Texas State's talks with the Mountain West Conference have ended, and the school informed the Sun Belt Conference that it will not 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 interest in the Bobcats' program, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel, although the offer had not materialized. As a member of the Sun Belt, the Bobcats' exit fee to make a league switch is expected to be $5 million.
“The recent interest shown in the state of Texas and its presence in the college sports landscape says a lot about the university and the work that our staff and student-athletes have done to build the Bobcat brand on a national level,” said the athletic director of the Texas State, Don Coryell.
“After preliminary discussions with an interested conference, we have decided not to make any changes at this time.”
Texas State has a rising football program that has been playing in the FBS since 2012. It played one season in the WAC before joining the Sun Belt in 2013. The school played and won its first bowl game as a member of the FBS in 2023, as they finished 8-5 under coach GJ 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 September 12. They will play at Troy on Saturday night on ESPNU.
The Mountain West's original discussions with Texas State intensified after decisions by UNLV and Air Force to remain in the league last week. That gave the league two pivotal schools to build around moving forward.
The Mountain West has six full-time members and the state of Texas would have given it seven. It needs eight full members to meet the NCAA's minimum conference 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 an additional member, as it currently has seven.
