Texas State Bobcats football

Early History (1904-1964)

Southwest Texas State University first fielded a football team in 1904, as a member of the NAIA. The team didn't have a coach in its inaugural season, and the school didn't field a football team from 1905-1908 or 1912-1914.

Joe Bailey Cheaney served as head football coach at Southwest Texas State from 1935-1942, a largely unsuccessful one at that. The Bobcats went 23-42-6 during Cheaney's tenure. Cheaney was asked to resign following the 1942 season. The university did not field a football team from 1943-1945 due to World War II.

Head coaches George Vest, Milton Jowers and R. W. Parker all had mediocre tenures as Southwest Texas State's head coach. All their tenures were marked by average offenses and defenses, as well as indifferent administration support.

Bill Miller era (1965-1978)

Bill Miller was promoted from assistant coach to head coach in 1965. During his tenure, the Bobcats compiled a record of 94-53-3. Miller retired in 1978 as the school's winningest head coach in its history and the second longest tenured head coach.

Jim Wacker era (1979-1982)

Miller was succeeded by Jim Wacker, who led the Bobcats to two consecutive NCAA Division II national championships in his final two seasons (The school had moved to the NCAA a short time earlier). Wacker left Southwest Texas State to accept the position of head coach at TCU after the 1982 season. Wacker left the Bobcats with a 42–8 record, which included a 13–1 mark in 1981 and a 14–0 mark in 1982.

John O'Hara era (1983-1989)

John O'Hara succeeded Wacker, coaching Southwest Texas State for seven seasons. Under O'Hara's leadership, the Bobcats made the playoffs in 1983, losing in the first round. O'Hara was the driving force behind moving Southwest Texas State out of Division II and into Division 1-AA, where the Bobcats faced much tougher competition on the field and on the recruiting trail.

Dennis Franchione era (1990-1991)

Dennis Franchione followed O'Hara, and under his tutelage, the Bobcats had a 6–5 record in 1990 and a 7–4 mark in 1991. Franchione left the Bobcats after two seasons to accept the position of head coach at New Mexico.

Jim Bob Helduser era (1992-1996)

To replace Franchione, the Bobcats promoted Jim Bob Helduser from an assistant coach to head coach. Under Helduser's leadership, the Bobcats compiled a record of 20–34–1. Helduser was approached by Franchione to join his staff at Texas Christian University as offensive line coach, an offer Helduser accepted.

Bob DeBesse era (1997-2002)

Minnesota offensive coordinator Bob DeBesse was hired by his alma mater to serve as head coach following Helduser's departure. In 2000, DeBesse's Southwest Texas Bobcats rolled up the school's best record in a decade (7-4) and earned a No. 25 national ranking. However, mediocrity forced DeBesse out after the 2002 season, as the school's administration had grown weary from mediocre recruiting and play.

Manny Matsakis era (2003)

Manny Matsakis was promoted from special teams coordinator to head coach of the Bobcats in 2003, but he only lasted one season. In his lone season, Texas State compiled a 5–7 record. Matsakis left TSU after the 2003 season.

David Bailiff era (2004-2006)

TCU defensive coordinator David Bailiff was hired as Matsakis' replacement on February 5, 2004. In his first season as the Bobcats' head coach, he guided them to a 5–6 record. In 2005, they finished the regular season 9-2 and were Southland Conference Champions. They then won two games in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, eventually losing to Northern Iowa. In 2006, the Bobcats' were again 5–6. Bailiff left Texas State after three seasons to accept the head coaching position at Rice.

Brad Wright era (2007-2010)

Brad Wright was promoted from running backs coach to head coach of the Bobcats football program after Bailiff's departure. Under Wright's tutelage, the Bobcats compiled a mediocre 23–23 record. Fan support and administration restlessness led the Wright's firing following a 4–7 campaign in 2010.

Franchione's return (2011-2015)

Following Brad Wright's dismissal, Texas State University engaged Parker Executive Search to help them find their next head football coach. Finalists included former Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins, Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Bobby Jack Wright, former Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster, and Franchione.

On January 7, 2011, Franchione was named head coach of Texas State's football program and signed a five-year contract valued at $350,000 per year. This was Franchione's second tenure with Texas State, having previously coached at what was then Southwest Texas State in 1990 and 1991. His second tenure at Texas State was slightly less successful, as he led Texas State into Football Bowl Subdivision level football in 2012, joining the Western Athletic Conference. Texas State then negotiated membership in the more stable Sun Belt Conference beginning in 2013, after the WAC stopped sponsoring football.

Franchione retired from coaching following the 2015 season. His second tenure with the Bobcats produced a 20–28 record.

Everett Withers era (2016-present)

Former North Carolina head coach Everett Withers was hired as Texas State's head coach on January 6, 2016. Withers, who was serving as head coach at James Madison in the FCS at the time of his hiring, is the first African American to hold the position of head football coach at Texas State University.

In 2016, Withers' first season, the Bobcats compiled a 2–10 record.

Championship history

In 2005, Texas State split the Southland Conference title with rival Nicholls State, and advanced to the Division I-AA football playoffs for the first time since the 1980s, losing in the semifinal to eventual national runner-up Northern Iowa, and finishing with an 11-3 record.

