On Sunday, Oct. 31, the university announced in a press release that they had agreed on a contract extension with UTSA head football coach Jeff Traylor. The extension lengthens Traylor’s contract to 2031 and will see Traylor paid $2.8 million annually. The extension elevates Traylor to the highest paid coach in all of Conference USA. Traylor is in his second year as the head coach at UTSA, with a 15-5 regular season record and has his team off to an 8-0 record this season. The news is just the latest in a string of good news for UTSA, which was ranked at No. 16 in the latest AP Top 25 rankings, their highest ranking ever in school history. 

UTSA Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Lisa Campos expressed her excitement and appreciation for what Traylor has done so far. 

“Jeff saw something special at UTSA when he first expressed interest in this job and we likewise knew we had someone special when we hired him to take over our program, … He is an outstanding leader, a culture builder and a molder of young men. He has brought unprecedented national exposure and acclaim to both our institution and the San Antonio community. He’s taken UTSA Football to new heights in a short amount of time and this contract extension shows our commitment to him and his staff to continue to build and sustain this program for years to come,” Dr. Campos said. 

Echoing this sentiment, UTSA President Taylor Eighmy was similarly enthusiastic about the news. 

“Jeff came to UTSA with a passion for building a football program that San Antonio now calls its own, … Our team believes in him, and our students, alumni and fans are excited about the momentum. This moment in time is very special. With the opening of our Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence and our upcoming membership in the American Athletic Conference, this is clearly the next transformational waypoint on our bold trajectory for moving our athletics program, our university and our city of San Antonio forward,” Eighmy said. 

In his statement, Traylor expressed his thanks to the university, the players and the UTSA community for making it all possible. 

“I would like to thank Dr. Eighmy and Dr. Campos for showing their deep commitment to what we are building here at UTSA, … They proactively engaged me on an extension discussion at the start of the season, and my staff and I are thrilled about what the future holds for this program. I say this all the time, but this game is about the players and they are the reason we are in this profession to begin with. This is exactly why we have chosen to make this announcement today. We should all be talking about what they have accomplished this season, they are making history every week…I also want to thank all of the UTSA supporters and the Texas High School Coaches Association. I go back to what I said at my introduction as UTSA’s head football coach in December 2019. It will truly take all of us, whether it’s a like, a retweet, buying tickets or a suite, or donating whatever you’re capable of to the university. Everyone has been so welcoming and supportive to Cari and me and our family during our short time in San Antonio. We love our community and we hope this extension demonstrates our commitment to UTSA and San Antonio.”

Traylor’s extension comes amid reports that Texas Tech (5-4, 2-4 Big 12), fresh off of firing head coach Matt Wells, was circling Traylor as a potential candidate for the newly vacant position. In the end, Traylor chose to remain at UTSA and continue to build on a strong start to his tenure with the program. The extension is yet another strong signal from university officials that they are committed to building a winning athletics program and are willing to put up the money to do so.