Sam Houston wasn’t always a perennial contender in football. The Bearkats football program only had one season with at least 10 wins until 2001. Oddly, that wasn’t the year the Kats claimed the NAIA national title in 1964. 

The year was 1956, and SHSU went an unblemished 10-0 and claimed the Lone Star Conference title. However, that was the first season that NAIA sponsored college football. The national championship game was between St. Joseph’s (Ind.) and Montana State, with both teams claiming the title following a thrilling 0-0 tie.

Ron Randleman completed his 23-year tenure with an 11-3 record in 2004. The Kats and Southland Conference all-time winningest coach (131-25-3) led the program to its second 10-win season in 2001.

The Kats began a run of eight seasons with at least 10 wins under Willie Fritz in 2011, and K.C. Keeler led the program to its first FCS national title in 2020. The Kats produced a remarkable 119-37 record over their final 12 seasons. But Sam Houston has left for greener pastures and left a big void that needs to be filled.

Who are the teams remaining in FCS that could become the top dog in Texas? It’s not a deep list of candidates. The reason is due to the massive success of SHSU under Fritz and Keeler. However, a trio of programs could replace the void left by the Bearkats.

The team closest to beginning a continued run of success, similar to SHSU, is UIW. The Cardinals began to sponsor football in 2009 and were a paltry 30-64 until Eric Morris arrived in 2018. Morris set the foundation for UIW’s current run of success and led the program to its first two conference championships and postseason appearances. 

The last two seasons have been remarkable in San Antonio, with the Cardinals compiling a 22-5 record, including a run to the FCS semifinals under G.J. Kinne last year. Clint Killough is charged with continuing UIW’s success and taking another step toward replacing Sam Houston as the king of Texas FCS.

Another program that could replace SHSU as the best FCS team in Texas is Tarleton. Head coach Todd Whitten is the Texans all-time winningest coach and has led the program to six consecutive winning seasons. 2023 will be Tarleton’s final year of transition to FCS, and will be eligible to make the playoffs in 2024.

What could hold the Texans from becoming the top FCS dog in Texas is their desire to move to FBS. Tarleton has made no secret of their plan to leave FCS soon and remain a candidate to join the Bearkats in Conference USA. However, if the Texans were to stay in FCS, they have a coach and the facilities needed to compete for national titles. 

With Sam Houston departing for FBS, the Kats arch-rival, Stephen F. Austin becomes a threat to seize control of the FCS in Texas. Colby Carthel inherited a mess of a program in 2019 but immediately began to change the culture. The Lumberjacks have built a foundation with solid talent and claimed the program’s first conference title in 13 years last season and an appearance in the playoffs in 2021.

The Lumberjacks seem content remaining in FCS and the United Athletic Conference for another decade, which gives SFA enough time to build off recent success and become a perennial playoff contender.