Report: Texas State receives verbal offer to join Mountain West, Pac-12 shows interest

Texas State has received a verbal offer to join the Mountain West, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported. The Pac-12 has also expressed interest as conference realignment dominoes continue to fall.

Texas State is viewed as an up-and-coming program and came up as a potential Mountain West target last week. A decision is expected in the coming days, according to Thamel, and the news came as the Bobcats led Sam Houston State in a Week 5 matchup.

Texas State struggled after moving up to FBS in 2012, but G.J. Kinne took them to an 8-5 record in 2023. The Bobcats also off to a 2-1 start to the 2024 campaign, with their only loss coming to Arizona State.

The Mountain West finds itself looking to get back to the eight-team threshold to be considered an FBS conference after five teams leave in 2026. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State are all heading to the Pac-12 – kicking off another round of realignment.

Northern Illinois and Toledo are also being explored as MWC members, according to multiple reports. Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez informed MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher of the league’s interest in both schools, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger. They would be football-only members.

More on Mountain West, Pac-12 realignment

More MWC teams were under consideration by the Pac-12, but they all signed binding commitment agreements Thursday and will see new distribution payments thanks to the exit fees coming into the league.

UNLV and Air Force – widely viewed as the top targets for the Pac-12 – will receive 24.5% of the distribution. Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming will all receive 11.5% while Hawaii will get 5% as a football-only member.

The Mountain West and Pac-12 are also in the midst of a legal battle. Late last week, the Pac-12 sued the Mountain West over “poaching penalties” in their scheduling agreement. Those are not related to the exit fees under conference bylaws.

Under the agreement, the Pac-12 agreed to a penalty of $10 million for the first Mountain West school acquired, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. From there, the figure would increase by roughly $1 million per school. With five additions on the way from the MWC, the Pac-12 would owe roughly $50 million.