PAC Your Bags

Covering Texas State, I’ve gotten to see a few really cool things up close and personal. There are some days that I know for sure in a few years time I will look back and go, “damn, remember that?”

1. The Baylor game in 2023 has to be the first one. It was Squarin’ Around’s first season of coverage and the game became my first byline for Dave Campbell’s, how special is that? My first road trip to cover a team too since 2019. A whole lot of learning and networking.

2. The first river jump after becoming bowl-eligible after the win over Georgia Southern!

3. The first bowl win later that season at SMU’s Gerald Ford Stadium, which was already one of my favorite stadiums. When the final whistle sounded, Hot Chocolate’s 1978 hit “Every 1’s A Winner” started blasting as cigar smoke filled the air and fans rushed the field.

4. The first time we beat UTSA at home in front of a nearly sold-out crowd last year.

5. June 30, 2025: The Day Texas State was approved by the Texas State University System Board of Regents to spend $5M and join the reformed PAC-12 in 2026.

If you listen to or watch the show, you’ll know that Zimmel and I were VERY resistant to the thought of Texas State joining the PAC-12.

Can you blame us?

If you took a time machine and told me in 2026 Texas State would be in the PAC-12. I would probably ask you immediately about USC, Oregon or Washington.

But, those schools aren’t in the PAC-12 anymore.

And up until about two weeks ago, we didn’t even know if these guys would be on linear TV or not.

Now they are. And other deals could be around the corner. We’re still waiting to find out exactly what it all means on the financial side for Texas State.

Talking to Texas State University President Kelly Damphousse and Athletics Director Don Coryell about Texas State making such a monumental shift feels like another fever dream.

I remember chasing down former athletics director Larry Teis to try and get some answers after yet another tough loss. I ran after him through the visiting team’s sideline entrance when I was in college.

I remember the football team not being good at all when I was in school (2016-2020).

I remember coming so close to what felt like our first legitimate shot at an NCAA Tournament berth since 1997 and then a global pandemic hit my senior year.

I remember empty stands and bad attitudes, so forgive me and Zimmel for being grumpy old men about the change.

But I said last week I was seeing the vision behind the move.

Don and Kelly knew that signing up to be part of a conference reinventing itself is a gamble, but the upside is almost too good to ignore.

Instantly, more money.

But the bigger picture is the opportunity to shape our own destiny.

Since 1904, the Bobcats have been independent and been members of seven other conferences.

In 2012, when Texas State made the jump from FCS to FBS and posted a 4-8 season, it seemed like the university was kind of destined for mediocrity. Colloquially known as a party school. Seven name changes. It feels as though Texas State’s biggest issue was itself at times.

“Bobcats gonna Bobcat” is a phrase I have seen time and time again, season after season.

But a lot has changed on campus in a very short three years.

Who would have thought our first line of defense was going to be the Texas State burner accounts? I was up late last Thursday night re-recording a PAC-12 recap and then editing the rest of the show Zimmel and I had done when the news that a special board of regents meeting had been put on the books.

I couldn’t believe it.

The burner accounts were like dogs in the middle of the night who noticed a house fire. Thank you, boys.

Boom - fever dream moment. This was happening, this had legs and not just because Pete Thamel again reported something, but because now me and everyone else could see it coming together.

Hearing the final vote on Monday, getting to hear Don and Kelly celebrate on the phone, seeing everyone celebrate online - I wanted to go to the square so badly yesterday and celebrate with a Game Face at Mayloo’s!

We’ve earned it! It’s been a long time coming, maybe not to everyone looking from the outside in, but to those of us who have been here for a while, this felt like a graduation moment — we graduated to this moment in time.

This moment is fundamentally different than every other time in collegiate athletics.

Revenue sharing, NIL, social media and millions upon millions now openly passing between everyone’s hands. If we’re going to rewrite college football history anyway, we might as well have a pen in our hand.

The PAC-12 invitation is that pen.

This is an opportunity to chase what many of our fans have always wanted: A national brand with a national spotlight.

This is not like when Texas State moved from FCS to FBS. This move, in a way, is an effort to correct some of that bad blood. To wash away the sins of previous administrations and stewards who maybe were not as hip to the game or ready to embrace change and dive into the unknown.

We’re lucky we have two people who are.

I have a lot of faith in Kelly and Don, I’ve known the latter since 2017 when he would hand out prizes at the Chimmy’s coach’s radio show.

I’ll be honest, we probably could have stayed in the Sun Belt, had another relatively successful year and no one would have blamed either of them for not trying to hitch their wagon to a conference on the rebound. Thank God we didn’t.

We played our hand over the last few years, we’ve had things work out for us like G.J. Kinne, like construction and capital improvements, but the time to strike is now.

Too many things are lining up. The musical chairs of realignment is in full swing, football has been consistent and the national brand is building.

Yesterday we got more press than we ever had in our history. That’s not an accident; that’s the effect of running with the big boys.

The decision is really based on the potential of Texas State. A place we all love, a place we all believe in and a place we all know can foster the magic necessary to shine on any stage has finally been put on a shelf with some of the biggest names in college football.

Oregon isn’t in the PAC-12, but we are. That means something.

If it seems like making the jump is a gamble, it’s because it is. But it is one made by people who believe with their whole hearts that it is the right moment and the right move.

It was a clear and intentional choice to push chips into the middle of the table and see what hand we were dealt. All that’s left to do is to flip the cards.

“Until the whole world knows our name.”

Thanks for Squarin’

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