To Bleed Purple is becoming more popular

BY BETHANY KILPATRICK

Managing Editor

“Texas’s best kept secret,” better known as Tarleton State University, is becoming less of a secret and more of a trend. What used to be considered a moderate university tucked away in the “Cowboy Capital,” Stephenville, Texas, is growing rapidly and setting student enrollment records.

According to Tarleton State News, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) released data that recognizes Tarleton as the fastest-growing public university in Texas.

Tarleton State News also shared that Tarleton saw record enrollment numbers for the sixth consecutive year in the fall of 2025, totalling more than 21,000 students.

In the January 2026 edition of Fort Worth Magazine, Brian Kendall wrote in “True Texans: Tarleton State University, the Stephenville college that embraces its Western identity, expands to ‘Where the West Begins,’” that Tarleton was “a university whose growth in student enrollment and expansion to markets outside of Stephenville, including Fort Worth, has signaled a hard right turn from the once obscure rural college to first class, first choice, destination university.”

After speaking with incoming and current freshmen about what drew them to a town where everyone bleeds purple, it seems that many factors anchor students to “the ‘Ville.”

Incoming freshman from Robinson, Texas, Kamryn Petty felt drawn to Tarleton due to the opportunities she saw for herself, as she plans to major in early childhood education.

“I wanted to apply to Tarleton State University because of its strong academic programs, supportive environment and sense of community,” Petty said. “I was especially drawn to how the university focuses on student success and provides hands-on learning opportunities.”

Petty also noticed the tight-knit community that not all universities can offer.

“What makes Tarleton State University stand out to me is its welcoming atmosphere and smaller class sizes, which allow for more personal connections with professors,” Petty said.

Incoming freshman from Lingleville, Texas, Brody Hurt noticed similar aspects that led him to Tarleton.

“To me, Tarleton stands out because of its hometown roots,” Hurt said. “I have lived in Erath County now for 11 years, and every time I visited Tarleton or have been around Tarleton, I have felt like it has been super structured around that hometown feeling.”

The academic programs Tarleton offers are top-tier and have earned a well-deserved reputation. Students with ambitious career goals see Tarleton as their ladder to success.

“I applied to Tarleton because when I was asking other people who were much wiser than me where to attend college to get an engineering degree, the common answer was Tarleton,” Hurt said. “So I decided to apply.”

Student success is undeniably a great contributor to the growth being seen at Tarleton.

Kendall wrote in his article, “One such number, which is likely the most important number to many a college-bound student, is the school’s 84% employment rate within a year of a student’s graduation, which leads all public universities in the state of Texas.”

Current freshman Kobe Norman from Angleton, Texas, first considered attending Tarleton after a family member recommended it to him. Upon his first visit, he instantly noticed the friendliness of Tarleton’s campus.

“The people I encountered during the tour were amazing,” Norman said. “During orientation, we were just exploring campus, and the people we came across were really nice.”

Norman said that his faith is the biggest influence in his life, and that he felt God calling him to attend Tarleton.

“I was praying for a month straight about where to go,” Norman said. “God led me to Tarleton, and I am here.”

From the experiences he has had thus far, Norman said, “I have no regrets. Everyone should consider Tarleton.”

Community and student success seem to be the motivating factors for many entering “the gates that are always open.” It has never been a more exciting time to Bleed Purple and embrace the Texan spirit.