Picture this. It’s Saturday afternoon. You turn on ESPN and find UTSA taking on Rice in the I-10 rivalry. This is UTSA football.

    Former San Antonio Mayor and current Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff sees the big picture. Wolff played a major part in the efforts to lure the PGA and Toyota to San Antonio. Now Wolff believes Division I football and a major sports complex for UTSA are not far off.

    ”We need to make sure we have enough land to build a major sports complex to house softball, baseball, track and field, tennis, soccer and a football practice facility,” Wolff said.

    Wolff has attended meetings with President Ricardo Romo and Athletic Director Lynn Hickey and realizes what a football program would do for UTSA. “Football propels you to another level,” Wolff said.

    With Conference USA being looked at as a possibility for the Roadrunners, once the program begins, the expectations are high. Four other Texas schools compete in the conference: Rice, SMU, UTEP, and the University of Houston. With UTSA’s current conference, the Southland Conference, being relegated to Division I-AA, the Runners would reap the benefits of staying in Division I-A and joining Conference USA.

    The former mayor believes the Alamodome could be an ideal location for UTSA football since it’s easy to get to and not too far from the Downtown campus. The 65,000 seat dome currently is not home to any sports teams since the Saints left last month. “We can close off the upper deck, and it will still be an intimate setting,” Wolff said.

    Bexar County has already committed $1.5 million to the sports complex, and Wolff says a private sector will have to raise additional funds.

    A feasibility report is set to begin in the next couple of weeks.