OCTOBER 31, 2021 — With a nationally ranked football program in the midst of a historic season, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and head football coach Jeff Traylor have signed a contract extension through 2031 valued at $28 million. Traylor’s annual salary will average $2.8 million, in addition to potential bonuses, and the university will increase the salary pool for assistant coaches and support staff.
“Jeff saw something special at UTSA when he first expressed interest in this job and we likewise knew we had someone special when we hired him to take over our program,” said UTSA Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lisa Campos. “He is an outstanding leader, a culture builder and a molder of young men. He has brought unprecedented national exposure and acclaim to both our institution and the San Antonio community. He’s taken UTSA Football to new heights in a short amount of time and this contract extension shows our commitment to him and his staff to continue to build and sustain this program for years to come.”
“Jeff came to UTSA with a passion for building a football program that San Antonio now calls its own,” said UTSA President Taylor Eighmy. “Our team believes in him, and our students, alumni and fans are excited about the momentum. This moment in time is very special. With the opening of our Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence and our upcoming membership in the American Athletic Conference, this is clearly the next transformational waypoint on our bold trajectory for moving our athletics program, our university and our city of San Antonio forward.”
Named the third head coach in UTSA history on Dec. 9, 2019, Traylor boasts more than 30 years of coaching experience. He previously was the associate head coach and running backs coach at Arkansas (2018-19) and SMU (2017) after two seasons at Texas serving as associate head coach for the offense and receivers coach in 2016 and special teams coordinator and tight ends coach in 2015. Traylor also had a highly successful 15-year career as head coach at Gilmer High School, where he led his hometown Buckeyes to three state championships and two state runner-up finishes while posting a 175-26 (.871) record. The football stadium in Gilmer is named after him.
“I would like to thank Dr. Eighmy and Dr. Campos for showing their deep commitment to what we are building here at UTSA,” said Traylor. “They proactively engaged me on an extension discussion at the start of the season, and my staff and I are thrilled about what the future holds for this program. I say this all the time, but this game is about the players and they are the reason we are in this profession to begin with. This is exactly why we have chosen to make this announcement today. We should all be talking about what they have accomplished this season, they are making history every week.”
“I also want to thank all of the UTSA supporters and the Texas High School Coaches Association. I go back to what I said at my introduction as UTSA’s head football coach in December 2019. It will truly take all of us, whether it’s a like, a retweet, buying tickets or a suite, or donating whatever you’re capable of to the university. Everyone has been so welcoming and supportive to Cari and me and our family during our short time in San Antonio. We love our community and we hope this extension demonstrates our commitment to UTSA and San Antonio.”
Now in his second season at the helm of the Roadrunners, Traylor has posted a 15-5 record through his first 20 games, a program record for a head coach. He has guided UTSA to the best overall (8-0) and conference (4-0) starts in school history, while the current eight-game winning streak is the longest in UTSA annals and the third-longest active FBS streak. He is one of 21 FBS coaches on the Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards Coach of the Year watch list this season.
Under Traylor’s guidance, the Roadrunners opened the season on Sept. 4 with the program’s second triumph over a team from a Power Five conference in a 37-30 road win over Illinois before posting a 54-0 rout of Lamar, the program’s first shutout and largest margin of victory. Traylor became the first coach in program history to post back-to-back 3-0 starts after the 27-13 win over Middle Tennessee on Sept. 18. One week later, Traylor led the Roadrunners to the largest comeback win in school history, as UTSA overcame a 21-0 deficit for a 31-28 road win over Memphis.
Traylor led UTSA to its fifth straight win to start the season following a 24-17 win against UNLV, matching the previous best start in school history. The Roadrunners improved to 6-0 for the first time following the 52-46 road win over WKU on Oct. 9 before logging their second shutout of the season with the 45-0 homecoming rout of Rice. UTSA raced past Louisiana Tech with a 45-16 road triumph on Oct. 23 for the program’s first-ever win in Ruston, extending the best start in program history.
Last fall, Traylor became the first UTSA head coach to win his first three games and to notch seven victories in his debut season. He led the Roadrunners to their second bowl appearance in school history with a spot in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl on Dec. 26 in Dallas. An unprecedented number of Roadrunners earned All-America — Lucas Dean, Hunter Duplessis and Sincere McCormick — and all-conference (19) accolades in 2020.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
The UTSA Office of Undergraduate is proud to celebrate National Undergraduate Research with an annual event sponsored by the (OUR) featuring students will showcase undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from all disciplines across campus.
Various LocationsDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza, Main CampusFiesta Arts Fair features contemporary art from more than 100 artists from across the U.S., Fiesta favorite foods, drinks, live music by local and regional performers, and a Young Artists Garden providing opportunities for budding artists to learn, explore and express their creativity.
UTSA Southwest CampusJoin the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event is to achnowlege the graduating seniors and induct the new cohart of scholars to our program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140,) Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
AlamodomeThe 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 promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
