UTSA Roadrunners football

The UTSA Roadrunners football program represents University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in the sport of American football. The Roadrunners compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the West Division of Conference USA (CUSA). They are coached by Jeff Traylor, who started in 2020. The Roadrunners play their home games at the Alamodome which has a seating capacity of 65,000.

UTSA Roadrunners
2020 UTSA Roadrunners football team
First season2011
Athletic directorLisa Campos
Head coachJeff Traylor
StadiumAlamodome
(Capacity: 72,000)
Year built1993
Field surfaceSportField
LocationSan Antonio, Texas
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionWest
All-time record45–61 (.425)
Bowl record0–1 (.000)
RivalriesTexas State (rivalry)
Consensus All-AmericansDavid Morgan II
ColorsNavy Blue, White, and Orange[1]
              
Fight songGo Roadrunners, Go!
MascotRowdy
Marching band"The Spirit Of San Antonio" (SOSA)
WebsiteGoUTSA.com

History
See also: List of UTSA Roadrunners football seasons

Start-up and organization (2006–2010)

In February 2006, the University of Texas at San Antonio approached Carr Sports Associates, Inc. to conduct a feasibility study and make recommendations to the university regarding an expansion of the athletics department.[2] In November of that year, UTSA was given the final results of that study.[3] Following the recommendations of CSA, the university facilitated a student referendum in September 2007 to gauge support for a fee increase.[4][5] Nearly 66% of student voters supported the fee increase.

In December 2008, after the approval of the UTSA administration, the university presented the University of Texas System Board of Regents with a long-term plan that followed the feasibility study recommendations to build an $84 million athletic complex and the fee increase for their approval.[6] It was approved by the board soon thereafter.[7]

In January 2009, UTSA launched a campaign to raise money for the program dubbed the "Step Up UTSA" initiative.[8] With a goal of $15 million USD, the campaign is meant to help fund coaches salaries, player scholarships, and construction of practice fields.

On February 4, 2009, former Miami head coach Larry Coker announced he had applied for the head coaching job.[9] Later that month it was announced that Coker along with Tulsa's co-defensive coordinator Paul Randolph and Mel Tjeerdsma, head coach from Northwest Missouri State were the finalists for the position.[10] On March 5, 2009, the San Antonio Express-News reported that Larry Coker, who had won the 2001 national championship as head coach of the Hurricanes, had earned the position.[11] The next day Coker was officially announced as the Roadrunners' first head football coach in a press conference.[12] On April 22, 2009, Coker announced the addition of Mike Menefee, Eric Roark, and David Ross to the roster as assistant football coaches.[13]

On June 4, 2009 UTSA unveiled the team's inaugural helmet design.[14] The design was done by Ohio-based Rickabaugh Graphics, and had final approval by Coker. On January 20, 2010, the program announced the hiring of Travis Bush as offensive coordinator.[15] Bush had previously worked in the same capacity for his alma mater, Texas State.

Although plans for conference and subdivision affiliation were unclear, Lynn Hickey, UTSA's athletic director had strongly hinted at plans for UTSA to join their current conference, the Southland Conference (a member of the Division I FCS subdivision) in September 2009.[16] However, in late January 2010, Hickey stated that the football program would attempt to join the Division I FBS subdivision by 2014 instead, citing an overall disappointment for previous plans. This entailed UTSA joining the subdivision as an independent until finding admission to a conference.

On February 3, 2010, National Signing Day, UTSA officially announced their inaugural signing class.[17] The twenty-seven students consisted mainly of incoming freshmen, including two transfer students who were currently sophomores at the university. Seven of the student athletes were considered all-state performers from their high school careers. The class was heavily recruited from the Greater San Antonio area, as fourteen players were from such area high schools. Each player for the inaugural class was redshirted during the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season.[18]

On March 16, 2010 UTSA announced Neal Neathery as defensive coordinator for the team. Neathery had last served in the same position for Drake.[19]

In an effort to move the program to the FBS, UTSA had discussions with the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) about joining that conference after they lost Boise State to the Mountain West Conference during the summer of 2010.[20]

In July 2010, the Northside Independent School District announced a three-year agreement that allowed UTSA to use Dub Farris Athletic Complex for practice.[21] On September 15, 2010, UTSA held its first-ever practice at the stadium.[22]

UTSA began practicing in August 2010, and began competing as an NCAA Division I FCS independent on September 3, 2011.[23][7]

On November 10, 2010, it was reported that the WAC had offered UTSA, along with fellow Southland conference member Texas State and Sun Belt Conference member Denver an invitation to join its conference that would take effect in 2012.[24][25] Denver would join as a non-football school. Such an invitation was an effort to offset the departures of Boise State, Fresno State, and Nevada to the Mountain West Conference during the early stages of the 2010–13 NCAA conference realignment. The following day, UTSA announced it had accepted the invitation.[26]

Larry Coker era (2011–2015)
UTSA's inaugural football game

In 2011, UTSA started its inaugural season playing its first-ever game against Northeastern State on September 3, 2011 at the Alamodome. With attendance of 56,743, UTSA set a record for the highest-attended game for an NCAA Division I FBS start-up program.[27] UTSA finished their first season with a record of 4–6, and set a record for the largest average home attendance for a new football program with 35,521.[28] This topped the previous record from South Florida of 33,038 in 1997.

