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San Francisco Chronicle
01-07-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Rebuilding Pac-12 gets its needed 8th football school with addition of Texas State
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — Texas State is joining the Pac-12, giving the rebuilding conference the eighth football-playing school it needed to maintain its status as an FBS conference. The Pac-12 and Texas State announced Monday that the Bobcats from the Sun Belt Conference will join holdovers Oregon State and Washington State, along with private school Gonzaga and Mountain West-departing schools Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State as the nine foundational members of the reconfigured Pac-12 that will officially launch next summer. Since Gonzaga doesn't field a football team, the Pac-12 needed one more to remain eligible as a Football Bowl Subdivision league. Only Oregon State and Washington State had remained in the Pac-12 after the departures of 10 teams to the three other power conferences: the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12. Texas State regents on Monday approved a $5 million buyout to leave the Sun Belt. The amount of that exit fee was set to double Tuesday. The Bobcats will become an all-sports member of the Pac-12 on July 1, 2026, after being in the Sun Belt since 2013, a year after their FBS debut in their only season in the Western Athletic Conference. They were 8-5 each of the past two seasons since G.J. Kinne took over as coach, and won the First Responders Bowl both years. They had never been to a bowl game before with only one other winning season in FBS, going 7-5 in 2014 under coach Dennis Franchione. Texas State's campus in San Marcos is only about 35 miles south of the University of Texas in Austin. It will be the farthest from the West Coast the Pac-12 has had an all-sports member. Arkansas-Little Rock is now an affiliate member for wrestling. When the 10 former Pac-12 teams officially departed last year, that created coast-to-coast conferences. Oregon, Washington, Southern California and UCLA went to the Big Ten; Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joined the Big 12; and Stanford and California became ACC members. "We are extremely excited to welcome Texas State as a foundational member of the new Pac-12,' Commissioner Teresa Gould said. 'It is a new day in college sports and the most opportune time to launch a new league that is positioned to succeed in today's landscape with student-athletes in mind.' The Pac-12 last week struck a media-rights deal with CBS to broadcast a minimum of four football and men's basketball games per season on its main network and provide a cable and streaming presence for the league from 2026-31. Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill in a statement thanked the Texas State staff for its 'collaboration and leadership through a transformative era in college athletics' while also touting the league's recent football success, including 12 of 14 teams making bowl games in 2023, and seven more last year. 'I will continue to update our stakeholders on developments whenever possible as we work to ensure the sustained rise of the Sun Belt Conference, a collection of like-minded, regional rivals with winning football traditions, passionate fanbases and enduring commitments to excellence in all sports,' Gill said. Texas State is a national research university with more than 40,000 students, and is among the 25 largest undergraduate enrollments among public universities in the United States. Kelly Damphousse, the president of Texas State, called joining the Pac-12 more than an athletic move. 'It is a declaration of our rising national profile, our commitment to excellence, and our readiness to compete and collaborate with some of the most respected institutions in the country,' Damphousse said. 'Our acceptance into the Pac-12 affirms the strength of our academic vision, our commitment to providing access to a Texas State degree, the momentum of our athletic programs, and the ambition that defines this institution.' Still shifting leagues While not like the seismic shifts of past summers, there has been a lot of realignment outside the major conferences this year. On Tuesday, Seattle University will officially return to the West Coast Conference for the first time in 45 years, with WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson on the school's campus to mark the occasion a year after the school said it was leaving the WAC. Seattle withdrew from the WCC and NCAA Division I in 1980, but returned to that level in 2008 and joined the WAC in 2012. The Atlantic Sun Conference and the WAC last week announced a strategic alliance that will start in July 2026. That will include the WAC rebranding as the United Athletic Conference, with no schools west of Texas and including five football-playing members from the ASUN. Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama and West Georgia had been part of a football-only UAC with WAC members. Southern Utah and Utah Tech announced last week they will leave the WAC for the Big Sky Conference starting with the 2026-27 academic year. Sacramento State is departing the Big Sky for the Big West in all sports except football, since that league doesn't sponsor football. The NCAA has rejected a waiver request from the Hornets to play next year as an FBS independent rather than an FCS independent. ___
Fox Sports
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Rebuilding Pac-12 gets its needed 8th football school with addition of Texas State
Associated Press SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — Texas State is joining the Pac-12, giving the rebuilding conference the eighth football-playing school it needed to maintain its status as an FBS conference. The Pac-12 and Texas State announced Monday that the Bobcats from the Sun Belt Conference will join holdovers Oregon State and Washington State, along with private school Gonzaga and Mountain West-departing schools Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State San Diego State and Utah State as the nine foundational members of the new Pac-12. The reconfigured league's official launch is set for July 1, 2026. Since Gonzaga doesn't field a football team, the Pac-12 needed one more to remain eligible as a Football Bowl Subdivision league. Only Oregon State and Washington State had remained in the Pac-12 after the departures of 10 teams to the three other power conferences: the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12. Texas State will be an all-sports member in the Pac-12 after being in the Sun Belt since 2013. The