There are, by my count, 42 four-year football-playing institutions of higher learning within the state of Texas. But in a state of 31 million with more than 1,500 high school programs, there's always room for more. And so while Texas A&M-Texarkana may be the Lone Star State's 43rd four-year college football program, it'll be the only Division II offering in within the "state" of East Texas.
Texas A&M-Texarkana announced the creation of its football program last month, and officially posted the head coaching position on Tuesday.
Founded in 1971, A&M-Texarkana offers the chance for its inaugural head football coach to paint on a blank canvas. Founded in 1971, the school didn't even have athletics until 2014. The football program will be new, as will everything within the football program: a brand new, 8,000-seat stadium (which already has a naming rights sponsor), a new locker room, a new weight room, new coaches offices. In its national coaching search, which is now underway, A&M-Texarkana will consider all types of candidates -- position coaches, coordinators and head coaches, high school and college coaches. "Someone who's had proven production and leadership, whether that's a coordinator or head coach," a program source told FootballScoop on the ideal candidate. "Someone who's not afraid to launch a program. We don't even have a field right now. We have no stadium, no players, no gear. That would turn off a lot of poeple, right? We're looking for someone who's excited to start from scratch."
Texas A&M-Texarkana believes its football program will hit the ground running -- let's be honest, no one plans to start a losing football program -- for two reasons: support and location.
A&M-Texarkana will join the Lone Star Conference next year, and its salary will be "competitive within the conference." As the name implies, the school is part of the Texas A&M system, which prides itself on offering some of the best benefits in the country. Furthermore, President Dr. Ross Alexander is a former all-conference offensive lineman at the Division II level. TAMUT has seen its enrollment increase more than 40 percent since he came aboard two years ago.
The coaches will be well compensated and supported, and so, too will the players. TAMUT will offer 36 full scholarships, the maximum allowed at the Division II level.
And speaking of players, A&M-Texarkana believes its location offers a unique niche to some of the best high school players in the country.
As the name implies, Texarkana is located on the tri-border of Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Arkansas offers multiple Division II programs, but Louisiana doesn't have any (Louisiana Christian, located in Pineville, plays in NAIA), and the six Division II programs in Texas are west of Interstate 35. Midwestern State, located in Wichita Falls, is a similar drive to the Metroplex from Texarkana, but TAMUT will be able to recruit the Metroplex and East Texas and the Arkansas/Louisiana/Mississippi corridor.
"Obviously Texas may be the best state in the country from a recruiting standpoint," the program source said. "In this area of Texas, there's not a lot of other schools -- there's kind of a pocket here so recruiting-wise we're going to have access to a lot of under-recruited players. There are some awesome high school programs here in town. There are some premier high school players in this region but not a lot of colleges. We're only two hours from the Dallas Metroplex, only a few hours from the Mississippi JuCos."
Interviews will start within the next few weeks, with the stated goal of having the first TAMUT head coach in Texarkana by the new year. From there, it'll be a dead sprint toward the first game in the fall of 2027.