UTSA Roadrunners football

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 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]

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.[31][32]

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.

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 canceled 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.[33]

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.[34]

On December 9, 2019, Arkansas running backs coach Jeff Traylor was hired as the 3rd head coach in the program's history.[35] After going 2-0 in Coach Traylor's first season as Head Coach, the program received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for the first time.[36] Traylor also became the first head coach in program history to start his career with three wins[37] after beating MTSU on September 25, 2020. UTSA finished the 2020 regular season with a record of 7-4 along with a second bowl game appearance in program history at the First Responder Bowl.[38]

The I-35 Rivalry is the rivalry between Texas State and UTSA. The teams first met in 2012, both as members of the WAC. For the 2013 season, Texas State moved to the Sun Belt Conference and UTSA moved to Conference USA, which temporarily halted the rivalry. The series was renewed in 2017 and has been played every season since except for in 2019. The rivalry is either played in San Marcos or San Antonio. The teams have met four times, with UTSA holding a 4–0 lead in the series through the 2020 season.[40]