🤙 The Official Newsletter For UTSA Athletics

Good morning. UTSA head football coach Jeff Traylor has announced that the program has added seven transfers to the 2024 signing class, which now numbers 22 signees. Their full list of names can be found here.

The group features 14 players from the state of Texas, one apiece from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts and Mississippi, as well as one from Australia. Of the players from the Lone Star State, four hail from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex/North Texas, three each are from the Greater Houston Area and East Texas, two call Central Texas home and one apiece come from San Antonio and Southeast Texas.

Eleven of the players are slated to play on the offensive side of the ball, 10 are pegged for the defense, and one is a specialist.

What else can you find in today’s Brew?

🏐 UTSA Volleyball spring slate just announced!
🎾 Women’s Tennis advances to 5-0 - Birds Up!
​🤙🏼 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 A Veritable Zootopia. UTSA volleyball coach Carol Price-Torok officially unveiled the squad's spring schedule. The Roadrunners will host Texas and Texas State inside the Convocation Center before competing in San Marcos, Texas, at the Texas State Tournament and in Waco, Texas, against Baylor. 

You don’t wanna miss out on getting tickets to see the back-to-back National Champion Texas Longhorns, who are coming to the Convo on March 4th!

“We are incredibly excited to invite Texas into the Convo to start our spring season,” said Price-Torok on the spring slate in a video on X. “This will be an amazing opportunity to test our squad against the best of the best and raise funds for our upcoming European trip…we can't wait to get the spring started!” 

For more info on the spring slate, go here. For tickets, go here!

🔼 Running a Blue Streak. The UTSA women’s tennis team came out on top, 4-1, in a well-matched battle against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday afternoon at the UTSA Tennis Center.

UTSA extended its winning streak to five matches, improving to a 5-0 record on the season. This marks the Roadrunners’ eighth win against the Islanders in the 22-match all-time series history. Snapping its seven-match streak, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi dropped to 7-1 in the 2024 campaign.

The Roadrunners travel to Las Vegas next week, facing Kansas City on Feb. 16 and UNLV on Feb. 17 – both at 10 AM PST/12 PM CST.

Watch the recap video for these talented ‘Runners in action.

🔼 Beyond the Hoop. Get to know UTSA women’s basketball junior forward Elyssa Coleman in this Q&A. 

Q: Why did you choose UTSA? 

Elyssa Coleman: “I chose UTSA because of my earlier relationship with Coach Aston. We have been building our relationship since I was a junior in high school…” 
 
Q: Is there any special significance behind the number that you wear?

Elyssa Coleman: “I have realized that I am nothing by myself, which is why I chose the number 0.”  
 
Q: Who is your sports role model? 
 
Elyssa Coleman: “My sports role model is my brother, Jacody Coleman, mainly because my goal early in my athletic career was to be as great in my sport as he was in his. Being that we have a 13-year age gap, I got to see his trials and tribulations in football and how he dealt with them with a bit more understanding than if we were a year or so apart.” 

Check out the full Q&A on Elyssa Coleman.

🔼 Pitch Perfect. Following up UTSA’s first season in the American Athletic Conference and working toward the seventh season under head coach Derek Pittman, UTSA soccer has announced it will play seven games and an alumni game as part of the 2024 spring schedule.

The spring schedule opens on March 3 with a cross-town friendly against Incarnate Word at Park West. At the back end of the month, UTSA will hit the road twice, traveling to Houston to meet Rice on March 24 and then returning just six days later to take on Houston.

“The spring season is always about growth and development,” Pittman noted. “Our staff and players are hard at work this semester to improve every facet of our program in preparation for the upcoming fall season…We are excited to continue chasing growth and test ourselves against this challenging slate of opponents.”

🔼 Patty’s Positivity. In the spring of 2023, longtime UTSA Athletics supporter Patty Espenhover received a shocking health diagnosis.  Doctors detected an aggressive, stage-four breast cancer that had metastasized to her bone marrow. But while she’s currently facing the toughest battle of her life, Patty has become a shining inspiration to all those around her. 

Going for medical checkups every six months for years due to an ongoing struggle with anemia, Patty was confident she was being diligent about her health. She anticipated early detection would occur with any illness she might face in the future. That turned out not to be the case. 

“I went for a checkup in October of 2022 and had a mammogram and blood work, and everything was fine,” she said. “Then I went six months later, and my blood work was terrible. They thought I had blood cancer. They started running tests and did a bone marrow biopsy. You go for your check-ups and do everything you can, and then you get something aggressive that you have no control over.” 

*** 

Patty and her husband, Greg, were among the very first season ticket holders for UTSA football during its inaugural season of 2011. They quickly became supporters of all of the Roadrunners’ sports. 

“We’ve been really rabid fans for 13 years,” Greg said. “I used to come to a basketball game here or there, but when football started, we became football season ticket-holders. Then we started getting involved with basketball, men’s and women’s. You get to meet all these people. A big part of our life is being involved here. I don’t want that to change. Patty doesn’t want that to change. The way we do it is changing, but we’ll just have to figure that out as we go.” 

Read the full feature on Patty for more on her dedication to UTSA sports, treatment advancements, and her amazing sense of optimism.

“It’s not going to take me down. Cancer may be tough, but I’m tougher. It’s just a chapter in my life that I have to get through. And hopefully, it’s a short chapter.” 

🔼 A Good Looking Partnership. UTSA Athletics and Parkhurst NuVision celebrate a continuing partnership that recognizes the company as the official LASIK eye surgeon sponsor of UTSA Athletics and UTSA Football. 

“We’re grateful to continue our partnership with Parkhurst NuVision,” said Lisa Campos, UTSA Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. “Their Eyeball Race was a highlight at every home football game, and six UTSA fans walked away with the incredibly generous gift of free LASIK from Dr. Parkhurst. The support of the San Antonio community is vital to the success of our athletics program. We are appreciative of Dr. Parkhurst and his team for their continued support and this one-of-a-kind partnership.”

🤔 UTSA TRIVIA

🤙 ONE (WELL, THREE) BIG THING(S)

Lights, Camera, ‘Runners. Is there anything that can create more hype than Media Day!? We think not. Go behind the scenes as the UTSA Roadrunners baseball team prepares for their first game against UT Arlington one week from today!

Also, let’s not forget that former UTSA All-American OL Spencer Burford is heading to the Super Bowl with the 49ers! 👇🏼

Oh, hey, as long as you’re here - don’t forget the timeline for Let’s Go 210 Day! 👇🏼

📬 STICK WITH US

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📅 COMING SOON

Friday 2/9

👟 Indoor Track & Field @ Howie Ryan Invitational

👟 Indoor Track & Field @ David Hemery Valentine Invitational

🥎 Softball vs. Southern Illinois @ Texas State @ 2:30 PM CST

🥎 Softball vs. Kennesaw State @ Texas State @ 7:00 PM CST

Saturday 2/10

👟 Indoor Track & Field @ Don Kerbie Elite Invitational

🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. E. Carolina - 210 Day! @ 3:00 PM CST on ESPN+ | Live Stats | Watch Live | Tickets

🥎 Softball vs. Creighton @ Texas State @ 7:00 PM CST

Sunday 2/11

🎾 Men’s Tennis @ Texas Tech @ 11:00 AM CST

🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. UAB @ 1:00 PM CST - Cancer Awareness Game on ESPN+ | Tickets | Live Stats | Listen 

View the full UTSA Athletics calendar here

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Twelve players joining Roadrunners Football are transfers who were part of the FBS programs.

Ten of the players are joining the Roadrunners from the high school ranks — including seven from Texas.

🤙🏼 Have a great Friday, y’all!