When thinking of colleges, you think of the big SEC schools such as the University of Alabama, University of Tennessee or even the University of Texas. These schools have one thing in common: sports. That is the main reason students, along with many other people, become fans of a school.
UTSA currently has some sports facilities, but they are either shared with other sports or are overdue for an upgrade. Baseball and softball have fields and batting cages, but locker rooms and the expansion of batting cages can help them in the long run. It also makes the athletes comfortable, providing a space that is solely for them and not shared with another sport.
UTSA’s women’s soccer complex and football stadium are off campus. UTSA’s soccer complex is 14,325 square feet, compared to Tennessee’s 96,000 square foot soccer complex. Comparing UTSA to an SEC school like Tennessee isn’t a fair comparison but it shows where UTSA can head in coming years.
When looking at Alabama, its enrollment has increased exponentially since acquiring Nick Saban from LSU. Before Saban, enrollment in 2006 was about 23,000; after Saban came to Alabama in 2007, the enrollment numbers went up by about 2,000. By 2017, Alabama had about 38,000 students enrolled; they currently have 40,846 students. Like Alabama, Tennessee had around 20,000 students enrolled in 2006, in 2007 it grew by 1,000. By 2017 there was a 2,000 increase but now there are 36,304 students enrolled. Texas was in the Big 12 for 27 years before rejoining the SEC, when they first joined in 1996 enrollment was about 47,000 students. By 2006 Texas had about 2,000 more students then jumping forward to 2023 there were 52,384 students enrolled.
Why are all these numbers important? Well, it’s because it shows how much these universities’ athletic programs have grown. Alabama alone has 25 facilities for its student-athletes and this includes either one or more sport-based facilities for each sport they offer along with a building just for academics and dining, which are all on campus. Tennessee has 17 facilities and each sport has its own space, which includes lounge areas for the student-athletes, locker rooms and a place to eat before or after the game and a play review room. Like Tennessee, Texas has 17 sports facilities with similar features that Tennessee has as well.
The ‘Runners have nine facilities, with one facility shared by all athletes. UTSA’s facilities do not have most of the upgrades these top schools do, which the university is looking to improve. So now looking at the enrollment rates for UTSA, in 2013, back when the Roadrunners were a part of Conference USA, there were about 28,000 students. After joining the American Athletic Conference, UTSA has grown to about 30,310 enrolled students. It is a small growth, but later on in the coming years with the upcoming athletic improvements, the school could potentially see a growth like these other big schools.
An advantage of having the soccer field off-campus is that there is more room for parking and facilities in general. Another advantage is that the facility is a newly renovated building compared to other facilities such as the Convocation Center on campus where men’s and women’s basketball along with volleyball play. A disadvantage is there can be a lack of attendance at a game due to the location, yes Park West is close to campus but some students might not have a car or any other form of transportation to attend games, along with this it is a shared facility with track and field. During the 2024 spring semester, there was a campaign to raise student’s tuition to pay for new facilities for athletics here at UTSA, they allowed the students to participate and vote if they wanted this change to happen. In the end, the majority of the students voted no, but on the upside, UTSA was able to find funding for these facilities.
So what does this mean for UTSA? The funding will go to new facilities for the following sports: men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and football. Both men’s and women’s basketball along with volleyball will get a new $35 million facility. Baseball and softball are also getting new player development facilities, the location is still to be determined.
Some locations that have been put into consideration are on campus near the fields themselves or even the land that is owned at the Park West Complex. Either decision will be a new change for the school as a whole and will, as every new expansion project does, have some people support it and some people against it. Overall, it can be a good thing to expand these facilities to build our athletic programs and to grow the school to the level of SEC schools.
