In the history of all-time downers, Tarleton State’s first football game as a member of the NCAA’s Division I ranks among the “best,” as well as the least effective indicators ever of what was to come.
After more than 20 years of planning, spending and hoping, Tarleton State in Stephenville opened its time in Division I football at home in front of a crowd of 1,324, on a night where the temperature at kickoff was 28 degrees.
“Thanks” to COVID, the game was played in February of 2021. The NCAA’s FCS moved its 2020 season to the spring of ‘21, which put TSU’s opener against McNeese State in the window when North Texas is vulnerable to North Dakota weather.
To put a wonderful bow on the evening, Tarleton allowed 21-fourth quarter points, including two touchdowns in the final four minutes, before losing in overtime. On that particular night, believing the Texans would challenge for a national title in football any time in the next 100 years required binge-watching every episode of “Ted Lasso” without sleep.
It didn’t take 100 years. More like four.
Highlighted mostly by Texas A&M and Texas Tech, not to be lost in what has been a wonderful year for college football throughout Texas is a school that is actually part of the A&M system. Formerly Division II Tarleton State had a vision to be something more than it had been for decades, and it is now firmly on the path to join the FBS level.
Tarleton State’s historic rise to the top of FCS
On Saturday at 11 a.m., Tarleton will host Villanova in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. A sellout crowd is expected, and it will be the first time a Tarleton State football game will be a featured ESPN telecast.
If the Texans win, they will advance to the national semifinals to play the winner of Illinois State/UC Davis. Tarleton would host that game; the title game is Jan. 5 in Nashville.
Since upsetting Army in West Point, New York, in their second game of the season, the Texans have won every game but one, against No. 24 Abilene Christian.
In a short time, Tarleton State has become on par with the state’s other top FCS programs, such as Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian. SFA is also in these FCS quarterfinals, and will play Montana State.
No team since Troy in 1993 has made the FCS quarterfinals in its first two years of playoff eligibility. Since 2018, Tarleton State’s .753 winning percentage is the highest among the Texas teams that play in the Division I or II levels.
The question Tarleton State leadership has to ask is whether wearing a crown at the FCS level is the better play versus trying to compete against the big bank dragons that run FBS.
Tarleton State’s Sam Houston State potential
If invited to join an FBS conference, Tarleton State would likely say yes. It has been pushing in this direction for the better part of a decade, and all necessary facets of the school have been consistently aligned on this goal.
It would be taking the path set by Sam Houston State. There are plenty of similarities between Sam Houston State and Tarleton State. SHSU features a total enrollment of a little more than 21,000, and its campus is located 90 minutes from Houston; it has made athletics a priority.
TSU’s enrollment is also around 21,000, and its campus is 85 minutes from Fort Worth. Like SHSU, Tarleton has made athletics a priority.
For years, SHSU was a solid FCS program, and top choice for former Division I players who wanted to play immediately without having to sit out the NCAA’s then-mandatory one-year waiting period.
SHSU reached the national title game in 2011 and ‘12, when it was coached by current Houston head coach Willie Fritz. Sam Houston won the national title in 2021, and in July of ‘23 joined the NCAA’s FBS level, and Conference USA. In 2024, the Bearkats finished 10-3, which included a win over Georgia Southern in the New Orleans Bowl.
This season, SHSU renovated its stadium and played its entire home schedule at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. The football team finished 2-10.
Since SHSU made the jump to FBS, the NCAA modified the requirements for such inclusion. The football team must average 15,000 at home games over a two-year period. TSU reportedly averaged 20,000 fans at home this season.
The necessary fee to make the jump has increased from $5,000 to $5 million; that figure carries sticker shock, but it’s doable. The change that “hurts” is that FBS programs must provide 90 percent of allowable scholarships across no fewer than 16 sports.
Tarleton State is aware of the costs, wants to do this, and people don’t need to watch “Ted Lasso” to “Believe” it can happen.
Mac Engel
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