The Texas State Bobcats
are the sports teams that represent Texas State University-San Marcos. Currently, they compete in the Southland Conference in NCAA Division I (Football Championship Subdivision for football). They have 14 teams: football, men's and womwn's basketball, baseball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's track and field, women's tennis, women's soccer, women's softball and women's volleyball.
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TEXAS STATE BOBCATS TICKETS
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Football
Main article: Texas State Bobcats football
The football team has won two Southland Conference championships in 2005 and 2008, advancing to the NCAA semi-finals in 2005. Before that, the school won two Division II national championships in 1981 and 1982. Additionally, the Bobcats won eight Lone Star Conference titles between 1948 and 1983. The team has been competing intermittently since 1904 and has a record of 470-391-26, a .530 winning percentage. There are plans to take the football team to the Football Bowl Subdivision by 2012.
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Bobcat Stadium, where the team has played its home games since 1981, currently holds 15,218. A massive expansion project is currently underway that will ultimately seat more than 34,800. The project is in Phase I, which will result in a capacity of almost 27,200, with Phase I-A expected to be completed by the time the team takes the field for the 2009 season. Phase I-A will add private suites and a stadium club lounge.
Basketball
The men's basketball program has claimed 11 regular season conference titles since 1950, nine Lone Star Conference and two Southland Conference. The Bobcats have won their conference's postseason tournament four times, twice in the LSC and twice in the SLC. The program also won the
NAIA national championship in
1960.
The women's basketball team has won the Southland Conference postseason tournament twice, last time coming in the 2002-2003 season. The program has posted a 627-568 record since 1966, a win percentage of .527.
Both basketball programs play in Strahan Coliseum, opened in 1982. The arena, which holds 7,200 spectators, had a new playing floor installed before the 2008-2009 season.
Baseball and softball
Texas State baseball has claimed three SLC tournament championships, last coming in 2000. The Bobcats have gone 749-618-3 on the diamond since 1985, a win percentage of .547. The University's newest rival in baseball is considered to be
Texas A&M University.
The Bobcat softball program has won the regular season SLC championship and the conference's postseason tournament three times apiece. The last regular season championship was in 2008 and the last tournament championship came in 2001. The program is 593-701-3 since 1985, earning a .457 winning percentage.
The Bobcat Baseball and Softball stadiums underwent rennovations to be unveiled for the 2009 seasons. The facilities hold 2,000 for baseball and 1,000 for softball.
Track & field
The Bobcat men's track & field teams, indoor and outdoor, have won 14 conference championships(three Lone Star Conference, one Gulf Star Conference, 10 Southland Conference), last winning in 2004. The program has placed an athlete on the Division I All-American Team 29 times, claimed five Division I medals, and has one Olympian, Charles Austin, who has participated in the Olympics three times winning one Gold Medal.
The Bobcat women's track & field teams, indoor and outdoor, have won 11 conference championships(one Gulf Star Conference and 10 Southland Conference), last coming in 2007. Members of the team have placed on the All-American Team 15 times. The program boasts two Olympians who have competed a combined four times, Brigette Foster who placed in the semi-finals in 2004 and Liudmila Litvinova who won the Silver Medal in the 2008 games.
Other sports
The Bobcats volleyball program has won six regular season conference championships(one Gulf Star Conference, 5 Southland Conference), last coming in 2008. The team has taken home five postseason conference tournament titles(all in the Southland Conference), last in 2007. The team has gone 849-549-19, a win percentage of .599, since 1973. The team plays home games at Strahan Coliseum.
Bobcat women's soccer has won three regular season conference championships and four postseason conference tournaments, winning both in 2008. The program is 100-86-13 since 1999, a .503 win percentage. Home games are played at the Bobcat Soccer Complex, built in 2000 with a capacity of 1,000.
The men's golf team won the Division II NCAA national championship in 1983 and has won six conference championships(three Lone Star Conference and three Southland Conference) with the last coming in 1997. The women's team has won one Southland championship in 2002.
The women's tennis program has won four conference titles(two Lone Star Conference, two Southland Conference), last winning in 1989. The team plays home matches at the Bobcat Tennis Complex, which has a grandstand for the seating of 200.
I-35 Orange vs. Maroon Rivalry
The I-35 Orange vs. Maroon Rivalry series is the name given to the athletic competitions between the Bobcats and the
UTSA Roadrunners. The name is derived from the Interstate highway that essentially links the two schools who are in relatively close proximity to each other. In the beginning of the rivalry, a trophy was awarded to the winner of the men's basketball game. It has grown, however, to include all common sports the two schools compete with each other in throughout the academic year. A point system is used to crown a winner after the last competition between the schools in that year. The trophy is then inscribed with the annual winners and the winning institution retains the trophy for one year until the next winner is crowned.
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The Battle for the Paddle
In fall 1998, just before the Bobcats were scheduled to take on the Nichols State Colonels, rains flooded San Marcos and the field at Bobcat Stadium.
Athletic directors and coaches from each school decided 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.
Texas State currently trails in the series with 12 wins against the Colonels 15, but the Bobcats took the 2008 contest in San Marcos by a final score of 34-10.
Why Bobcats?
The bobcat is indigenous to Central Texas, where Texas State University is located. Oscar Strahan, an athletic director and track coach for the school, was quoted as saying, "A bobcat will fight you with everything he has: with four claws, teeth, speed and brains." The colors, maroon and gold, come from the Gaillardia flower, which is native to the region.
References
- The Drive
- Orange-Maroon rivalry