Texas State football helping boost San Marcos economy

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — It turns out success on the field can lead to successful business on game days.

Last year the Texas State Football team went 8-5 and ended the year with a bowl game victory over Rice.

The recent success meant more people were going to games and that trend has continued into the 2024 season.

"We are excited about the football team," said John Ferrari, a Texas State graduate. "Thursday night nationally televised game so we are coming back to check it out."

Ferrari and his friends graduated in the 1990s, before the team made the jump to FBS football. But now they said game days are much improved and it's worth making a trip from Houston to see a game.

"We are just excited to see how they do this year," Ferrari said.

The group of graduates said they are hoping to come back to a few more games through the season.

"Winning games definitely brings excitement and generates traffic and generates money for our city," said Rebecca Ybarra, Director of Destination Services with the City of San Marcos.

Cafe on the Square has seen more business on game days because of that recent success.

"It's crazy busy," said Esther Henk, Café on the Square's GM.

Henk said she loves serving the football team, but it's also fun to run into fans coming back into town for the games.

"They visit all the places they used to eat and spend time here," Henk said. "So we get to see people we haven't seen in a long time and it is very exciting."

Ybarra said with the game being on ESPN it also puts a national spotlight on Texas State and the city of San Marcos.

"Tonight it is a national stage," Ybarra said. "We will have some promotional videos during that time frame and showing off our beautiful San Marcos River and our great downtown."

While there is still a long season ahead, many bobcat fans and the city of San Marcos are excited about the future of the team.