UTSA Athletics receives $5 million to boost new athletics center

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 — UTSA Athletics today announced that James H. and DeAnna Bodenstedt have pledged $5 million to support the Roadrunner Athletics Center for Excellence, a state-of-the-art, $41.5 million athletic training facility currently under construction on the Main Campus. The RACE facility is a foundational project in UTSA’s 10-year strategic vision to achieve national standing as a Carnegie R1 university and a model for student success.

Located on 10.8 acres near the southwest corner of Main Campus, RACE will feature practice fields, locker rooms, a sports medicine center, and strength and conditioning facilities in addition to academic study spaces for student-athletes and offices and meeting rooms for coaches and athletics staff.

“We are deeply grateful to James and DeAnna Bodenstedt for their generous commitment to our student-athletes and their transformational philanthropic support,” said UTSA President Taylor Eighmy. “This gift is another tangible example of their commitment to cultivating champions on the field and in the classroom and to building a Division I program of the highest quality for our San Antonio community.”

“We’re proud to invest in UTSA student-athletes who represent our great institution through their dedication.”

RACE will draw world-class student-athletes to UTSA’s athletics programs while providing recreational sports resources for San Antonio residents.

UTSA broke ground on the facility in March. Last month, utility tie-ins, including a 16-foot main water line, and concrete pours for the building slab were completed. This week, 38 tilt-wall panels will be erected.

Once completed in 2021, the nearly 95,000-square-foot facility will provide UTSA student-athletes, coaches and staff with one of the most advanced athletics facilities in Conference USA.

“DeAnna and I are thrilled to be in a position to support UTSA Athletics,” Bodenstedt said. “We’re proud to invest in UTSA student-athletes who represent our great institution through their dedication to competition and academics. This is also an investment in the future of San Antonio. This facility will have a direct impact on the student-athlete experience and the development of a growing athletics program.”

Key features of the Roadrunner Athletics Center for Excellence will include: 

• Academic spaces: Nearly 7,000 square feet of academic space, including a 1,000-square-foot study hall, 10 private tutoring rooms, computer lab, classroom and office space for UTSA Athletics Academic Services staff. 
• Sports medicine center: A sports medicine center with treatment areas, an exam room, a recovery room and office space for athletics trainers and physicians. It also will include an enclosed hydrotherapy room and aquatic therapy equipment for rehabilitation. 
• Strength and conditioning center: 14,000 square feet of strength and conditioning spaces, including a weight room available to all UTSA student-athletes, with state-of-the-art equipment, a cardio area, a nutrition station and office spaces. The space will offer direct access to the practice fields. 
• Practice fields: Two parallel football practice fields—one synthetic turf field and one field with natural grass. 
• Locker room: A 7,500-square-foot locker room will include 120 lockers and a players’ lounge for the football program. 
• Meeting rooms: Multiple rooms located in the center of the facility to accommodate full team gatherings as well as specialized meeting spaces. 

“We are deeply appreciative to James and DeAnna for their generous gift,” said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lisa Campos. “They have supported UTSA Athletics consistently throughout the years, and this gift is another example of their desire to create unparalleled opportunities for our student-athletes, coaches and staff.” 

⇒ For more information about RACE, visit goutsa.com/RACE. 

The Bodenstedts have long been supporters of various academic and athletics initiatives at UTSA. James Bodenstedt, a 1996 alumnus of the College of Business, and his wife, DeAnna, own and operate MUY! Companies, one of the largest private restaurant employers with locations across the U.S.

As longtime friends and advocates for UTSA, the Bodenstedts established the Bodenstedt Chair for the Dean of Business in 2012. In 2015 they made a significant gift to support Distinguished Presidential Scholarships for transfer students and have also made notable contributions toward the Alumni Association and the President’s UTSA Excellence Fund.

A decade ago, Bodenstedt became the first private donor to make a million-dollar gift to support the launch of Roadrunners Football. That initial gift was critical in helping UTSA build its football program by funding scholarships for early football recruits and paving the way for additional gifts and pledges from other UTSA donors.

— Kyle Stephens