In 2012, UTSA followed up its initial campaign with an 8–4 second season as an FBS transitional member, including going 3–3 in the WAC. UTSA closed out its season with a 38–31 win over rival Texas State before an announced crowd of 39,032 at the Alamodome. For the 2012 season, UTSA averaged 29,226 in attendance. Due to being a transitional FBS member, UTSA was not eligible for a bowl.

In April 2012, it was announced that UTSA would join Conference USA on July 1, 2013, following its approval from the University of Texas System Board of Regents to allow the school to accept an invitation, negotiate and finalize terms with the league.[29][30]

In 2013, UTSA played a full schedule of FBS opponents. In their second year of 2 transitional FBS seasons, UTSA was eligible for the C-USA championship. UTSA was only eligible for a bowl under certain criteria, such as if there were not enough bowl eligible teams. UTSA counted as an FBS opponent for bowl eligibility in 2013, and becomes fully bowl eligible in 2014. UTSA opened the 2013 season with a victory on the road against MWC member New Mexico, before losing at home to Big 12 member Oklahoma State before an announced crowd of 40,977. For the season, despite being picked last in the preseason media poll, UTSA finished at 7–5 overall, with a 6–2 record in conference, and averaged 29,214 in attendance. UTSA finished second in the West division, behind Rice. As a second year FBS transition team, UTSA however, was not selected for a bowl.

In 2014, UTSA opened with a 27–7 win over Houston in the opening of new TDECU Stadium. UTSA, however, finished with a disappointing 4–8 overall record and 3–5 in conference play. For the season, UTSA averaged 27,576 fans per game, including a season high of 33,472 against Arizona.

In 2015, UTSA finished with a disappointing 3–9 overall record. After a difficult non conference slate which saw UTSA start out 0–4, UTSA finished 3–5 in the conference, tied for 3rd out of 6 teams in the western division.

Larry Coker resigned on January 5, 2016, after compiling a 26–32 record in his 5 years as the Roadrunners head coach

In the 2016 NFL Draft UTSA tight end David Morgan II became the school's first player to be drafted when he was selected in the 6th round (188th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings as well as the program's first All-American.

Frank Wilson era (2016–2019)

In January 2016, Frank Wilson was hired as UTSA's second ever head coach, replacing Larry Coker. In his first year as head coach of the UTSA Roadrunners, Wilson helped lead the Roadrunners to a 6–6 regular season record, marking the first time the Roadrunners became bowl eligible. UTSA was ultimately selected for their first bowl game in program history, the 2016 New Mexico Bowl.

On September 9, 2017, UTSA had a landmark 17–10 victory over Baylor which gave UTSA its first ever victory over a Power Five team. UTSA would ultimately finish 6–5 for the season (one game against the Houston Cougars was cancelled due to the aftereffects of Hurricane Harvey). Although UTSA was bowl eligible again, they did not receive an invite, ending their season.

On April 26, 2018, Roadrunner DE Marcus Davenport was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Davenport was the 14th overall pick.[31]

In the 2018 season, UTSA struggled through its non-conference schedule, going 1–3 (their lone win being against rival Texas State). UTSA then won two consecutive conference games to improve to 3–3, but dropped its remaining six games to finish 3–9.

After another struggle in the 2019 season, in which they finished 4–8 overall and 3–5 in conference play, UTSA fired Wilson on December 1, 2019 after 4 seasons and a 19–29 overall record.[32]

Jeff Traylor era (2020–present)

On December 9, 2019, Arkansas running backs coach Jeff Traylor was hired as the 3rd head coach in the program's history.[33]

Conference affiliations

Yearly Record
Year Coach Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
FCS Independent (2011)
2011 Larry Coker 4–6
Western Athletic Conference (2012)
2012 Larry Coker 8–43–34th
Conference USA (2013–present)
2013 Larry Coker 7–56–22nd (West)
2014 Larry Coker 4–83–54th (West)
2015 Larry Coker 3–93–53rd (West)
2016 Frank Wilson 6–75–32nd (West)L New Mexico Bowl
2017 Frank Wilson 6–53–55th (West)
2018 Frank Wilson 3–92–65th (West)
2019 Frank Wilson 4–83–55th (West)
2020 Jeff Traylor
Total:45–61
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Bowl games

UTSA has played in one bowl game, compiling a record of 0–1.

