SUMMER 2011 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO
We Are Ready.
ii 1
SOMBRILLA SUMMER 2011 UTSA.EDU/SOMBRILLA
INSIDE
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6
5
8
Football Without Tailgating?
It’s almost impossible to imagine Texas foot-
ball without the tailgating parties beforehand.
What does UTSA have planned?
A Life of Cheer
UTSA’s head cheerleader has been
raising spirits since kindergarten
Marching Orders
Senior music major makes history as UTSA’s first
head drum major
Brains and Brawn
Student-athletes must juggle sports with academics
3 EDITOR’S NOTE
7 BEING ROWDY
Rowdy, UTSA’s favorite mascot, reveals
his inner thoughts and passions
12 MEET THE COACHES
Profiles of football coaches Larry
Coker, Travis Bush and Neal Neathery
14 FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME
Exhibit celebrates the excitement and
mystique of football, plus other sports
updates
15 PARTING SHOTS
Tailgate recipes and things every
Roadrunner should know
16 A SEASON OF FUN
Season tickets are still available
Head football Coach Larry Coker watches his team
as they prepare for the inaugural football game
Sept. 3 against Northeastern (Okla.) State.
3
UTSA.EDU/SOMBRILLA
Still Undefeated
For years, this tongue-in-cheek statement has been emblazoned on UTSA T-shirts,
taunting students and administrators, daring someone to make the first move
toward creating a football team.
Soon, those shirts, and that statement, will be out of date. And what a good
thing that is.
Roadrunners, we’re about to make history. We’re just days away from that first
kick off, the first snap and the first of many touchdowns to come.
But it’s not only about the touchdowns, is it? It’s about the opportunity, the
traditions, the culture that football brings. In this special issue of Sombrilla, we
wanted to capture the thrills of football—all of them. As much as football is about
the team on the field, it’s also about the staccato rhythm of the drums from the
marching band on the field. It’s about the flair and excitement that the cheer-
leaders bring. It’s about Rowdy, pumping up the crowd. And of course, it’s about
you, the fans.
Football, and this issue, is for you.
So grab your popcorn, hotdogs, pompoms and pennants. Take a seat in the
stands and get ready for history to be made. We’ll see you there.
EDITOR’S NOTE
GO ONLINE!
Need more information? Check out these UTSA websites.
Check out the latest sports stats
at utsa.edu/athletics
For athletics merchandise, go to
utsagear.com
Reconnect with classmates
at utsa.edu/alumni
For campus news and events,
visit utsa.edu/today
For information on the Graduate
School, go to utsa.edu/graduate
Discover ways to give back to the
university at utsa.edu/giving
For back issues of Sombrilla,
go to utsa.edu/sombrilla
For everything else, go to utsa.edu
Chat with us!
facebook.com/utsanantonio
youtube.com/utsa
twitter.com/UTSAnews
Saludos,
Lety Laurel
Write Back!
We’d love to hear from
you! Contact us at
Or mail your letters to
Sombrilla Editor, Office
of University Advance-
ment, UTSA, One UTSA
Circle, San Antonio,
Texas 78249. Letters
may be edited for
length or clarity. You
can also comment via
Sombrilla Online at
utsa.edu/sombrilla.
THE SOMBRILLA
Summer 2011
VOLUME 27, NUMBER 3
....................................
PRESIDENT
Ricardo Romo
EDITOR
Lety Laurel
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Joe Michael Feist
DESIGN DIRECTION
Thomas Palmer
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Patrick Ray Dunn,
Mark McClendon
CONTRIBUTORS
David Flores, Brian Fox, Jeff
Huehn, Steve Kudika, Mark
Sobhani, Kyle Stephens
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF
CREATIVE PROJECTS AND
VISUAL SERVICES
Craig Evans
WEBSITE
Judy Campa, Maria Corral,
Kristina Leh
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
Michael Zahn
....................................
OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY
ADVANCEMENT
VICE PRESIDENT FOR
UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT
Marjie French
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT
FOR COMMUNICATIONS
David Gabler
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT
FOR ALUMNI PROGRAMS AND
MARKETING
Jim Mickey
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT
FOR ADVANCEMENT SERVICES
AND ADMINISTRATION
Laura Murray
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT
FOR DEVELOPMENT
Eric Gentry
....................................
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UTSA.EDU/SOMBRILLA
4
SOMBRILLA SUMMER 2011
A life of cheer
UTSA’s head cheerleader has been
raising spirits since kindergarten
BY JOE MICHAEL FEIST
J
amille Henderson gets an
almost dreamy look when
she describes running out
on the field to cheer at an
athletic event.
“That feeling is unlike any other
feeling, I believe,” said Henderson,
a junior and captain of the cheer-
leading team. “It’s just amazing.”
And, with football, it’s going to
get better and better, she said.
Henderson, a Houston native
and graduate of Kingwood
High School, has been on the
cheerleading team since her
freshman year. In fact, the team
is why she’s here.
“I came to UTSA, honestly,
because of the cheer program,”
she said. “I had already made
the team, and I had been
accepted by the school. I made
friends on the team. I loved the
program, I loved the campus. I
just loved everything about it.
“And the scholarships,” she
added, laughing. “They offered me the
most money.”
Henderson, a business management
major, has been cheerleading since she
was 5 years old.
“I started cheering for my older broth-
er’s football team, and then I started doing
competitive cheerleading and gymnas-
tics,” she said. “And later I quit gymnastics
and just did cheerleading.”
When she enrolled at Kingwood High,
cheerleading was a natural fit.
