🤙 The Official Newsletter For UTSA Athletics

Good morning. If you’re headed to watch your Roadrunners in the 2023 Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, you’re thrilled and possibly overwhelmed.

From ticket and fan info to shopping for your ‘Runners-wear and information on the actual game, UTSA Bowl Central is your own personal headquarters for everything you need. You’ll also find information on the UTSA Alumni Association Tailgate, the Bowl Game Viewing Party (for those who can’t make the trip!), and the Postseason Excellence Fund.

What else can you find in today’s Brew?

👟 UTSA Track & Field unveiled the 2024 Indoor and Outdoor schedules
🏐 Two sophomores get Volleyball Academic All-District awards
​🤙🏼 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

Stock Up is brought to you by WayneWright Lawyers, a proud sponsor of UTSA Roadrunners Football.

🔼 Serving Up Good Grades. The Collegiate Sports Communicators released its 2023 Volleyball Academic All-District awards on Tuesday, with sophomores Caroline Krueger and Mia Soerensen representing UTSA among the honorees. 

The pair were each first-time all-district selections, becoming the seventh and eighth players in the program's history to win the award and the first since Dempsey Thorton was selected in 2014. 

A neuroscience major with a 3.89 GPA, Soerensen got the job done on the court and in the classroom, leading the squad with a team-high 386.0 points to go with 337 terminations at a .249 clip. She adds this honor to a growing trophy case after previously earning second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors. 

Krueger, meanwhile, compiled a 3.58 GPA while studying kinesiology and appearing in 104 sets for the 'Runners. The outside hitter from St. John, Indiana, had the third-most digs on the team, halting 231 of the opposition's attacks, and was fourth in kills with 155. 

🔼 We Meet Again. The UTSA track & field program unveiled the 2024 Indoor and Outdoor schedules, highlighted by a pair of home meets at Park West, including the 2024 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships.

The Roadrunners kick off their 16th season with Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Aaron Fox leading the combined program with a double-meet Indoor opening day on Jan. 19 when UTSA sends squads to both Flagstaff, Ariz. for the Lumberjack Team Challenge and Louisville, Ky. for the Bellarmine Open.

Making their Indoor debut as members of the American Athletic Conference, the Roadrunners head to Alabama and the Birmingham Crossplex for the AAC Indoor Championships, which are set for Feb. 23-24. The Indoor campaign closes out with the NCAA Indoor Championships, slated for March 8-9 at The Track at New Balance in Boston, Mass.

UTSA kicks off the Outdoor campaign hosting the UTSA Invitational at the Park West Athletics Complex from March 15-16, then take the first Outdoor trip to College Station on March 23 for the Texas A&M Team Invitational.

Read the full article for more on some upcoming Invitationals, including the team’s first time competing in the Lone Star State for UH’s Robert Platt Invitational. You can also download the schedule there.

The final target is the NCAA Outdoor Championships at newly-refreshed Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, June 5-8. 

🔼 Blood, Sweat…and Marriage? Former UTSA baseball player Jonathan Tapia vividly remembers his first trip to Disney World with his then-girlfriend, former UTSA soccer player Alyssa Blankenship. 

“I remember every single thing that we did,” Tapia said. “The only time I could ever go on a trip was in December, and she and her family asked if I wanted to go to Disney with them. That whole week, I was like a little kid in a candy shop. It was one of the best times of my life.” 

This past November 11 – and many trips to Disney later – Blankenship and Tapia, high school sweethearts both from the San Antonio area, were married at the Magic Kingdom. Officiating the ceremony was Beth Noteware, UTSA Assistant Athletics Director for Academic Services. 

Noteware had served as Tapia’s academic advisor for five years and Blankenship’s for more than two. Blankenship also worked as a graduate assistant and later academic coordinator in the Roadrunners’ Student-Athlete Academic Services division. 

“It was a big honor that they entrusted their wedding day to me,” Noteware said. “The fact that their families also trusted me and were excited about it really meant a lot. The fact that it was at Disney – Alyssa literally looked like a princess. The wedding was very much like a fairy tale.” 

“I tried to soak up everything I could,” Tapia said. “Having Beth be there for us and do that for us was really a treat. I know she enjoyed it as well. It was the best thing.” 

Read the full story for more on how the couple, who were high school sweethearts, balanced their busy academic and sports schedules, Noteware’s guidance in helping them both to excel, and what they’re doing with their UTSA degrees.

Some more Brew headlines to make your day 👇🏼

🏀 WBB will host Houston on Thursday, with fans receiving a FREE ugly sweater while supplies last!

🏈 We've teamed up with Tailgreeter to host an official tailgate on Dec. 19 at the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Game.

👀 That’s three straight MBB Dubs! 🏀

Learn more about UTSA sponsor The City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.

🤔 UTSA TRIVIA

Time Flies. With this marking two weeks in a row that a Roadrunner has been recognized by the American Athletic Conference (see below), today’s trivia turns to the history there.

Today’s question—when did UTSA officially become a member of the American Athletic Conference?

Think you’ve got it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

🤙 ONE BIG THING

On a Roll. Congratulations to center Carlton Linguard Jr. on earning his spot on the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll after his career-best 21-point, 5-three-pointer performance on Sunday.

This is two weeks in a row with a Roadrunner recognized!

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Brew-1-0? Well, the first thing you should do is thank them. The next thing you should do is subscribe here and get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

📅 COMING SOON

Wednesday 12/13

🏀 Men’s Basketball @ Little Rock @ 6:30 PM CST ESPN+ | Live Stats | Watch Live

Thursday 12/14

🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Houston - Hoops for the Holidays @ 6:00 PM CST ESPN+ | Tickets | Live Stats | Listen

Friday 12/15

(No Activities Scheduled)

Saturday 12/16

(No Activities Scheduled)

Sunday 12/17

🏀 Women’s Basketball @ Oregon @ 1:00 PM CST Pac-12 PLUS| Live Stats | Listen

🏀 Men’s Basketball @ Oregon State @ 2:00 PM CST Pac-12 Networks | Live Stats | Watch Live

View the full UTSA Athletics calendar here

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: July 1

UTSA officially joined the American Athletic Conference this year on Saturday, July 1, as the league welcomed six institutions to form its new lineup of 15 schools.

This marked the fifth conference that UTSA has been a full-fledged member of since it first joined the Trans America Athletic Conference (now Atlantic Sun) in 1986 after five years as an NCAA Division I Independent.

UTSA has captured 80 conference championships and made more than 60 NCAA postseason appearances during its 42-year history of NCAA Division I competition. Recently, the Roadrunners won back-to-back Conference USA championships in football in 2021 and 2022, as well as in women’s golf in 2018 and 2019. UTSA also claimed the C-USA tournament title in soccer last fall. The Roadrunners have made nine NCAA postseason runs and boast 25 All-Americans in just the last six years alone.

Birds Up!

🤙🏼 Have a great Wednesday, y’all!