Texas State’s opening game as a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision is not until September. However, the next big step for the program comes Saturday when the Bobcats take the field for the annual Maroon and Gold game.

Dennis Darnell, offensive line coach, drills football players during Spring training March 20 at Bobcat Stadium. The Bobcat’s annual Maroon vs. Gold game will be held March 31.

This is a shot for fans to get a look at the team in action before the season begins. It is no different for the players, especially the new faces on the team.

With half of the spring football practices already over and the stadium putting in bleachers by the minute, Coach Dennis Franchione likes what he has seen from the 100-plus players on the 2012 off-season roster.

Franchione said he believes the team is above and beyond where it was last year at this time.

“The new guys are learning and the veterans’ retention has been pretty good,” he said. “We are much further along, which makes it so much easier to coach without every day being a clean chalkboard.”

Darryl Morris, senior cornerback, who was second on the team in solo tackles last year with 45, has settled into the Bobcat ways under Franchione and the coaching staff.

“The first year is a lot of learning,” he said. “Now, since we have some guys who are pretty experienced, coaches trust us more so they can put more things in the playbook which we will apply to this season.”

Texas State basketball fell one game short of the Southland Conference tournament, ending their season 13-17 — the program’s worst record since 2007.

The Bobcats won four consecutive games down the stretch, including three straight on the road, but dropped the final two contests of the season to miss postseason play for the first time in four years.

“I’m disappointed in the season, but that’s college basketball,” Coach Doug Davalos said. “There are things that you don’t always anticipate, from Eddie Rios leaving the program and Brooks Ybarra being hurt in the last two games. We had to overcome a lot and we struggled.”

Davalos said missing Brooks Ybarra, senior forward, hurt the team’s chances at a tournament run in Katy.

There are situations and choices made by many leaders in college sports that make them unbearable at times. Many cases are in our own state. The TCU drug scandal. Texas Tech’s firing of Mike Leach. The University of Texas and ESPN’s Longhorn Network collaboration, the definition of “conflict of interest.”

Texas State men’s basketball has won four of its last five games and returns to Strahan Coliseum after playing just two home games in February, winning both contests.

The Bobcats have played six of their last eight games on the road, but Lamar comes Wednesday to San Marcos and Texas State needs a win for a chance in the Southland Conference tournament.
“We’re feeling really good, but we still know that there are two games left,” said Matt Staff, junior forward.

The Cardinals are currently in fourth place in the standings with a 9-5 record.

After Lamar’s last loss, Coach Pat Knight, son of legendary coach Bobby Knight, went on a well-publicized post-game rant, sparking his team to a 72-49 defeat of Sam Houston State last Saturday.

Brooks Ybarra, senior forward, made a game-winning shot with no time remaining against Southeastern Louisiana to give Texas State men’s basketball its third win in a row.

The Bobcats have now won two straight road games after starting 0-11 away from home, and have been victorious in four of their last five contests.

“We really needed that win,” Ybarra said. “It’s just a big release to get that win that we really needed on the road, and to win on the road again.”

The Bobcats were up by three with one minute to go when Matt Staff, junior forward, stole the ball from the Lions. Texas State could not convert the possession, and the Lions cut it to a one-point game.

Texas State turned the ball over on the in-bounds play, which set up Lions guard Jeremy Campbell to score with five seconds left. Inside two seconds, Ybarra had the ball in his hands and hit the game winner.