College football realignment: Pac-12 could add Texas school, per report

The state of Texas could prove to be ground zero for another round of college football conference realignment with one historic league wanting to get involved.

Texas State has emerged as a heavy favorite to join the Pac-12 Conference in the near future, according to a new report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

The school faces a July 1 deadline to tell the Sun Belt if it wants to leave the conference for the 2026 football season and beyond.

Its buyout will double from $5 million to $10 million after that date.

Texas State played solid football at the Division II level before moving into the I-AA ranks in the 1980s, winning two national championships under head coach Jim Wacker.

Dennis Franchione helped bring the Bobcats into the FBS level in 2012 and they landed in the Sun Belt conference a year later.

After trudging through eight-straight losing seasons and not making any bowl appearances in that time, Texas State has won 16 games and won two straight bowl games in the last two years under coach G.J. Kinne.

The Pac-12 was by far the biggest loser in the last round of college football realignment, as USC, Oregon, Washington, and UCLA left for the Big Ten.

Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado then bolted for the Big 12.

Finally, rivals Stanford and Cal exited together to join the ACC, leaving the Pac-12 with just Oregon State and Washington State.

But the league rebounded after that, arranging for the addition of Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State, and Utah State to join the league.

Gonzaga, a major basketball school, will join the Pac-12 as non-football members, too.

Now, the conference needs just one more member to be eligible as a full-fledged NCAA league, and it could be on the precipice of doing just that.

Texas predictably has emerged as a location of intense interest when it comes to football, as seven of the nine current FBS leagues have at least one member in the state.

The long association with quality football, a passionate and talented high school scene, some of the nation’s most highly-regarded recruits, and a growing population have made the state an area of eager expansion for athletic leagues.

Only the Big Ten and MAC do not have a presence in the Lone Star State.

Now, it appears the Pac-12 wants to move in, too.

(ESPN)

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