Roadrunners on the Rise

In the last five years the sports programs at UTSA have heavily increased in both popularity and attention from the media. The attendance for these sporting events has risen to heights that have never been seen by the university. 

In its first football game ever (2011, vs. Northeastern State), UTSA set a record for the highest attended game for a start-up football program in their division (NCAA Division 1 FCS). That season they continued to have a huge following and wound up setting a record for the largest average home attendance for a new football program averaging over 35,00 fans. 

San Antonio isn’t the only place where UTSA sports are rising in popularity. It’s starting to slowly make the push towards national attention. 

In 2011, the UTSA Roadrunners basketball team pulled out an almost unbelievable upset over the Alabama State Hornets to gain the 16th seed of the Eastern bracket in the 2011 NCAA tournament; also known as “March Madness:. The roadrunners were heavily considered the underdog against the number 1 seed the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Roadrunners ended up losing 75-46. Though the result ended up as a loss for UTSA, just getting to the 2011 NCAA tournament provided a great opportunity for the university to gain some attention in the national spotlight. 

Last season (2012-2013) the Roadrunners football team played against Texas State in the Alamodome and won 38-31. This game has helped create somewhat of a rivalry between the two schools that some have nicknamed “The I-35 Rivalry”. With the addition of the new rivalry created between UTSA and Texas State other schools are starting to take notice as well. In the next five seasons, UTSA are scheduled to go up against some schools with huge reputations in the college sports world (Baylor, Texas A&M, etc.)

The Roadrunners had an outstanding season this year finishing 2^nd in their division with a record of 7-2. The Roadrunners finished out the season strong with 5 consecutive wins, but it wasn’t enough to get them to the Conference USA title game. UTSA needed Tulane to beat Rice last weekend to make it to the title game, but Rice ended up beating Tulane 17-13. Though they didn’t make it to the C-USA title game, this season was still a huge success for the Roadrunners. 

For a sports program in only its 3^rd year, UTSA has gone beyond what anyone thought they were capable of. The future is bright for the UTSA Roadrunners, and the fans couldn’t be more excited for the upcoming seasons.