UTSA Roadrunners
University of Texas at San Antonio athletics From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
University of Texas at San Antonio athletics From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The UTSA Roadrunners is a collegiate athletic program that represents the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The UTSA Roadrunners are also commonly referred to as "UTSA", "Roadrunners", or "Runners", and are represented by the mascot Rowdy. The origin of Rowdy dates back to 1977, when the Roadrunner was chosen as the university's mascot by student election.[2]
| UTSA Roadrunners | |
|---|---|
| |
| University | University of Texas at San Antonio |
| Conference | American Athletic Conference |
| NCAA | Division I (FBS) |
| Athletic director | Lisa Campos |
| Location | San Antonio, Texas |
| Varsity teams | 17 |
| Football stadium | Alamodome |
| Basketball arena | Convocation Center |
| Baseball stadium | Roadrunner Field |
| Mascot | Rowdy |
| Nickname | Roadrunners |
| Fight song | Go Roadrunners, Go! |
| Colors | Navy blue, orange, and white[1] |
| Website | goutsa |
 | |
The Roadrunners compete in the NCAA Division I American Athletic Conference in 17 varsity sports. UTSA is San Antonio's only institution that competes in Division I FBS. UTSA joined the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2012.[3] In April 2012, it was announced that UTSA would join Conference USA on July 1, 2013.[4] Eight years later on October 21, 2021, it was announced that UTSA would join the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2023.[5]
The UTSA Cheer team has garnered two National Cheerleading Associations’ (NCA) collegiate national championships, first in 2012[6] and again in 2021.[7][8] The cheer team has also secured a pair of top 5 finishes in 2019.[9][10]
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Golf |
| Football | Soccer |
| Golf | Softball |
| Tennis | Tennis |
| Track & field† | Track & field† |
| Volleyball | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
In December 2008, UTSA announced the planned expansion of the athletics program centered on a new football program.[11] The team's first head coach was former Miami Hurricanes head coach Larry Coker. UTSA began practicing in August 2010 and began competing as an NCAA Division I FCS independent on September 3, 2011.[11][12] On November 11, 2010, UTSA accepted an invitation for membership within the Western Athletic Conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision.[13] UTSA is now a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American), joining that league in 2023 after 10 years in Conference USA (CUSA). The Roadrunners won the CUSA championship in their last two seasons in that conference, winning the conference championship game over Western Kentucky in 2021 and North Texas in 2022. The team plays its home games at the Alamodome in Downtown San Antonio.
UTSA men's basketball began as an Independent in 1981 before joining the Trans America Athletic Conference, now known as the Atlantic Sun Conference, in 1986. March 12, 1988, UTSA defeated Georgia Southern 76–69 in overtime sending the Roadrunners to their first NCAA post season appearance.[14][15] UTSA men's basketball has won 3 regular season championships, 4 conference tournaments, and has had 4 NCAA tournament appearances.[16][17]
UTSA appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) post season play in 2018. In 2019 the Roadrunners were invited to the CIT again but turned down post season play.[18]
The Roadrunners won their first ever Southland Conference Championship in 2008 defeating Lamar 65–56 at the Merrell Center. This also marked the UTSA women's basketball team's first NCAA Tournament berth in school history.
UTSA earned an NCAA Tournament berth for a second consecutive season[19] with a 74–63 win over top seed UT Arlington in the State Farm Southland Conference Tournament Championship Game on Saturday, March 14, 2009, at the Merrell Center.
The UTSA women's basketball team has earned 2 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 2 conference championships, 1 regular season title, and the 2011 Southland West Division Championship.
The UTSA baseball team was formed in 1992 where they initially competed in the Southland Conference. Built in 1993, UTSA plays at Roadrunner Field which is commonly known as "The Bird Bath." The Roadrunners have won 5 conference tournaments and have 3 NCAA post season appearances.
The UTSA softball team plays their home games at Roadrunner Field and initially competed in the Southland Conference since 1992. UTSA shattered its own NCAA record in 2007, hitting 105 round-trippers in 51 contests for a 2.06 average, eclipsing the 1.87 mark set in 2004 (101/54). The Roadrunners own three of the top six home run seasons in NCAA history 105 (2006), 103 (2005), 101 (2004) and set a conference record with 14 home runs in four games at the 2006 SLC Tournament.[20]
The Roadrunner softball team has 2 NCAA Tournament Appearances (2004, 2006), 3 Regular Season Southland Conference Titles (2004, 2005, 2006), and 2 Southland Conference Tournament Championships (2004, 2006).[21][22][23]
The Roadrunners volleyball team host their home games in the Convocation Center which has been dubbed "The Historic Convo" or "Convo" for short. The women's volleyball team began NCAA play in 1983 as an independent. In 1991 UTSA started play in the Southland Conference. In 2010 the Roadrunners won their second-ever Southland Conference Tournament Championship in program history[24] and head to the 2010 NCAA Tournament.[25] In 2012 the team played a single season in the Western athletics conference, the following year transitioned to conference USA. In 2014 the Roadrunners sweep Tulsa to win the Conference USA Regular Season Championship in 2013.[26] UTSA clinched their third NCAA Tournament berth in program history in 2013 by claiming the Conference USA Tournament Championship in four sets against Tulane (25–20, 25–16, 18–25, 25–23).[27] In 2014 the Roadrunners captured the Conference USA Regular Season Championship with a sweep of Rice (25–19, 25–21, 25–22). The volleyball team has 3 NCAA Tournament Appearances (2000, 2010, 2013), 3 Conference Tournament Championships (2000, 2010, 2013), and 5 Regular Season Championship Titles(1999, 2010, 2013, 2014).
The I-35 Rivalry Orange vs. Maroon Rivalry series is the name given to the athletic competitions between the Roadrunners and the Texas State Bobcats. The name is derived from the Interstate highway that essentially links the two schools, which are in relatively close proximity to each other. In the beginning of the rivalry, a trophy was awarded to the winner of the men's basketball game. It has grown, however, to include all common sports the two schools compete with each other in throughout the academic year. A point system is used to crown a winner after the last competition between the schools in that year. The trophy is then inscribed with the annual winners and the winning institution retains the trophy for one year until the next winner is crowned.[28][29]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
