It’s July 23, 2018. A visibly excited Everett Withers stands before a group of reporters in New Orleans during Sun Belt Media Day and talks about the growth of his football program.

Nearly four months later, before the season is even over, Withers is out of a job.

This story isn’t about Withers, though we will get back to him. It’s about the man who runs the whole show, Athletic Director Larry Teis.

The Texas State faithful have long been in a perpetual state of frustration over those currently in charge of the athletic department.

The reclusive Teis has made his mark on San Marcos by being deflective, silent, tone-deaf and downright lazy.

Teis has been in this role for 15 years now. He’s hung his hat on compliance, academics, facility upgrades and women’s athletics. The women’s teams are so successful in fact, that they’ve carried Texas State to four consecutive top two finishes in the Sun Belt’s Vic Bubas Cup. With a lot still to happen, Texas State is on pace to do that again this year.

That’s about as good as it gets for Dr. Teis.

As 2013 grad John Beck put it, “Our women’s athletics are allowing our inept athletic director to take credit for something he doesn’t deserve credit for.”

For someone who uses the success of the women’s teams as a crutch, you would think Teis would promote those teams to the Bobcat fanbase fervently.

Not only do they receive minimum marketing but the decision made between Teis and President Denise Trauth to fire Withers came on the same day as the volleyball team winning the 2018 Sun Belt Conference tournament.

This is only a recent example of Teis’ ineptitude. Some fans have been skeptical of the AD for over a decade. When Teis first arrived in 2004, he set a three year timetable for a new baseball/softball complex.

Texas State is still playing in Bobcat Ballpark 15 years later. Instead, cosmetic upgrades came four years after Teis’ promise. In 2008, bullpens and a new video board were put in. Then came a full renovation in 2009, one that included a new ticket office, press box and, most importantly, a brand new brick wall.

It’s for this reason that 2003 Texas State grad Flint Crawford began questioning whether Teis is the man for the job. This eventually led to Crawford pulling his annual donations to the athletic department four years ago, citing problems he has with Teis.

“My issue with Teis is his absolute avoidance in interaction with fans or donors unless they are at a certain level,” said Crawford.

Crawford recalled an instance in 2014 in the president’s suite box where all donors were invited. Teis and Trauth were in attendance, but Teis appeared to avoid any interaction with anyone who was not a part of the University.

Beck also withdrew his donations to Texas State, even sending an email to the athletic department detailing why. He received a short response:

“You’re wrong about Teis.”

Beck and Crawford are not alone, though, in pulling their financial support. Many pulled their donations when Withers was initially hired, including Texas State’s biggest donor Dr. Jerry Fields, according to an unnamed source.

While 2014 saw a major hit to donations, the 2018 football season saw another. The #FireTeis movement became synonymous with Texas State football this season, especially after a #FireTeis banner was flown during the homecoming game in late October. In lieu of this brazen display of contempt, a number of people pulled their support for the athletic department, according to a University Star article.

The movement is heavily twitter-centric, where Texas State fans have voiced their displeasure for some time now. Unfortunately for them, they can’t even get their voice heard by the athletic director because he does not have a twitter account.

Yes, in 2018 we have an FBS athletic director who does not have an account on one of the world’s largest public forums.

While twitter is an easy way to engage with Bobcat fans and keep on ear on the ground, Teis seems largely uninterested in the opinions of students and alumni.

“(The athletic department) does not promote or engage with the students or the locals at an FBS level,” one area media member said. “They are definitely lacking in the marketing department.”

Marketing has been a hot topic around town, as many fans don’t believe the department promotes the teams enough.

“Get the brand out there,” Beck said. “Why not put billboards up in your biggest alumni contingencies outside of San Marcos, like Houston or Dallas-Fort Worth?”

Beck also added that on-campus promotions “are a joke.”

The budget doesn’t appear to be the problem, either, but that’s for another story.

As athletic director, Teis should be in charge of all things in and around athletics. Most AD’s get to know the student-athletes, but apparently relationships don’t quite fit on Teis’ schedule.

According to University Star reporter Andrew Zimmel, former Texas State linebacker Easy Anyama met the Texas athletic director twice in his one year at Texas as a track and field athlete. In his next three years in San Marcos, he never met Teis.

Former tennis player Pippa Carr says she never saw him at a tennis match in her four years at the school. She mentioned he showed up for a match just after she graduated, “but he stayed for not even five minutes.”

The problems appear to permeate throughout the department, too. Many have had problems with the sports information directors.

“Nothing gets passed sports information director Rick Paulter,” former KTSW reporter Eddie Lerma said. “Every time a reporter would ask for a specific player for a story, he would reject the request.”

Lerma recalled an incident where he received permission from an SID to cover the women’s golf team, who had just won a Sun Belt title. When he arrived at the selection show, he was spotted by Teis who quickly questioned his presence.

“I told him I was reporting for the school and he asked me to leave and said I didn’t need to be there,” Lerma said.

Zimmel, who also spent time at KTSW, says that “media relations are terrible” and that SID’s “don’t do a good job marketing their players.”

For one anonymous person who receives a paycheck from Texas State athletics, the sentiments toward the SID is similar.

“Our SID is worthless,” he said. “A bump on the log.”

The employee confirmed that Texas State receives such little coverage out of Austin because the SID’s make it too difficult.

As for his opinion on the man himself, he’s not exactly a front row fan.

“Teis doesn’t give a shit, clearly,” he said. “I don’t know if anybody in the athletic department thinks that Teis knows how to do his job.”

This would support one claim from a former staffer that Teis would often head into meetings unprepared, leaving his assistants to clean up the mess.

We’ve merely scratched the surface of the stories about Teis and even Trauth. Some have been uncovered recently by Austin Statesman reporter Keff Ciardello, who reported them in a series of tweets.

Unfortunately for Texas State fans, Trauth has recently doubled down on Teis. Her statements have shown Bobcat fans the level of ignorance the athletic department is emanating.

The movement to out Teis is ever-growing. There’s even a website up, firelarryteis.com, that gives fans an opportunity to sign a vote of no confidence in Teis. So far, 352 people have signed it, with the majority choosing Overall Performance over Football as the reason why.

Regardless, The timing of Withers’ firing isn’t coincidental. Coming at the peak of the #FireTeis movement, it’s blatantly obvious that Trauth and Teis believe the football team is the epicenter of the fans’ issues with the department.

Fans and media saw straight through the move, though, only further building an ever-increasing flame.

“(Withers) was clearly a scapegoat,” Zimmel said. “I think this was an attempt to get us off of (Teis’) ass for a minute, but he ended up throwing fuel on it.”

As mentioned, Trauth is unwavering in her support for Teis. She recently stated that Teis “Is our athletic director going forward.”

She cited the new football coaching hire, the volleyball team and Texas State men’s basketball’s record following the first seven games of the season as the reasons why Teis is the man for the job.

Either she truly doesn’t know and is failing at monitoring the happiness of donors and former donors or she’s flat-out ignoring students and alumni.

Whichever it may be, those in San Marcos appear to be stuck for the foreseeable future.