Texas State adds to the NCAA conference realignment craze as the TSUS Board of Regents approved the Bobcats to join the Pac-12 conference starting in the 2026-27 year.

At 9:30 a.m. the TSUS’s Board of Regents held a Special Called Meeting regarding Texas State’s discussions with another athletics conference. After a brief recess with the meeting entering Executive Session, the board approved the motion with no objections.

The board approved a $5 million payment to the Sun Belt Conference for Texas State’s exit fee.

Texas State made arguably it’s biggest move in school history since first moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012 today as Texas State is set to become the league’s ninth overall member and eighth football member. They join the likes of Oregon State, Washington State, Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Utah State and Gonzaga (non-football member).

The Pac-12 had been looking at the Bobcats since at least September 2024, when ESPN Reporter Pete Thamel reported that they expressed interest along with the Mountain West sending a verbal offer. Texas State declined the invitation to join the Mountain West and there had been little chatter besides rumors that had been popping up online since mid-January.

Recently, those rumors grew louder before ultimately culminating in another Thamel report posted in the evening of June 15 that confirmed the Bobcats were heavy favorites to receive an invitation for the Pac-12, one that could kick off a series of realignment moves affecting the Sun Belt and Conference USA.

According to Thamel’s report on June 15, Texas State had been the Pac-12’s target for months, with one main reason being the establishment of a foothold in Texas. It helps that Texas State is right in between two fast-growing cities, Austin and San Antonio.

With this move, seven of the ten FBS conferences will have a team in Texas. This will also be the ninth school out of the 13 FBS teams in Texas that has changed conference allegiances since 2021 when UT-Austin started the domino effect by making the jump from the Big 12 to the SEC.

Initially, the conference was focused on adding schools from the American Athletic Conference, namely Memphis and Tulane, along with South Florida and UTSA back in late 2024.

AAC schools could leave at $10 million but they had to report that they were leaving 27 months in advance. The deadline passed which resulted in the fees jumping to $25 million. Because financials played such a considerable part in the end, they stayed put and even jointly announced their commitment to the AAC.

When the AAC schools became unrealistic, the Pac-12 looked further at the Mountain West they had already poached from. Whilst they snagged five of the aforementioned schools above from the Mountain West, they were left just one member short overall.

Prior to Texas State’s addition, the Pac-12 had eight overall members, but only seven were full members. Gonzaga does not sponsor football, and the conference needed eight all-sports members by July 2026 to maintain FBS status.

Texas State’s Sun Belt exit fee stood at $5 million but would’ve jumped up to $10 million on July 1, as the conference requires only a one-year notice before a departure.

Joining the Pac-12 is a considerable upgrade in terms of the money Texas State will be receiving. The University Star is requesting a copy of the officially signed contract.

Texas State’s move is set to ignite a chain reaction of conference realignment moves. Most notably, with the Sun Belt’s likely plan of adding either Louisiana Tech or Western Kentucky as the replacement for Texas State.

The Bobcats will play one more full year in the Sun Belt Conference before making the switch to the Pac-12 on July 1, 2026.

This is a developing story. The University Star will provide updates as they become available.