DECEMBER 13, 2020 — For the second time in the 10-year history of the program, UTSA will play in a bowl game. The Roadrunners today accepted an invitation to the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl to face SMU on Saturday, December 19.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Toyota Stadium and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
UTSA’s first-ever meeting with the Mustangs will mark its first bowl appearance since the Gildan New Mexico Bowl on December 17, 2016, in Albuquerque. The Roadrunners, who matched an NCAA modern startup program record by playing in a bowl game in just their sixth season, dropped a 23–20 decision to New Mexico in their inaugural bowl appearance four years ago.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Jeff Traylor, who was SMU’s associate head coach and running backs coach in 2017, the Roadrunners have posted a 7–4 overall record in 2020. UTSA finished second in Conference USA’s West Division with a 5–2 mark (.714), percentage points behind UAB, which beat Rice 21–16 on Saturday to close out a 3–1 (.750) league ledger. The Roadrunners’ five conference wins are the most by any C-USA team this fall and their seven overall victories are tied for the most in the league along with East Division champion Marshall (7–1).
“We’re excited to accept an invitation to play in the Frisco Bowl,” Traylor said. “I’m thrilled for our players, coaches and staff that we will get to showcase our #210TriangleOfToughness brand on national TV yet again. They are very deserving of this opportunity and we can’t wait to get up to the Metroplex and compete against another in-state program in SMU.”
UTSA has posted its most wins and best conference record since the 2013 team went 7–5 overall and 6–2 in the league. The Roadrunners are riding a three-game winning streak, including a 49–17 home triumph over North Texas in their last outing on November 28, and they are one victory shy of matching the program standard for wins set by the 2012 squad that went 8–4.
SMU finished the regular season with a 7–3 record and placed fifth in the American Athletic Conference with a 4–3 mark. The Mustangs, who are coached by Sonny Dykes, were ranked as high as No. 16 in both major top 25 polls. This will mark SMU’s second appearance in the Frisco Bowl (2017) and its third bowl game in the last four years.
“We are excited to have two outstanding teams participate in the 2020 Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl, the SMU Mustangs and the UTSA Roadrunners,” said Sean Johnson, Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl executive director. “We are looking forward to kicking off the bowl season with this great matchup and to welcoming the teams and their fans to Frisco, Texas. The Frisco Bowl is known for having exciting games with lots of professional talent—over the last six years, the bowl is the third highest scoring bowl game, and 24 Frisco Bowl alumni were drafted or signed free agent pro football contracts in 2020.”
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This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