Bobcats, one of 14 football teams in the Sun Belt, made their FBS debut with one season in the WAC in 2012. The Bobcats were 8-5 each of the past two seasons since G.J. Kinne took over as coach, and won the First Responders Bowl both years. Before that, they had never been to a bowl game and had only one winning season their previous 11 playing FBS football, a 7-5 record in 2014 under coach Dennis Franchione. With the Texas State campus in San Marcos, only about 35 miles south of the University of Texas in Austin, it will be the farthest from the West Coast the Pac-12 has had an all-sports member. Arkansas-Little Rock is now an affiliate member for wrestling. When the 10 former Pac-12 teams officially departed last year, that created coast-to-coast conferences. Oregon and Washington went to the Big Ten; Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joined the Big 12; and Stanford and California became ACC members. "We are extremely excited to welcome Texas State as a foundational member of the new Pac-12,' Commissioner Teresa Gould said. 'It is a new day in college sports and the most opportune time to launch a new league that is positioned to succeed in today's landscape with student-athletes in mind. ... Texas State has shown a commitment to competing and winning at the highest level as well as to providing student-athletes with a well-rounded college experience academically, athletically and socially. We look forward to seeing the Bobcats' future trajectory continue to shine big and bright.' The Pac-12 last week struck a media-rights deal with CBS that sets up the network to broadcast a minimum of four football and men's basketball games per season on its main network and provide a cable and streaming presence for the league from 2026-31. Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill in a statement thanked the Texas State staff for its 'collaboration and leadership through a transformative era in college athletics' from the COVID-19 pandemic to NIL and the most recent round of realignment. He also touted the league's recent football success, including the Bobcats being among the 12 SBC teams in bowl games in 2023, and one of the seven last year. 'I will continue to update our stakeholders on developments whenever possible as we work to ensure the sustained rise of the Sun Belt Conference, a collection of like-minded, regional rivals with winning football traditions, passionate fanbases and enduring commitments to excellence in all sports,' Gill said. 'The Sun Belt Conference is rising, and our best days are ahead.' Texas State is a national research university with more than 40,000 students, and is among the 25 largest undergraduate enrollments among public universities in the United States. Kelly Damphousse, the president of Texas State, called joining the Pac-12 a historic moment. 'Joining the Pac-12 is more than an athletic move. It is a declaration of our rising national profile, our commitment to excellence, and our readiness to compete and collaborate with some of the most respected institutions in the country,' Damphousse said. 'Our acceptance into the Pac-12 affirms the strength of our academic vision, our commitment to providing access to a Texas State degree, the momentum of our athletic programs, and the ambition that defines this institution.' ___ AP college football: recommended in this topic
Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Rebuilding Pac-12 gets its needed 8th football school with addition of Texas State
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — Texas State is joining the Pac-12, giving the rebuilding conference the eighth football-playing school it needed to maintain its status as an FBS conference. HT Image The Pac-12 and Texas State announced Monday that the Bobcats from the Sun Belt Conference will join holdovers Oregon State and Washington State, along with private school Gonzaga and Mountain West-departing schools Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State San Diego State and Utah State as the nine foundational members of the new Pac-12. The reconfigured league's official launch is set for July 1, 2026. Since Gonzaga doesn't field a football team, the Pac-12 needed one more to remain eligible as a Football Bowl Subdivision league. Only Oregon State and Washington State had remained in the Pac-12 after the departures of 10 teams to the three other power conferences: the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12. Texas State will be an all-sports member in the Pac-12 after being in the Sun Belt since 2013. The Bobcats, one of 14 football teams in the Sun Belt, made their FBS debut with one season in the WAC in 2012. The Bobcats were 8-5 each of the past two seasons since G.J. Kinne took over as coach, and won the First Responders Bowl both years. Before that, they had never been to a bowl game and had only one winning season their previous 11 playing FBS football, a 7-5 record in 2014 under coach Dennis Franchione. With the Texas State campus in San Marcos, only about 35 miles south of the University of Texas in Austin, it will be the farthest from the West Coast the Pac-12 has had an all-sports member. Arkansas-Little Rock is now an affiliate member for wrestling. When the 10 former Pac-12 teams officially departed last year, that created coast-to-coast conferences. Oregon and Washington went to the Big Ten; Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joined the Big 12; and Stanford and California became ACC members. "We are extremely excited to welcome Texas State as a foundational member of the new Pac-12,' Commissioner Teresa Gould said. 'It is a new day in college sports and the most opportune time to launch a new league that is positioned to succeed in today's landscape with student-athletes in mind. ... Texas State has shown a commitment to competing and winning at the highest level as well as to providing student-athletes with a well-rounded college experience academically, athletically and socially. We look forward to seeing the Bobcats' future trajectory continue to shine big and bright.' The Pac-12 last week struck a media-rights deal with CBS that sets up the network to broadcast a minimum of four football and men's basketball games per season on its main network and provide a cable and streaming presence for the league from 2026-31. Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill in a statement thanked the Texas State staff for its 'collaboration and leadership through a transformative era in college athletics' from the COVID-19 pandemic to NIL and the most recent round of realignment. He also touted the league's recent football success, including the Bobcats being among the 12 SBC teams in bowl games in 2023, and one of the seven last year. 