Texas State Bobcats football The Texas State Bobcats football program is a college football team that represents Texas State University – San Marcos . The team became a member of the FBS Western Athletic Conference as of July 1 , 2012 . The program began in 1904 and has an overall winning record . The program has a total of fourteen conference titles , nine of them being all out conference titles . Since the 2011 season , the Bobcats have been coached by Dennis Franchione , and home games are played at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos , Texas . Given that the school has grown to become the fifth - largest university in Texas , and one of the 75 largest universities in the United States , it has now taken its football program to the Football Bowl Subdvision of NCAA football . The Western Athletic Conference ( FBS ) announced on Nov . 11 , 2010 that Texas State was one of three schools to join the conference in 2012 . 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 . 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 , 1917 , 1942 – 1945 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 UT - San Antonio 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 future of the rivalry is in question , as Texas State will be moving to the Sun Belt Conference in 2013 and UT - San Antonio will move to Conference USA . Texas State has proposed a home and home series between the two schools every year , while UTSA prefers to play in the Alamodome every year with the two teams alternating as the " home " team every year financially . 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 are Texas State ' s oldest continuous rival , as both schools have played each other every year since 1923 . 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 . It is unknown whether the two schools will continue to schedule each other in the future , and Texas State ' s move to the FBS has all but ensured that the excitement to the rivalry will wane over time . 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 2 . 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 .