Texas State University is located in San Marcos, Texas, within the metropolitan area of Austin, Texas. Just over 34,000 students attend Texas State, which offers 97 bachelor's, 87 master's, and 12 doctoral degree programs. Founded in 1903, prominent alumni of Texas State include Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States of America, country music star George Strait, and Emmy Award-winning actor Powers Boothe.
Texas State sponsors 16 Division I sports, all of which will compete within the Western Athletic Conference during the 2012-13 academic year. All Texas State teams use the nickname Bobcats. Texas State came to the Western Athletic Conference from the Southland Conference.
Volleyball
The Bobcats won the Southland Conference regular season title in 2011 with a 15-1 league record as part of a 27-8 overall record. Texas State also won its seventh Southland Conference Tournament championship since 1991, including five in the last eight years, to advance to the NCAA Tournament before losing to Texas in the first round. Karen Chisum enters her 33rd season as head coach at Texas State, coming into the 2012 season with a 743-467-3 overall record, the sixth-winningest active Division I head coach. She is a five-time conference coach of the year, including in 2011. Three of six starters and the libero return to the lineup for the Bobcats, including two-time all-conference selection Amari Deardorff and team captain Caleigh McCorquodale. Texas State recovered from a 0-3 start at the Texas A&M Invitational to defeat Sam Houston State, 3-2, heading into the Lamar Invitational over Labor Day weekend. Seattle U will host Texas State at the Connolly Center Saturday, Sept. 29, beginning at 5 p.m., with the rematch set for San Marcos Thursday, Oct. 25, starting at 6:30 p.m. local time.
Women's Soccer
Texas State posted a 14-6-1 overall record in 2011, including an 8-1 record within the Southland Conference to finish second in the final regular season standings. After losing to Stephen F. Austin during the regular season, Texas State won the rematch in the Southland Conference Tournament final, 1-0, to advance to the NCAA Tournament, where the Bobcats fell to Baylor in the first round. Kat Connor has been the Bobcat head coach since the inception of the women's soccer program at Texas State in 1999, leading the team to four regular season and five tournament conference titles. Texas State looks to be strong both up front, with two returning starters at forward, as well as on the backline, as all four starters from 2011 return for the Bobcats. The midfield and goalkeeper positions will see some fluctuation as the season goes along. The Bobcats have started the 2012 season 2-2 heading into road matches against Houston Baptist and Rice over Labor Day weekend. Texas State hosts Seattle U in San Marcos Sunday, Sept. 30, starting at 1 p.m. local time.
Cross Country
The women's cross country team finished in fourth place, while the men's squad earned a sixth place finish at the 2011 Southland Conference Championships. Both squads are young in 2012, with just one senior on both the men's and women's cross country rosters. Bryan Jackson begins his first year as head cross country coach after spending three years leading the program at Wofford College. The Bobcats will run all their regular season meets in Texas before joining Seattle U and the other WAC schools at the conference championships in Ruston, La., Saturday, Oct. 27.
Women's Basketball
Texas State finished the 2011-12 season with a 17-14 overall record, including an 8-8 record within the Southland Conference, good enough for a third place finish in the West Division of the league. The Bobcats lost to eventual tournament champion McNeese State in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Diamond Ford led the team in scoring last season with 18.5 points per game, with Ashley Ezeh second on the squad in scoring and first in rebounding with 14.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. Both players return for the Bobcats in 2012-13, with Ford entering her senior season and Ezeh becoming a junior. Zenarae Antoine completed her first season as the Bobcat head coach last year, leading the team to an eight-win improvement and Texas State's first conference tournament victory since 2003. Texas State will host Seattle U at Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos Saturday afternoon, Jan. 26, with the rematch taking place at the Connolly Center in Seattle Thursday night, Feb. 28.
Men's Basketball
In 2011-12, Texas State posted a 13-17 overall record, including a 5-11 record in the Southland Conference, finishing in fifth place in the West Division and failing to qualify for the postseason conference tournament. Matt Staff, a 6'10" senior forward, returns for the Bobcats after averaging 13.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.47 blocks per game in 2011-12. Doug Davalos begins his seventh season at the helm of the Bobcat men's basketball squad. The Bobcats will participate in the Great Alaska Shootout, plus they will host SMU, Utah, and Oral Roberts during the non-conference season. Texas State travels to Seattle to face the Redhawks at KeyArena Saturday, Jan. 26, with the second game between the two teams taking place Thursday, Feb. 28, in San Marcos.
