The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The 14 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed across the Southern United States.
The Texas State Bobcats are the sports teams that represent Texas State University. Currently, they compete in the Sun Belt Conference in NCAA Division I. The Bobcat has been the mascot of Texas State University since 1921, when the university adopted the name from the recommendation of a committee formed to raise school spirit. Though considerably smaller than mountain lions, bobcats are known for their stubborn fierceness and great courage. The football squad used the bobcat for the first time in 1921 and went undefeated with a 7–0 season. Texas State had several officially recognized live bobcat mascots until the 1970s. In 1964, the Texas State Bobcat was given the official name of "Boko" by Beth Greenlees, a sophomore from Luling, Texas, who beat out about 100 other students in a "Name the Bobcat" contest. Her winning submission earned her a $5 prize and the honor of being the person who named the Texas State mascot. Boko has twice been named “USA National Champion” mascot. Texas State had no official fight song until 1961, when Paul Yoder was commissioned to compose "Go Bobcats." The song is the rousing "call to arms" for all Texas State athletic games and competition.
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of the 2024 season, there are 10 conferences and 134 schools in FBS.
The Texas State Bobcats football program Texas State University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. They play in the Sun Belt Conference. The program began in 1904 and has an overall winning record. The program has a total of 14 conference titles, nine of them being outright conference titles. Home games are played at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas.
The 2012 Texas State Bobcats football team represented Texas State University–San Marcos in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bobcats were led by head coach Dennis Franchione, in his fourth overall year, and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium. This was Texas State's only season as members of the Western Athletic Conference. Texas State joined the Sun Belt Conference for all sports in 2013–14. It was the second year of their transition from the FCS to the FBS, so they were not eligible to win the WAC regular season title or participate in a bowl game until 2013. They finished the season 4–8, 2–4 in WAC play to finish in fifth place.
The 2012 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 28, 2012, at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. The 37th edition of the Independence Bowl began at 1:00 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. The game's title sponsor was AdvoCare, an American dietary supplement company.
The 2010–13 Sun Belt Conference realignment refers to the Sun Belt Conference dealing with several proposed and actual conference expansion and reduction plans among various NCAA conferences and institutions from 2010 to 2013.
The 2014 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 14th college football season for the Sun Belt Conference. During the 2014 season, eleven schools competed in Sun Belt football: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, Louisiana–Lafayette, Louisiana–Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State, and Troy.
The 2014 Texas State Bobcats football team represented Texas State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bobcats were led by head coach Dennis Franchione, in his sixth overall year, and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium. They were a member of the Sun Belt Conference. They 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. This was the second season in a row the Bobcats were bowl eligible but were not invited to a bowl game.
The 2015 Texas State Bobcats football team represented Texas State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by Dennis Franchione in the fifth year of his second stint as head coach, 7th overall, and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas. The Bobcats were members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in Sun Belt play to finish in tenth place.
The 2015 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Ohio Bobcats of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Appalachian State Mountaineers of the Sun Belt Conference. Played on December 19, 2015 at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama, it was the second edition of the bowl game and the final matchup of the 2015 NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision football season for both teams.
The 2016 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the Sun Belt Conference during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Paul Petrino, the Vandals played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. A football-only member of the Sun Belt, Idaho finished the regular season at 8–4.
The 2016 Texas State Bobcats football team represented Texas State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bobcats played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas and competed in the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Everett Withers. The Bobcats were members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 2–10, 0–8 in Sun Belt play to finish in last place.
Mike Schultz is an American football coach. Hired on December 21, 2016 to replace Ray Woodard, he was the second head coach of the Lamar Cardinals football program since its resurrection for the 2010 season.
The 2018 Texas State Bobcats football team represented Texas State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bobcats played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas, and competed in the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Everett Withers. They finished the season 3–9, 1–7 in Sun Belt play to finish in last place in the West Division.
The 2018 Sun Belt Conference Championship Game was played on December 1, 2018, between the Mountaineers of Appalachian State and the Ragin' Cajuns from Louisiana. The game was played at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina, due to Appalachian State's better conference record. This was the second time these teams played this year; the first meeting finished 27–17 in the Mountaineers' favor. The winner of the game would play in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl while the loser would play in the Cure Bowl.
The 2020 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 20th season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference. The season began September 3, 2020 and concluded December 26, 2020 as part of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Sun Belt consists of 10 members in two divisions. The conference released its schedule on February 28, 2020, but numerous changes were made due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The regular season began on August 28, 2021, and ended on December 11, 2021. The postseason began on December 17, with the main games ending on January 10, 2022, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and the all-star portion of the post-season concluding with the inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl on February 19, 2022. It was the eighth season of the College Football Playoff (CFP) system. It was the first time since 2016 that no major team finished the season undefeated as the Cincinnati Bearcats, the season's last undefeated team, were defeated in the 2021 Cotton Bowl Classic.
The 2023 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, and competed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. The team was coached by second-year head coach Clay Helton.
