UTSA begin their 16th football season on Saturday, Sept. 5, and the opener brings a first meeting with UTRGV to the Alamodome. It is a clean early-season test for Jeff Traylor’s team, with the Roadrunners starting from 0-0 and the Vaqueros arriving after a 44-0 shutout of UT Permian Basin last Saturday night.
The game is set for 2:30 p.m. in San Antonio and will be carried on + and the UTSA Sports Media Network. For a season opener, it carries plenty of interest: UTSA are trying to build on a run of recent success, while UTRGV are only in their second season of football and compete in the Southland Conference.
UTSA’s season opener comes with recent history behind it
This is more than just a routine first game. UTSA’s program has moved through clear stages since its practice year in 2010, then its first football season in 2011 as an FCS Independent, before joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2012 and Conference USA in 2013. By 2014, the Roadrunners had become a full-fledged FBS member.
That progress has been matched by results. UTSA reached its first postseason game at the 2016 New Mexico Bowl, won its first conference championship in 2021 by beating WKU 49-42, and repeated as league champions in 2022 with a 48-27 win over North Texas. More recently, they beat Marshall 35-17 in the 2023 Frisco Bowl, then followed with a No. 25 win over Memphis 44-36 and a Myrtle Beach Bowl victory over Coastal Carolina 44-15 in 2024, before ending 2025 with a 57-20 win over FIU in the First Responder Bowl.
Those milestones matter because they frame the expectation around a home opener like this one. UTSA have made six home contests part of their recent profile of strong starts, and the release around the game highlights the program’s record in both home openers and season openers.
What UTRGV bring to the matchup
UTRGV’s most recent result was emphatic. Last Saturday night, the Vaqueros shut out UT Permian Basin 44-0 in their season opener, a reminder that they arrive with a clean defensive sheet and an early win behind them.
That makes the first meeting between UTSA and UTRGV worth watching from the start. The Roadrunners will want to establish control quickly at the Alamodome, but the Vaqueros have already shown they can produce a complete performance in their own opener.
For UTSA, the task is straightforward: make the home opener count, begin the 16th season on the right note, and avoid any surprise in a game that will be seen and heard across + and the UTSA Sports Media Network, including Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket and iHeartRadio.
The broader picture is just as clear. UTSA are expected to set the tone for another season, and UTRGV have an opportunity to test themselves against a program that has built real momentum over the past several years. When the teams kick off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, it will be the first chapter in a new in-state matchup.