Women's Tennis
In its final year in the Southland Conference, the Bobcat women's tennis program posted a 14-6 overall record, including a 9-2 record within the conference to finish second in the league standings. Texas State suffered a tough 4-3 loss to Sam Houston State in the opening round of the postseason conference tournament. An experienced squad returns for the Bobcats in 2012-13, led by senior Melissa Hadad, who earned a 26-8 singles record and a 20-10 doubles record in 2011-12. Junior Jessica Kahts went 25-7 in singles and 20-10 in doubles last year. Tory Plunkett enters her 10th season as head coach of the women's tennis team at Texas State. Seattle U will face Texas State in a neutral site match Saturday, March 23, in San Jose, Calif.
Baseball
The Bobcats finished the 2012 season with a 32-24 overall record, including a 19-14 record within the Southland Conference for a third place finish in the league. After winning their first game in the postseason conference tournament, Texas State dropped two straight contests to be eliminated. Ty Harrington will start his 14th year at the helm of the Bobcat program, having taken the team to the NCAA Tournament in 2000, 2009, and 2011. Graduated senior Jeff McVaney led the way offensively for the Bobcats in 2012, batting .338 with 21 doubles, 10 home runs, 48 runs batted in, and 16 stolen bases. On the mound, Travis Ballew, a junior last season, posted an 11-4 record with a 2.73 earned run average and four complete games, including two shutouts, plus he struck out 119 batters in 102 1/3 innings of work. Seattle U travels to San Marcos to face the Bobcats in a three-game series during the 2013 season.
Softball
Texas State finished the 2012 softball season with a 39-17 overall record, including an 18-2 record within the Southland Conference. The Bobcats won 16 of 17 games, including three straight victories in the Southland Conference Tournament, to clinch a berth into the NCAA Tournament. Brooke Baker led the team with a .306 batting average and 15 stolen bases, while Anna Hernandez and Chandler Hall each hit three home runs to pace the squad. Hall was also part of a solid 1-2 pitching combination for the Bobcats, posting a 22-8 overall record with a 1.73 earned run average and 214 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings. Anne Marie Taylor, the second part of the duo, went 17-8 with a 1.71 earned run average and 164 strikeouts in 180 1/3 innings of work. Texas State was also solid defensively, making only 35 errors for a .978 fielding percentage, fourth in the country in that category. Hall graduated, but Baker, Hernandez, and Taylor will be seniors on the 2013 team. Ricci Woodard begins her 13th season at the helm of the Bobcat softball program. Seattle U will host Texas State at the new Logan Field during the 2013 campaign.
Men's Golf
The Texas State men's golf team finished in fifth place out of 10 teams at the 2012 Southland Conference Tournament. Three of the five golfers who played in the conference tournament return for the Bobcats in 2012-13: juniors Juan Diego Plasencia and Stuart Smallwood and sophomore Juan Carlos Benitez. Shane Howell enters his sixth year as head coach of the men's golf team after leading the Bobcats to their best scoring average in program history last year. Seattle U and Texas State will take part in the WAC Championship April 29-May 1 in Henderson, Nev.
Women's Golf
The Bobcats are coming off a second place finish at the Southland Conference Tournament thanks in part to a 3-4-5 finish in the individual standings. Texas State moved on to the NCAA Central Regional, where it finished in 14th place out of 24 teams, led by sisters Krista Puisite and Mara Puisite, who finished in a tie for 26th place and will be back for Texas State in the 2012-13 campaign. Mike Akers enters his seventh season as head coach of the Texas State women's golf team. The Bobcats and Redhawks will face each other when the WAC heads to Mesa, Ariz., for the women's golf championships April 22-24.
Track and Field
The Texas State men's track and field team recovered from a fifth place finish at the Southland Conference indoor championships to finish second at the outdoor championships, while the Bobcat women finished in third place at both the indoor and outdoor track and field conference championships. Seniors Logan Cunningham and Chante'sean White will be athletes to watch for the Bobcats after setting Southland Conference Outdoor Championships records in the pole vault and 400-meter hurdles, respectively. In her first year as head track and field coach, Dana Boone oversaw significant improvement within the program during the 2012 season. The WAC Indoor Championships will take place in Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 21-23, while the WAC Outdoor Championships happen May 8-11 in Arlington, Texas.
The Texas State athletic department also sponsors football, which Seattle U does not offer. Texas State does not, however, sponsor men's tennis and women's swimming, sports that both Seattle U and the WAC do. Additionally, Seattle University offers men's soccer, men's swimming and women's rowing, sports not sponsored by the WAC. After the 2012-13 academic year, Texas State will move on to the Sun Belt Conference.
2012 marks Seattle University's first year in the Western Athletic Conference and first year as a full NCAA Division I member since 1980. For current information on these events and other Seattle University athletics news, visit GoSeattleU.com.