In 2008, Texas State overcame a 21-0 deficit to win the Southland Conference championship with a 48-45 overtime victory against Sam Houston State, its first outright league title since 1982.

Texas State joined the WAC effective July 1, 2012. Then, on July 1, 2013 season, Texas State moved to the Sun Belt Conference.

Conference championships

Only nine of Texas State's fourteen conference titles are outright titles. The other five are shared titles.

† Denotes shared title. Reference:

Conference affiliations

No Team: 1905–1908, 1943-1945

Division I-A/FBS Bowl Game results

The Bobcats have been bowl eligible twice since moving up to Division I-FBS. In 2013, Texas State went 6-6 in the first year the Bobcats were eligible to win a conference title or attend a bowl game after their 2-year FCS to FBS transition. In 2014, Texas State finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in Sun Belt play to finish in a three way tie for fourth place. Although eligible, they were not selected to participate in a bowl game; the Bobcats were the only eligible 7–5 FBS team not to receive a bowl bid.

Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results

The Bobcats have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs two times with an overall record of 2–2.

Division II Playoffs results

The Bobcats have appeared in the Division II playoffs three times with an overall record of 6–1. They are two time National Champions (1981, 1982).

All-time record vs. Sun Belt teams

Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current Sun Belt opponents:

Rivalries

Texas State football maintains one current rivalry with the UTSA Roadrunners and have a number of defunct rivalries caused by conference realignment.

Current rivalries

I-35 Maroon/Orange Rivalry - UTSA Roadrunners

Texas State and UTSA faced off for the first time in the football continuation of the I-35 Maroon/Orange Rivalry between the two schools in the Alamodome November 24, 2012. The Bobcats lost the game to the UTSA Roadrunners by a score of 38 to 31 and, thus hold an 0 - 1 disadvantage to UTSA. The two teams are scheduled to play 8 Home and Home games beginning in 2017.

Defunct rivalries

Sam Houston State Bearkats

Texas State and Sam Houston State faced each other 89 times on the gridiron between 1919 and 2011, making the Bearkats the most familiar Bobcat rival in program history. Both programs have experienced long runs of success and failure throughout their histories, and the rivalry was strengthened further by geographical proximity, cultural differences, and being peer institutions in the same university system.

After Texas State's move to FBS and the WAC in 2012, the series was discontinued. Sam Houston State won the most recent tilt between the two teams in San Marcos on November 19, 2011 by a score of 36-14. It is unknown whether the two schools will schedule each other for future matchups.

Texas State currently holds a 48-36-4 series lead.

Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

The Lumberjacks and Bobcats played each other continuously through multiple conference realignments and name changes from 1923-2012. The rivalry has mostly been based on proximity and familiarity rather than parity and competitiveness between the two programs, as one program has generally been successful while the other has struggled.

Texas State won the latest tilt between the two foes in San Marcos, 41-37, on September 22, 2012. Texas State currently holds a 57-29-1 series lead.

Battle for the Paddle - Nicholls State Colonels

In fall 1998, just before the Bobcats were scheduled to take on the Nicholls State Colonels, rains flooded San Marcos and the field at Bobcat Stadium. Athletic directors and coaches from each school decided not to continue with the game and coined the annual contest named "Battle for the Paddle," joking that fans and athletes needed to use a boat and paddle to get to the game. The game eventually took place on November 28, 1998 with the Bobcats prevailing 28-27 to win the Paddle.

NSU Athletic Director Rob Bernardi brought controversy to the final chapter of the rivalry in 2011, when he refused to bring the Paddle to San Marcos due to Texas State having a scholarship advantage as an FCS transitional school. Texas State players and fans made their own paddles in response, and the Bobcats won 38-12. It is unknown whether the two schools will schedule each other in the future.

Nicholls State currently holds the series lead, 16-14.

SWT vs. A&I - Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas

The Bobcats and Javelinas were fierce rivals in the Lone Star Conference from the year of entry of TAMU-Kingsville (then Texas A&I University) into the LSC in 1954 to the year of departure of Texas State (then Southwest Texas State University) to the Gulf Star Conference in 1984. However, by the time of TAMU-Kingsville's entry into the LSC, both teams were already quite familiar with each other, having played continuously from 1939-1953 and six times from 1925-1938. Both teams were very competitive and generally successful during the time of their rivalry, as Texas State won nine Lone Star Conference titles and two (NCAA Division II) national titles and TAMU-Kingsville won twelve Lone Star Conference titles and nine (NAIA) national titles. The two schools continued to play each other after Texas State's departure from the Lone Star Conference with only one interruption (1986) from 1984-1995. Texas State won the last meeting, 28-21, in San Marcos on September 7, 2002. It is unlikely that the two schools will face each other in the future due to Texas State's move to the NCAA Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision and TAMU-Kingsville's continued residence in the NCAA's Division II.

The Javelinas currently hold the series lead, 33-25-2.

Other Rivalries

Other rivals from Texas State's years in the Lone Star, Gulf Star, and Southland Conferences include Angelo State, Texas A&M-Commerce (then East Texas State), Abilene Christian, and North Texas.

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of September 8, 2015