College sports, Texas State Bobcats

Source: Texas State reaches out to UTSA head coach Karen Aston about women’s basketball opening

By Michael Adams
Austin Sports Journal

UTSA women’s basketball head coach Karen Aston walks the sideline during action in the 2025 season. Aston’s name has been mentioned as a possible target for the open Texas State head coaching job. (Photo courtesy of UTSA athletics)

Texas State women’s basketball coach Zenarae Antoine stepped down on March 9 after 15 years leading the Bobcats.

Antoine leaves Texas State as the winningest coach in program history with a 225–232 record in 15 seasons, highlighted by the 2023 Sun Belt regular-season championship. However, the Bobcats finished 11–19 this season and have had one winning season in the past four years.

Texas State athletic officials are investing in the basketball programs to compete at a national level as the Bobcats prepare to join a Pac-12 Conference that includes San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State and Gonzaga next season.

Athletic director Don Coryell said in a press release, “Our focus remains on positioning our programs to compete at the highest level within the conference and nationally. We are committed to investing the resources necessary to achieve our goals.”

Part of that investment may involve pursuing a high-profile coach who can build the program into a regular contender as it moves into a tougher basketball conference.

Sources told the Austin Sports Journal on Friday that Texas State has reached out to current UTSA and former University of Texas head coach Karen Aston about the open position. No other details about the discussion were provided.

UTSA head coach Karen Aston cuts down the nets at the Convocation Center after the Roadrunners won the 2025 American Athletic Conference regular season championship. (Photo courtesy of UTSA athletics)

Aston is a proven winner, leading the Roadrunners to the American Athletic Conference regular-season championship in 2025. She won a conference championship at Charlotte in 2009 and has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including six as head coach at the University of Texas.

Aston led UTSA to a 17–15 record this season, but the Roadrunners have put together a Cinderella run in the AAC Tournament. UTSA plays Rice in Saturday’s championship game at 8:30 p.m.

If Aston is the primary target to take over the Bobcats’ women’s basketball program, Texas State will likely need to make a significant financial commitment to lure her away from UTSA.

Aston signed a contract extension with UTSA in 2025 that runs through the 2030 season and will pay her $385,000 next season and $415,000 in each of the final three years of the contract. That’s nearly double the $210,000 Antoine reportedly made in her final season at Texas State.

However, Coryell and Texas State president Kelly Damphousse have made it clear the university is committed to investing the resources necessary to prepare its athletic programs for the move to the Pac-12.

Whether that includes a higher salary to lure a coach of Aston’s stature to San Marcos remains to be seen.

Texas State is working with sports executive search firm TurnkeyZRG to conduct a national search for Antoine’s replacement.