“Regardless of what transpires in the next 72 hours or so, you are advancing TXST.” 

It was 5:57 p.m. on June 27th and David Perry, a newly minted marketing professor at Texas State, was reaching out to Texas State Athletics Director Don Coryell about the pending PAC-12 Conference move.

Perry explained that he had lived in Seattle for more than 20 years, cheered for Washington State and had been a Utah State season ticket holder after that. He was a PAC-12 fanatic and he was proud that his new employer was joining the league.

“I am thrilled that TXST might be a key factor in bringing the conference back to a level of prominence,” Perry wrote as he signed off his introductory email to Coryell. 

A swath of similar emails would come into Coryell’s inbox over the days and weeks that followed. 

The emails and other documents related to the jump in conferences were obtained through an Open Records Request. The documents released by the university now offer a better timeline of events, reasoning, response and costs associated with Texas State’s move to the PAC-12.

By June 27, Coryell and other university administrators did not need a marketing professor to lecture them on the benefits of joining the conference. Those numbers had been crunched for weeks. 

Behind the scenes, Texas State Sports Information Directors were tasked with calculating how competitive Texas State’s teams would be in the reformed conference. 

In one email, an SID wrote this about the football team, “The Bobcats’ success in 2024 would have seen TXST as the second-best performance on the field among the eight new PAC-12 members, only behind Boise State.” The result was based on calculations from FPI, SP+ and SportSource Analytics Team Success Ranking.

The math was also done for other team sports. 

Numbers were also crunched for team travel costs. 

According to the documents, team travel at Texas State costs $3,251,959 and is projected to increase to $5,010,951 once Texas State competes in the PAC-12 in all sports. 

Most teams see an increase in travel costs except for track and field and men's and women’s golf.

Costs more than double for baseball and men’s basketball and nearly double for women’s basketball, tennis, soccer, softball and volleyball. 

On June 30, the Texas State University System Board of Regents would vote unanimously in favor of Texas State paying a $5 million exit fee to join another athletic conference.  

The same day, Texas State University President Kelly Damphousse sent official notice to Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gil of Texas State’s eventual withdrawal from the conference. 

In the letter, Damphousse explained the school would join the PAC-12 as a full-member school, effective July 1, 2026. 

June 30th and the immediate days that followed would become the most headline-rich days in Texas State’s history as the university officially accepted an invitation to join the reformed PAC-12. 

On social media, the news of the change in conferences had been seen by millions and had a reported news and broadcast reach potential of 1.43 billion. 

Documents show rumors of the move started to circulate like wildfire online, the same day Damphousse shared a picture of two beavers swimming in the San Marcos River. 

Records show Texas State was tracking mentions of the PAC-12 and a rumored move for the Bobcats since at least September 2024.

On Sept. 28, 2024, the Bobcats were set to play Sam Houston State at NRG Stadium in Houston. 

The Bearkats would steal the game 40-39 in a thrilling old-school Lone Star Conference rivalry game. But before the Bobcats’ lead slipped away, news that Texas State had received a verbal offer to join the Mountain West dominated conversation over the game. 

Records show Texas State officials had Zoom meetings with Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez on Sept. 27, 2024, and the Mountain West’s Chief Financial Officer Gary Walenga on Sept. 30, 2024. 

Texas State’s phone would again ring on June 18, 2025, only this time it was the PAC-12’s Lisa Gould calling. The subject line: Prospective Member Due Diligence.

According to Damphousse, the deal to join the reformed PAC-12 was negotiated, planned and rolled out in real-time in about six days. 

In the days and weeks leading up to and following the announcement, Damphousse and Director of Athletics Don Coryell were asked for interviews and to appear on various shows regarding the conference move and what it meant for the university at large. 

Following the announcement, on July 10, Texas State vendors began to work to add the PAC-12 licensing to gear. Before then, talks among the president’s circle centered around the best way to celebrate the jump in conferences. Administrators ultimately chose to forgo the scheduled “PAC The Park event.” 

An exact reason for the cancellation is never stated directly in the documents received in the request. However, on July 4, deadly floods swept through the Texas Hill Country. 

The floodwaters killed at least 107 in Kerr County alone, including 37 children. Two remain missing. The university would eventually launch a host of services for students and employees affected by the floods.

The deadly flooding was the first thing on the mind of head football coach G.J. Kinne as he took the podium for Texas State’s final Sun Belt Conference Media Day appearance. 

“I’d like to start off with some thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by the flood in Central Texas,” Kinne said. “Obviously, that really hit home for us. Over the break, on vacation with my kids, I tended to hug those guys and hold them a little tighter at night. Just a tragic deal and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected there.” 

When addressing the move-in conferences, Kinne reiterated that his focus remains to win the Sun Belt Conference. The choice, also reaffirmed in taking two seniors, Khalil Alexander and Dorion Strawn, to the final SBC media day.

“We’re super excited to finish the right way in the Sun Belt and excited about this team we have,” Kinne said. “We’ve accomplished a bunch of really good things. The last two years, back-to-back bowl victories and a lot of firsts for Texas State. But obviously, a conference championship is what we want to accomplish and send these guys out the right way.” 

While the focus for the team remains chasing a Sun Belt title, the outside noise of the 2026 season is hard to ignore without a single play registered in the 2025 campaign. 

The full scope of the partnership for the Bobcats and what it means for the university’s bank account over the term was not disclosed by the released documents. But many estimate the difference will be measured in millions over the course of the deal. 

On Squarin’ Around, Damphousse answered the question in a tongue-in-cheek way his followers will understand. 

Question: How much soup did we get? 

Answer: We got plenty of soup. 

The Bobcats kick off their 2025 campaign on August 30, against Eastern Michigan at UFCU Stadium in San Marcos.