'I will continue to update our stakeholders on developments whenever possible as we work to ensure the sustained rise of the Sun Belt Conference, a collection of like-minded, regional rivals with winning football traditions, passionate fanbases and enduring commitments to excellence in all sports,' Gill said. 'The Sun Belt Conference is rising, and our best days are ahead.' Texas State is a national research university with more than 40,000 students, and is among the 25 largest undergraduate enrollments among public universities in the United States. Kelly Damphousse, the president of Texas State, called joining the Pac-12 a historic moment. 'Joining the Pac-12 is more than an athletic move. It is a declaration of our rising national profile, our commitment to excellence, and our readiness to compete and collaborate with some of the most respected institutions in the country,' Damphousse said. 'Our acceptance into the Pac-12 affirms the strength of our academic vision, our commitment to providing access to a Texas State degree, the momentum of our athletic programs, and the ambition that defines this institution.' ___ AP college football:
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Major Family-Friendly Burger Chain to Shut Down More Locations in 2025
Things have been increasingly dire at the popular fast food chain, Red Robin. After poor financial showings for both fiscal years 2023 and 2024, the fan-favorite burger venue has formally announced plans to close more than a dozen underperforming restaurants bearing the famous scarlet red logo this year. As the U.S. faces mounting uncertainty about the direction of its economy, more and more people have been choosing to spend their hard-earning money at home rather than flaunting it a restaurant table. With more Americans choosing to spend their income at the grocery store or for basic necessities like gas or housing expenses, once crowded eateries like Red Robin have seen a thinning number of patrons entering through their front doors -- something that's taken a serious toll on their business. Over the past few years, Red Robin has experienced a drastic slump in its financial performance, the company losing out on $21.2 million in 2023 and a harrowing $77.5 in 2024. Regrouping from these disastrous net losses, the restaurant's CEO G.J. Hart has rolled out an ambitious new strategy dubbed the North Star turnaround plan, which will see Red Robin shudder 10 to 15 underperforming locations a year until their earnings have stabilized. With 15 Red Robin venues set to close for 2025, Hart has stated his belief the North Star plan will help the iconic fast food chain stave off bankruptcy. "While financial results for 2024 fell well below our original expectations, we've made substantial improvements to the guest experience and believe we still have a significant opportunity ahead of us to reach the full potential of our iconic brand," Hart said of Red Robin's new direction for the upcoming year. Dedicated burger fans might be disappointed by this news, but it's worth pointing out that Red Robin currently has roughly 500 locations making up its business empire. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Red Robin may close about 70 restaurants in 5 years
This story was originally published on Restaurant Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Restaurant Dive newsletter. Red Robin closed one location during the fourth quarter and is considering closures for about 70 underperforming restaurants locations, the company said Wednesday in an earnings release. The restaurants in question had store-level operating losses of about $6 million last year, which exerted a 210-basis-point drag on the company's restaurant-level operating profit, President and CEO G.J. Hart said during a Wednesday earnings call. A majority of the underperforming restaurants are expected to close over the next five years upon the expiration of their leases. In 2025, the company expects to close 10 to 15 units, Hart said. Other chains, including Denny's and Wendy's, have also been closing underperforming locations to improve the health of their entire systems. Denny's expects to shutter 70 to 90 restaurants this year and closed 88 last year. Wendy's cut 276 poor-performing restaurants last year. Red Robin's struggling restaurants aren't representative of the overall system — more than 300 company-owned units continue to perform well, Hart said. The expected closures will help strengthen the casual chain's remaining portfolio and free up cash that can be reinvested in the company or used to repay debt, Hart said. The company could also explore other avenues to accelerate this process and will provide updates on this in the near future. Red Robin is two years into its North Star plan, which was established under Hart, and saw a 600-basis-point improvement in traffic from Q1 2024 to Q4 2024. Including the impact of deferred loyalty revenue, comparable restaurant revenue was up 1.8%. For the year, however, comparable revenue was down 1.2%. Comparable revenue has been mixed since the chain's January 2023 North Star Plan. 'While financial results for 2024 fell well below our original expectations, we've made substantial improvements to the guest experience and believe we still have a significant opportunity ahead of us to reach the full potential of our iconic brand,' Hart said in the press release. The company made gains in sales, with operators setting 1,400 sales records in the past two years. Its Red Robin Royalty program relaunch attracted 1.5 million new members over the course of the year, and the program now has 14.9 million members, which helped boost traffic with new and lapsed customers, Hart said. This year, Red Robin will make more effective use of this program by integrating guest data capabilities to create personalized marketing and promotions. Improvements to menu and food quality and emphasis on value and dining promotions helped boost traffic last year. In 2025, the chain plans to add new menu items throughout the year, including limited-time offers and new salad options, while prioritizing its value proposition with offers like $10 Cheeseburger Tuesday and Kids Night Wednesday promotions. With its Managing Partner Compensation Program now in place across its system, managers now function as partner and owner of their restaurants, creating a 'unified goal of driving both traffic and profit dollars,'Hart said. 'We're expecting to see continued benefits from the program as we move through 2025,' he said. Recommended Reading Red Robin reports highest guest satisfaction in nearly a decade
