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Texas State Expecting Offer From PAC-12 This Week as Conference Expansion Talks Intensify
Texas State Expecting Offer From PAC-12 This Week as Conference Expansion Talks Intensify originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After months of speculation, it looks like Texas State will soon become the ninth member of the Pac-12 conference. Texas State informed its current conference, the Sun Belt, it is expecting an offer from the Pac-12 'in the near future', according to reporting from Pete Thamel of ESPN.
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Thamel also reports a formal offer from the Pac-12 has yet to be delivered, but that conference officials have alerted the Sun Belt of their talks with Texas State.
It's been nearly nine months since the Pac-12 reached an agreement to expand the conference, adding Gonzaga to a group that included returners Oregon State and Washington State and five newcomers from the Mountain West: San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State, Utah State, and Fresno State.
The Pac-12 currently has eight total members but only seven who sponsor football, and the conference is required to have eight full, football-playing members to become an FBS conference.
The Bobcats have long been considered the likeliest candidate to become that eighth full member, especially when talks with UNLV and Air Force in the Mountain West and Memphis, Tulane, UTSA, and other AAC programs broke down due to hefty exit fees.
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The timing here makes perfect sense, as the buyout for Texas State to leave the Sun Belt doubles from $5 million to $10 million on July 1, giving both sides the motivation to knock this out in the next five days.
Texas State gives the Pac-12 a footprint in Texas, a hotbed of recruiting in both football and men's basketball. The university is located in beautiful San Marcos, between Austin and San Antonio, and is considered a potential sleeping giant due to significant resources and a passionate and extensive alumni base.
It's unclear at this time what percentage of the Pac-12's media rights deal the Bobcats will receive.
For Gonzaga, the addition of Texas State doesn't move the needle much. The Bobcats have been D1 since 1984 but have only made the NCAA Tournament twice, as a 15 seed in 1994 and a 16 seed in 1997, losing in the first round both times.
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The program won the Sun Belt regular season in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, but lost in the conference championship in 2021 and in the semifinals in 2022.
KenPom has Texas State ranked No. 215 among all D1 programs dating back to 1997. The lowest ranked WCC team in that timeframe, Portland, comes in at No. 187, while SeattleU (196) and Eastern Washington (205) clear that mark as well.
It's fair to assume Mark Few and Gonzaga won't be thrilled about lengthy road trips halfway across the country to play a team that has virtually no history of success on the hardwood, but it is always possible an influx of cash reinvigorates the Bobcats and the level of play improves over time.
Related: Gonzaga Basketball 2025-26 Non-Conference Schedule Tracker
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
