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Downtown San Antonio should see a lot of UTSA Roadrunner fans during a rare Thursday night college football game, with some major television exposure. ESPN is bringing its "SportsCenter on Campus" program to the Alamodome.
UTSA will play South Florida at the dome at 6:30 p.m. Roadrunners head coach Jeff Traylor wants more fans than usual to come down and make some noise.
"We want more people in the stands, " he said. "We do want it to be louder than it already is. So, we're working hard on some promotional ideas."
UTSA and South Florida are both 4-1. This will mark the 12th time the Roadrunners have appeared on ESPN, and it has a 4-7 record on the network.
UTSA is off to its best five-game start since a 5-0 mark in 2021. With a 16-14 victory at Rice University, the Roadrunners won their conference opener for the second time as a member of the American Conference and improved to 5-2 in league openers under coach Traylor, according to UT San Antonio.
Meanwhile, across the freeway from the dome at Civic Park, City of San Antonio spokeswoman Kelly Saunders said fans are invited to a family-friendly community tailgate and watch party starting at 4:30 p.m.
"We're going to have a DJ, photo opportunities, lawn games, caricature drawings, face painting. And it's going to be a fun event, completely free."
Fans can watch the game on a giant outdoor screen, and there will be free parking nearby after 5 p.m. Visitors should check out the Martinez Lot at South Alamo and Martinez St.; and lots at 418 S. Alamo; Durango Blvd. and South Presa St. City officials said there should be some free street parking.
Saunders said the event is part of the City of San Antonio’s Downtown Thursday program. The weekly pilot initiative offers arts, culture, music, food and family-friendly activities every Thursday night through the end of 2026.
