Texas State to Pac-12? Sun Belt school expects membership offer in 'near future,' per report

Texas State has informed the Sun Belt Conference that it expects an offer to join the Pac-12 in the near future, according to ESPN. The timing of a potential deal is important: Texas State's exit fee to join the Pac-12 in 2026 doubles from $5 million to $10 million on July 1.

Were Texas State to officially join the Pac-12, it would give the resurgent league the eight football member institutions required by the NCAA to be recognized as an FBS conference. Oregon State and Washington State are currently operating as lone members of the Pac-12 thanks to a two-year grace period. The remaining Pac-12 was able to lure Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Utah State from the Mountain West as full-time members starting in 2026. Gonzaga is also joining, though it does not sponsor a football team.

Texas State, which was once a member of the Western Athletic Conference, started competing in the Sun Belt in 2013, just one year after it made the jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Though Texas State never won the Sun Belt, it is coming off its first two bowl victories in program history under young coach G.J. Kinne. Kinne has guided the Bobcats to back-to-back 8-5 records, giving them their first consecutive winning seasons since 2008-09. Texas State also had its first winning record in Sun Belt play (5-3) since 2014 last season.