Jeff Howe speaks on the leap Texas State athletic department has taken

By Ben Cameron

Co-Executive Director of Sports, Guest Blog Content Contributor

Sports writer Jeff Howe remembers when the Texas State administration didn’t care about the athletic department and its impact on the university.

“The best thing that’s happened to this school was hiring a president,” Howe said.

“That, one, knew there was a football team on campus, and two, cared about it.”

Howe, a 2009 Bobcat alumnus, writer for On Texas Football and covering recruitment for the Texas Longhorns, made his remarks while visiting a sports media class at Texas State on Thursday.

He said the big turnaround for the university came from the top-down.

While the “top dog” caring about the program is huge, Howe said it’s not everything, and it’s important that the program is open to adapting.

“You now have an athletic director who is approachable, who will listen, and take things into consideration,” Howe said.

“The athletic director situation now is not even close compared to then.”

Howe told students the university’s move to the newly revived conference is the biggest thing to happen to athletics.

He said the new publicity on national television will help the program’s national recognition.

“I didn’t know at first about the move from the Sun Belt to the PAC-12,” Howe said.

“But then I saw the TV deals and the extra money and said this is a great move.”