The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington.
The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arkansas, with two members in the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington competing as affiliates for football only.
Stephenville is a city in, and the county seat of, Erath County, Texas, United States. It is on the North Bosque River, which forms nearby. Founded in 1854, it is home to Tarleton State University. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,847, and it is the principal city in the Stephenville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Stephenville is among several communities that call themselves the "Cowboy Capital of the World".
Tarleton State University is a public research university with its main campus in Stephenville, Texas. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 15,000 students in the fall of 2022. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
Billy Clyde Gillispie, also known by his initials BCG and Billy Clyde, is an American college basketball and current men's basketball coach at Tarleton State. Gillispie had previously been head coach at UTEP, Texas A&M, Kentucky, and Texas Tech.
The Tarleton State Texans football program, also known as the Tarleton Texans, is the intercollegiate American football team for Tarleton State University located in the U.S. state of Texas. Through the 2019 season, the team competed in NCAA Division II as members of the Lone Star Conference, but moved to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) beginning in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. In fall 2021, Tarleton's full-time home of the Western Athletic Conference revived its football league at the FCS level, with Tarleton as one of the inaugural members.
The Tarleton State Texans, also known as the Tarleton Texans, are the athletic teams that represent Tarleton State University of Stephenville, Texas in NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. Before Tarleton became a four-year institution in 1961, they were known as the "Plowboys". The Texans compete as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) for 12 of their 14 varsity sports. During the school's four-year transition to full D-I membership, set to end in July 2024, Tarleton has planned to add several sports, with women's soccer the first to be confirmed, eventually launching in 2022. Tarleton next added beach volleyball, a women-only sport at the NCAA level, in the 2024 season, competing as a single-sport member of Conference USA.
Nick Stephens is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Tennessee and Tarleton State.
The Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football team is the college football program representing Texas A&M University–Commerce. The school competes in the Southland Conference (SLC) in Division I FCS of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Prior to joining the Southland, they competed in the Lone Star Conference of Division II. The A&M–Commerce football team plays its home games at Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium on the university campus in Commerce, Texas. On Dec. 16, 2017, A&M-Commerce won its first NCAA Division II national championship, by defeating West Florida, 37-27, in Kansas City. The Lions recorded a perfect record in 1934, won the NAIA National Championship in 1972, and have amassed a total of 24 LSC conference championships since joining as a charter member in 1931. On September 28, 2021, the university accepted an invitation from the Southland Conference, moving the university's athletics programs up to the NCAA Division I level. This ended a 90-year affiliation with the Lone Star Conference, as A&M-Commerce was the last founding member remaining. The football team will compete at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level beginning in the 2022 season.
The 2017 Tarleton State Texans football team represented Tarleton State University in the 2017 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by head coach Todd Whitten, who was in his consecutive second season at Tarleton State and eighth overall as head coach of the Texans. The Texans played their home games at Memorial Stadium and were members of the Lone Star Conference. The Texans finished the regular season with a 6–5 record, 4–4 in the LSC, and tie for fourth place in the Lone Star Conference. The Texans were invited to play in the inaugural Corsicana Bowl in Corsicana, Texas, where they lost to Central Oklahoma, 38–31.
The 2018 Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas football team represented Texas A&M University–Kingsville in the 2018 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Daren Wilkinson. The Javelinas played their home games at Javelina Stadium and were members of the Lone Star Conference.
The 2018 Tarleton State Texans football team represented Tarleton State University in the 2018 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by head coach Todd Whitten, who was in his third consecutive season at Tarleton State and ninth overall as the head coach of the program. The Texans played their home games at Memorial Stadium and were members of the Lone Star Conference. The Texans finished the regular season with an overall record of 10–0 record and mark of 8–0 in conference play, and winning the LSC championship.
Elbert Martin "E. J." Speed is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tarleton State.
The 2020 Tarleton State Texans football team represented Tarleton State University as an independent the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team had planned to play in the fall 2020, until the postponement of the season on August 10, 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A schedule for the spring of 2021 was later arranged. Led by 11th-year head coach Todd Whitten, the Texas compiled a record of 5–3. Tarleton State played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville, Texas.
The 2020 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Bearkats were led by seventh-year head coach K. C. Keeler and played their home games at Bowers Stadium.
The 2012 West Texas A&M Buffaloes football team represented West Texas A&M University in the 2012 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the Lone Star Conference. The Buffaloes ended the regular season with 9–2 record which was enough to claim a share of the Lone Star Conference title and to qualify for the NCAA tournament as a six seed in region 4. West Texas A&M went on to win the NCAA Super Region Four Tournament but ended the season with a loss to Winston-Salem State in the National semi-final. With the 57–20 win over Western State on September 8, eighth-year head coach Don Carthel tied former head coach Joe Kerbel for the most wins in school history with 68, passing him a week later with win over Texas A&M–Kingsville. The Buffaloes had multiple shutouts for first time since 2008.
The 2020–21 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball team represented Tarleton State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Texans, led by first-year head coach Billy Gillispie, played their home games at the Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas, as first-year members of the Western Athletic Conference.
The 2021–22 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball team represented Tarleton State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Texans, led by second-year head coach Billy Gillispie, played their home games at the Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas, as members of the Western Athletic Conference.
The 2022 Tarleton State Texans football team represented Tarleton State University as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by head coach Todd Whitten, who was coaching his thirteenth season overall with the program. The Texans played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville, Texas.
The United Athletic Conference (UAC) is an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) conference. The conference is a merger of the existing football leagues of the ASUN Conference and Western Athletic Conference. The UAC covers the southwestern, western, and southern United States with member institutions located in Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah, with a future member located in Georgia.
