Canzano: Texas State President and AD talk Pac-12
Bobcats prepare to join the Pac-12.
Kelly Damphosse and his wife, Beth, happened to be at their lake house when the Board of Regents voted last week to allow Texas State to join the Pac-12 Conference.
“It was just me and her,” the university president told me. “And so we did a little high five, and then I said, ‘Well, I guess I’ll go mow the lawn now.’”
A far more robust celebration broke out back on campus in San Marcos. Texas State athletic director Don Coryell called an all-staff meeting and summoned his coaches, assistants, and support staff. As Coryell hurried into the club-level meeting space inside the school’s basketball and volleyball arena, the room erupted into an ovation.
Then, his coaches began asking questions about scheduling, recruiting, and the logistics of officially joining the Pac-12 on July 1, 2026.
“We’re competitors, right?” said Coryell. “I mean, you don't get into athletics if you’re not.”
Who is Texas State? How did it land in the Pac-12? What value do the Bobcats bring to the new-look conference? And what comes next for the Pac-12?
I sat down with Damphousse and Coryell this week for an exclusive interview. We spoke about Texas State’s ambition, potential media-rights distributions, and how the key administrators on campus in San Marcos view the move from the Sun Belt Conference to the Pac-12.
Said Damphousse: “It’s an odd thing that athletics plays such a huge role in the university's reputation, but to be honest, it’s a fact of life. And so we embrace that.”