Texas State ends Mountain West talks, stays in Sun Belt

Texas State’s talks with the Mountain West Conference have ended, with the school informing the Sun Belt Conference that it won’t be leaving after the Bobcats program received a verbal offer over the weekend.

At the time of the Mountain West offer, the Pac-12 had also expressed an interest in the Bobcats program, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel, though an offer there had not materialized. As a member of the Sun Belt, the exit fee for the Bobcats to make a league change is expected to be $5 million.

“The recent interest shown in Texas State and its presence across the college athletics landscape speaks volumes about the university and the work our staff and student-athletes have done to build the Bobcat brand nationally,” Texas State athletic director Don Coryell said. 

“After preliminary discussions with an interested conference, we have decided not to make a change at this time.” 

Texas State has a rising football program that has been in FBS play since 2012. It played one season in the WAC before joining the Sun Belt in 2013. The school played in and won its first bowl game as an FBS member in 2023, as it finished 8-5 under coach G.J. Kinne and defeated Rice 45-21 in the First Responder Bowl.

The Bobcats are 2-2 this season, and hosted Arizona State in a dramatic 31-28 loss in a nationally televised game on ESPN on Sept. 12. They will play at Troy on Saturday night on ESPNU.

The Mountain West’s original discussions with Texas State intensified after the decisions by UNLV and Air Force to remain in the league last week. That gave the league two linchpin schools to build around moving forward.

The Mountain West has six full-time members, and Texas State would have given it seven. It needs eight full members to meet NCAA conference minimum requirements.

The league’s six full members are UNLV, Air Force, Nevada, San Jose State, New Mexico and Wyoming. Hawai’i is in the league as a football member. The Pac-12 needs one additional member, as it currently sits at seven.