The Roadrunners will do battle against the Texas State Bobcats in the latest edition of the I-35 Rivalry on Saturday afternoon.
SAN ANTONIO — Just a few days after upwards of 40,000 fans of The Weeknd flock to the Alamodome to see the R&B singer perform, another fanbase distinguished by its proverbial speed could fill even more of the stadium’s seats.
A potential all-time number of UTSA Roadrunners are preparing to root on the school’s football team in person for the first time this year, in a game where the opponent should have them decked out in even more orange and cheering louder than normal. The team is welcoming Interstate 35 rival Texas State and seeking revenge after the Bobcats put a 49-10 beatdown on the ‘Runners last season.
That game was in San Marcos and attended by 28,000 fans mostly wearing maroon and gold. Judging by a recent UTSA Athletics Dept. post about the number of fans calling its office for tickets, Saturday’s game at the ‘Dome will easily surpass that number.
Whether or not it turns out to be a program record-breaker, head coach Jeff Traylor’s squad can expect a sizeable advantage: UTSA owns a 29-3 home mark this decade, and a 10-game winning streak at the Alamodome going back to September 2023. And after starting Year Six of the Traylor Era with a tough but gritty loss at Texas A&M, the ‘Runners will be feeding off whatever number of fans head downtown this weekend.
But how many would have to make the trek to be part of a record-setting crowd? Let’s take a look back at the highest attended games in UTSA Football history—beginning with the one that started it all.
1. Sept. 3, 2011: 56,743 fans
UTSA 31, Northeastern State 3
The Alamodome can accommodate 62,834 fans for a football game. All but a few thousand of those were filled when UTSA won its football debut over visiting Northeastern State 14 years ago.
Larry Coker was head coach for the historic matchup – which also marked the biggest attendance for any NCAA program debut – while quarterback Eric Soza was the star of the game, collecting 339 all-purpose yards and scoring three times, according to UTSA game notes.
Coker’s collegiate career ended when he resigned as UTSA head coach in 2016, and Soza now works as the athletic director and football coach for Rockport-Fulton ISD.
This remains the only home UTSA game to surpass the 50,000-fans mark. Will we see the second on Saturday?
2. Sept. 9, 2023: 49,342 fans
UTSA 20, Texas State 13
The Bobcats entered the Alamodome on this day searching for their first win over the Roadrunners. They’d have to wait another year to reach that milestone on their home turf.
But this highly attended matchup still featured plenty of drama, with nearly 50,000 fans on hand to see UTSA holding off their opponent after the score was knotted 10-10 at halftime. Smithson Valley product Trey Moore notched a key three sacks en route to a then-school-record seven team sacks.
This game may not have reached the historic attendance of September 2011, but it was notable for another occasion: It was the first win for UTSA as a member of the American Athletic Conference.
3. Sept. 8, 2018: 42,071 fans
UTSA 20, Baylor 37
The Roadrunners’ most strongly attended home defeat came at the hands of an in-state opponent that would go on to win six more games in 2018 over the prior season, culminating in a Texas Bowl victory. It would be two years before UTSA finished above .500 again themselves, in Traylor’s first campaign at the helm.
4. Dec. 2, 2022: 41,412 fans
UTSA 48, North Texas 27 (Conference USA Championship)
The second of back-to-back C-USA titles came in front of more than 41,000 fans in 2022, who saw the Roadrunners take a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter and never look back. Championship MVP Frank Harris notched 341 passing yards and four touchdowns to etch his name into program lore as UTSA went undefeated in conference play for the first (and only) time.
The Roadrunners finished the season 11-3 before departing for the American Athletic Conference.
5. Dec. 3, 2021: 41,148 fans
UTSA 49, Western Kentucky 41 (Conference USA Championship)
The Roadrunners’ first-ever conference title won on the gridiron came via a shootout over Western Kentucky and a top-five home game crowd. In his final college game, star UTSA running back Sincere McCormick stormed through opposing defenders en route to 204 rushing yards and three scores, and Jahmal Sam pulled down a key interception in the game’s final moments to secure the win in front of what was at the time the third-biggest Alamodome crowd in UTSA football history.
The biggest win thus far for the program was also its 10th straight home win. Four years later, the Roadrunners find themselves in that exact same position of home-field dominance heading into Saturday’s bout with the Bobcats.
The rest of the top 15 highest-attended UTSA home games…
6. Sept. 7, 2013: 40,977 fans // UTSA 35, No. 13 Oklahoma State 56
7. Nov. 24, 2012: 39,032 fans // UTSA 38, Texas State 31
8. Sept. 3, 2022: 37,526 fans // UTSA 35, No. 24 Houston 37 (3OT)
9. Nov. 20, 2021: 35,147 fans // UTSA 34, UAB 31
10. Sept. 24, 2011: 33,517 fans // UTSA 54, Bacone 7
11. Sept. 4, 2014: 33,472 fans // UTSA 23, Arizona 26
12. Oct. 8, 2011: 32,886 fans // UTSA 27, South Alabama 30
13. Sept. 28, 2013: 32,487 fans // UTSA 28, Houston 59
14. Nov. 19, 2011: 32,369 fans // UTSA 49, Minot State 7
15. Oct. 25, 2014: 31,956 fans // UTSA 0, UTEP 34