Pac-12 expansion candidates: UTSA Roadrunners

The rebuilt Pac-12 has eight members signed up for the 2026-27 athletics season: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Washington State and Utah State. 

The conference must attract at least one more football-playing member before 2026 to reach the NCAA’s eight-team minimum to qualify as an FBS conference. Gonzaga does not have a football program. 

The Pac-12, which poached five teams from the Mountain West and Gonzaga from the West Coast Conference, is expected to add between one and six additional members in the coming weeks and months. 

As conference realignment wages on, Boise State Broncos on SI is taking a look at schools that have been linked to the Pac-12 in various reports. 

We have already covered the Memphis Tigers, North Texas Mean Green, Rice Owls, Sacramento State Hornets, Saint Mary’s Gaels, South Florida Bulls, Texas State Bobcats, Tulane Green Wave, UConn Huskies and UNLV Rebels. We will now head back to the American Athletic Conference to break down the UTSA Roadrunners. 

The University of Texas at San Antonio

Location: San Antonio, Texas

Current conference: American Athletic Conference 

Enrollment: 35,770

Endowment: $286.63 million

Athletics budget: $39,156,362

Football stadium: Alamodome (36,582 capacity, but expandable to 64,000)

Basketball arena: Convocation Center (4,080 capacity)

The case for UTSA

A relatively new program, UTSA first fielded a football team in 2011 and finished 8-4 overall in its second season. Current head coach Jeff Traylor has taken the Roadrunners to new heights, including a 12-2 finish in 2021. 

UTSA is the only FBS program in San Antonio, the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the country and a recruiting hotbed. 

Unlike Dallas and Houston which are saturated with professional and college sports options, San Antonio’s only major sports team is the NBA’s Spurs. UTSA has plenty of room to grow its fanbase within the San Antonio market and beyond. 

UTSA is one of nine schools in The University of Texas System, which has the largest endowment of any public university system in the United States at $44.97 billion. 

The case against UTSA

Similar to North Texas, UTSA is largely a commuter school with 89 percent of its students living off-campus.

The Roadrunners’ facilities are not up to par for Pac-12 membership. UTSA’s football team plays off-campus in the Alamodome, a cavernous, dated facility. The Convocation Center is a small venue in desperate need of a facelift. 

When compared directly to fellow FBS newcomer Texas State, UTSA has a smaller enrollment (40,678 to 35,770) and significantly worse facilities. 

As with every AAC member, UTSA comes with a hefty exit fee. 

Verdict

Of the 11 Pac-12 expansion targets profiled by Boise State Broncos on SI , UTSA likely ranks somewhere in the middle. 

The Roadrunners are not among the Pac-12’s top options, but UTSA’s growth potential is undeniable. 

If the Pac-12 strikes out with the likes of Memphis, Tulane and UNLV, UTSA could very well be next in line.