fill the spot according to ESPN's Pete Thamel and Kyle Bonagura: Texas State.
The Bobcats have been playing football since the early 1900s but are a relative newcomer on the FBS scene, joining college football's highest level in 2012. It took more than a decade for the program to get on track in the FBS, going 40–92 under four coaches before hiring upstart Incarnate Word coach GJ Kinne, who has posted back-to-back 8–5 campaigns with wins in its first two bowl games (both First Responder Bowls in '23, '24).
Aside from recent success, Texas State is a big school with over 40,000 students and is just a half-hour from Austin in the town of San Marcos. The program would give the Pac-12 a foothold in the football-loving Lone Star State.
Time is ticking for both sides of the potential match. Texas State's exit fee to leave the Sun Belt Conference doubles from $5 million to $10 million on July 1, while the Pac-12 needs to make a move to solidify itself for 2026. ESPN reports that a vote is expected before that soft deadline.
This isn't the first interest in the Bobcats during this large round of realignment out west. The Mountain West, which was pillaged by the new-look Pac-12 for many of its members, offered Texas State last summer but was turned down as the school garnered Pac-12 interest. It hasn't exactly been shy in its interest in joining the former Power 5 league. Even with the Sun Belt's cohesion and strength among Group of 5 leagues, if the Pac-12 comes calling with a full membership offer, it seems very likely that the Bobcats would answer.
More College Football on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Upstart Texas School the 'Heavy Favorite' to Join New-Look Pac-12 in Realignment.