Season Coach Bowl Opponent Result
2016Frank WilsonNew Mexico BowlNew MexicoL 20–23

Roadrunners in the NFL Draft
Main article: List of UTSA Roadrunners in the NFL Draft

Rivalries

Texas State
Main article: I-35 Rivalry

The I-35 Rivalry, is the Texas State-UTSA rivalry. The teams was first played in 2012 as conference foes until the end of that season as Texas State moved to the Sun Belt Conference and UTSA moved to CUSA which halted the rivalry. The series will be renewed in 2017 and play every year except for the 2019 season. The rivalry is either played in San Marcos or San Antonio. In total the two squads have met on the gridiron three times with UTSA holding a 3–0 lead in the series through the 2018 season.[34]

UTSA-Texas State: All-Time Record
Games played First meeting Last meeting UTSA wins UTSA losses
3 November 24, 2012 (Won 38–31) September 22, 2018 (Won 25-21) 3 0

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of April 26, 2020.[35]

2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031
at Illinois Houston at Houston Houston at Houston at Texas at Texas at Texas
Lamar at Texas Texas State at Texas State Texas State at Texas State Texas State at Texas State Texas State at Texas State Texas State
at Memphis Texas Southern at Texas
Houston Baptist

References
  1. UTSA Artsheet (PDF). September 20, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  2. "Athletics Feasibility Study: Executive Summary". University of Texas at San Antonio. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  3. Gabler, David (November 29, 2006). "UTSA receives football feasibility study". UTSA Today. University of Texas at San Antonio. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  4. Gabler, David (September 13, 2007). "UTSA students pass athletics fee referendum". UTSA Today. University of Texas at San Antonio. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  5. "Students approve fee increase in UTSA's first step toward football team". ESPN. September 13, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  6. Ludwig, Melissa (December 17, 2008). "Will football be worth the cost to UTSA students?". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  7. Whisler, John; Briggs, Jerry (December 18, 2008). "UTSA football gets green light". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  8. "Cavendar presents UTSA Athletics with donation". UTSA athletics. January 12, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  9. "Former Miami coach applies for UTSA job". mysanantonio.com. San Antonio Express-News. February 4, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  10. "UTSA announces finalists for head football coach position". UTSA athletics. February 23, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  11. Flores, David (March 5, 2009). "Coker to be named UTSA football coach". mysanantonio.com. San Antonio Express-News. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  12. "UTSA introduces Larry Coker as head football coach". UTSA Athletics. March 6, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  13. "UTSA names three assistant football coaches". UTSA Today. April 22, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
  14. Bailey, W. Scott (June 4, 2009). "UTSA unveils inaugural Roadrunners football helmet". San Antonio Business Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  15. Mayforth, Tyler (January 21, 2010). "College Football: Bush leaves State for UTSA". San Marcos Daily Record. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  16. McCarney, Dan (January 31, 2010). "UTSA now plans to go it alone in football". San Antonio Express-News. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  17. "UTSA Football announces inaugural signing class on Wednesday". UTSA athletics. February 3, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  18. "UTSA Football concludes walk-on tryouts". UTSA athletics. March 24, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  19. "UTSA names Neal Neathery program's defensive coordinator". UTSA athletics. March 16, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  20. "UTSA on WAC's Radar!". UTSA Tailgaters. July 10, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  21. "Banner Day for UTSA Football". UTSA Roadrunners. July 13, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  22. "Roadrunners hold historic first practice on Wednesday night". UTSA athletics. September 16, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  23. "UTSA receives go ahead to add football on Thursday". UTSA Roadrunners athletics. December 18, 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  24. McCarney, Dan (August 19, 2010). "UTSA Will Pursue WAC Membership". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  25. Katz, Andy (November 10, 2010). "Sources: Three teams to join WAC". ESPN. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  26. Stephens, Kyle (November 11, 2010). "UTSA accepts invitation Nov. 11 to join Western Athletic Conference". UTSA. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  27. "UTSA rolls in program's first game". Los Angeles Times. September 3, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  28. Flores, David (November 20, 2011). "UTSA ends first football season with lopsided victory against Minot State". KENS. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  29. "SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR BOARD OF REGENTS' MEETING" (PDF). U. T. System Administration. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  30. "http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7866383/utsa-roadrunners-poised-exit-wac-conference-usa". ESPN. Retrieved April 28, 2012. External link in |title= (help)
  31. https://www.underdogdynasty.com/university-texas-san-antonio-roadrunners/2018/4/26/17283230/utsa-defensive-end-marcus-davenport-drafted-by-new-orleans-saints-with-14th-overall-pick-nfl-draft. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. Kercheval, Ben (December 1, 2019). "UTSA fires coach Frank Wilson after four seasons following 4-8 record". cbssports.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  33. Kalmus, Jared (December 9, 2019). "UTSA hires Jeff Traylor to become the program's third head coach". Underdog Dynasty. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  34. http://www.winsipedia.com/utsa/vs/texas-state
  35. "UTSA Roadrunners Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
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