It’s easy to root for the favorites, the programs that consistently achieve excellence and have the trophies to back it up. It’s harder to believe in the underdog who has something to prove.
Tom Madden, a 1980 Texas State alumnus, holds season tickets to every Bobcat sport that offers them. From football and basketball to baseball and softball, fans can usually catch him in the stands,
“You always hear people go, ‘my parents were Aggies, or my parents were Longhorns, even though they went to Southwest Texas,’” Madden said. “No, I’m sorry. You dance with the person you came to the dance with. I went to Southwest Texas, and that’s my school and it’s always going to be my school.”
Madden attended previously-named Southwest Texas State, studying biology with a minor in chemistry, which included vigorous coursework while also juggling a job at Grins Restaurant. Though he focused on both, he was keen on paying attention to Bobcat athletics.
At the time, Southwest Texas State competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with the Lone Star Conference before making the jump to the NCAA’s Division II. Bobcat football played at the now long-gone C.E. Evans Field and Strahan Arena would not be opened until 1982.
“If you want to see something really interesting, all you’ve got to do is fall back 20 years ago [to] where our athletics facilities were and where they are now,” Madden said. “[Our] stadium facilities were, I guess, for modern times nowadays, [smaller] than high school 5A facilities.”
Over 45 years after Madden’s graduation, the university that many once described as a sleeping giant in athletics has woken up from its slumber.
The football program is undergoing its most successful stretch since the Jim Wacker era in the 1980s. Baseball and softball are competing among the best in the nation and soccer, track & field, tennis and other sports are feeling the high of recent successes.
Texas State is preparing itself to enter its most ambitious experiment yet as it is set to join the rebuilt Pac-12 and in conjunction with improvements outside of athletics, Madden believes the university is at an inflection point.
“Every year, there’s more and more people that are seeing and recognizing our potential and where we can be in the future as far as athletics … It’s a huge deal,” Madden said. “When you listen to our fight song [that says] ‘until the whole world knows our name,’ let me tell you, [that is] not only [there] because of who we have as alumni, but [it’s there] because [of] what we’ve been doing successfully in sports and that success brings recognition to the university as a whole.”
With the university making strides on all fronts, Madden has made sure to contribute what he can to the cause.
“My main focus is coming back to Texas State, supporting these student athletes, because in my mind, it’s a win-win for me,” Madden said. “It was being able to support 350 different students at the same time and treat them equally through my contribution to the Bobcat Club. On top of that, I wanted to go ahead and buy season tickets for every sport that was available.”
Madden’s dedication to the school has not gone unnoticed by fellow Bobcat fans or Texas State administration. While a prominent figure online, he is known throughout the Texas State community.
“We are extremely grateful for members of the Bobcat family like Tom Madden,” Don Coryell, Texas State Athletic Director, said. “While we cannot overstate our appreciation for his role as a donor, he brings so much more to our teams through his contagious energy and unwavering support on social media. His passion is what we hope to see in all Bobcat fans.”
Trent Burk, a Texas State Alumni Association board member, met Madden in 2014 at watch parties Burk used to host in Georgetown.
“The events were very small, usually five to 10 people,” Burk said. “We became friends after that and have shared our stories of our love for the university. There is no other person I know that has as much passion for Texas State as Madden.”
Madden, after years of supporting a program that failed to fulfill its potential, now has his long-term loyalty rewarded with significant investments to sports and success on the national stage.
Once he picked Texas State as his university of choice all those decades ago, he dedicated himself to the Bobcats, through the good times and bad, and to the student-athletes that he now supports financially.
Even if it means he has to drive an hour down to San Marcos each time he wants to attend a game, he’ll do it, not only for himself, but for the athletes who also chose to dance with Texas State.
