College football realignment: Texas State expects Pac-12 offer soon, per report

College football realignment could pick up again this offseason, with a school from the state of Texas ready to make a move into a larger conference in the near future.

Texas State has informed the Sun Belt that it expects a formal offer from the Pac-12 to join soon, according to ESPN college football reporter Pete Thamel.

Talks between the school and the conference have escalated over the last 24 hours, and it appears the two sides are close to joining forces.

Last week, it emerged that Texas State was a heavy favorite to join the Pac-12 as the conference looks to rebound from losing most of its members in the last year.

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 in 2026-27.

That brings the Pac-12’s membership to seven schools in football -- Gonzaga is poised to join as a non-football member -- one shy of the eight it needs to be considered an FBS conference.

(ESPN)

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