Tarleton Texans

The Tarleton State Texans bring big-time Texas football energy to Stephenville, playing home games at Memorial Stadium and competing at the NCAA Division I FCS level in the United Athletic Conference. A member of the Texas A&M University System, Tarleton has climbed the college football ladder from junior college roots to a full-fledged FCS competitor. The Texans play with the same no-nonsense, hard-nosed style that defines Texas high school and college football culture across the state.

Tarleton football dates to the program's early junior-college days, with championship-level teams as far back as the undefeated 1925 squad. The Texans won conference titles across multiple eras — the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association in the 1980s, the Lone Star Conference under Todd Whitten in 2017-2019, and most recently a share of the United Athletic Conference title in 2025, their first conference championship at the Division I level. The move to the WAC in 2021 and then the UAC marked the program's arrival on the FCS stage.