Angelo State in San Angelo, Texas has won multiple Lone Star Conference titles and appeared in the DII Super Region championship game consistently. Their West Texas program draws from a region with deep football culture and limited Power Four competition for recruits. Head Coach Jeff Limburg has built one of the most stable DII programs in the country — a team that produces NFL players from players that FBS programs passed over.

Texas A&M-Kingsville won six DII national championships between 1993 and 1999 — the most dominant run in DII football history. South Texas, the brush country between San Antonio and the border, produces a specific kind of linebacker and running back that the Javelinas have built their identity around for four decades. They haven't won a national title since 1999, but their ceiling — when the roster is right — is established.

West Texas A&M in Canyon — just south of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle — plays in a conference that underestimates them every few years. Their recruiting territory covers the Panhandle, eastern New Mexico, and parts of Oklahoma, producing linemen and fullbacks that fit their physical style. When their offensive line wins, WT is capable of beating any program in the Lone Star and making a Super Region run.