“Living in Texas, football is a big deal,”
she said. “Cheering for a high school team
is nothing like cheering for a collegiate
team, a Division I team.”
Henderson said cheering at UTSA’s
spring game in the Alamodome gave her
a taste of what Sept. 3 will be like when
the Roadrunners take the field against
Northeastern (Okla.) State.
“The Alamodome is massive,” she
said. “And the fact that it’s going to be so
loud. We’ll be cheering in front of thou-
sands of people; we’ve never cheered in
front of thousands of people. It’s going to
be big; it’s going to be amazing to see the
turnout.”
She recalled going to an LSU football
game in Baton Rouge when she was a
high school student.
“I’m just sitting up there in the stands
and I look at these cheerleaders,” she
said, again with that dreamy look in her
eyes. “You just want to be down there.
And there are so many people. I can’t
even explain that feeling. It’s going to be
crazy [in the Alamodome].”
Sept. 3
Northeastern
State
University
Location:
Tahle-quah,
Okla.
Status: Public.
Enrollment: 9,600.
Nickname: RiverHawks.
Mascot: Rowdy the
RiverHawk.
Colors: Green and
white. Founded: 1909.
Famous alum: UTSA
football coach Larry
Coker. Cool tradition:
Players touch the goal
posts at the beginning
and end of every game.
Sept.10
McMurry
University
Location: Abilene,
Texas. Status: Private,
religious affiliation,
Methodist. Enrollment:
1,500. Nickname: War
Hawks. (Until 2005,
McMurry’s athletics
teams were known as
the Indians.) Colors:
Maroon and white.
Founded: 1923.
Cool tradition: Fans
chant “Ala Cumba”
(“On to Victory”) at
football games. The
origin of the phrase
is unclear; some
say it comes from
an American Indian
language. >>
// SCHEDULE //
Marching Orders
Senior music major makes history as UTSA’s first head drum major
BY JOE MICHAEL FEIST
5
UTSA.EDU/Sombrilla
Web Extra
Scan here for more about the UTSA band,
or go to
utsa.edu/band.
A
lana Urbano, the UTSA marching band’s first head
drum major, was the last drum major at her high
school, South San Antonio High School West Cam-
pus, before it closed in 2008. She
loves the symmetry.
“It’s so neat that I was able to close out that
history and begin this new one at UTSA,” said the
senior music major.
“It’s really exciting to get those feelings back,
that passion, that gung-ho attitude about march-
ing band and having music and football, those
two things together—my favorites. It’s unbeliev-
ably awesome that this is happening.”
Urbano, who plays the flute and comes from
a long line of musicians, is one of three drum ma-
jors selected this year. She said their role is “pretty
basic.”
“From an audience perspective, you go out
there and you’re the conductor of the band,” she
said. “You conduct them and you [mark] time so
that everybody is on time with each other, left
foot, right foot; everybody follows your hands. That’s what ev-
erybody sees.”
But behind the scenes, she added, the drum majors repre-
sent and advocate for the band.
Urbano said her career plans include music composition.
“So basically, I’m aspiring to be somebody like Beethoven
or Mozart,” she said. “I plan to write music for video games
or movies, but it’s really hard. It’s all about networking. When
you’re a composition major you’ve got to know you can’t just
do one thing. You’ve got to be a jack-of-all-trades. You have
to be able to write for high school, middle
school, marching bands, jingles, pretty much
everything.
“It’s about finding your niche, where you
want to start. It’s like being an entrepreneur, al-
most.”
Urbano also plans on getting a master’s in
music immediately after receiving her bachelor’s.
But for now, her attention is on band and
football.
“It’s going to be a crazy mix of emotions
marching out at the Alamodome,” Urbano said.
“I’m going to be so excited because this is what
I’ve been waiting for, to walk out there and show
UTSA what we have as far as a music depart-
ment, as a new marching band. It’s just going to
be so incredibly exciting. And I’ll also be a little
scared because it will be the first time. It’s going
to be a whole new game, a whole new world.”
6
SOMBRILLA SUMMER 2011
SPECIAL EDITION
Sept. 17
@ Southern
Utah
University
Location: Cedar
City, Utah. Status:
Public. Enrollment:
8,000. Nickname:
Thunderbirds. Colors:
Red, white and black.
Founded: 1897.
Cool tradition: To
become a true
Thunderbird, students
must kiss their
sweethearts near the
Old Sorrel statue at
midnight on the night of
a full moon or the night
before the homecoming
football game.
Sept. 24
HOMECOMING
Bacone
College
Location: Muskogee,
Okla. Status: Private,
religious affiliation,
American Baptist
Churches USA.
Enrollment: 1,200.
Nickname: Warriors.
Colors: Red, black and
white. Founded: 1880.
>>
B
eing a student-athlete is about more than
athletic ability. These students must also be
strong in the classroom to play.
But for some, it goes beyond meeting the
minimum GPA to remain on the field. In spring
2011, there were 11 football players who made a
GPA of 3.5 or higher. Five of them made a solid 4.0.
“We have hard-working students who happen to
be athletes, and that’s a good thing for the school,”
said Colin Howlett, associate athletic director of
academic services. “It’s one thing to want to be
successful in one part of your life. But it’s another
thing to want to be successful in all parts of your
life. They want to be the best they can be.”
It’s not an easy thing to do. In season, student-
athletes can work up to 20 hours a week in their
sport. That’s the same as a part-time job. But, unlike
most jobs, it’s physically grueling. Even the off-
season is demanding.
“Lots of students have to work even full time
while going to school to make ends meet,” Howlett
said. “[With our student-athletes], there’s a time
management issue, there’s a travel issue. But I think
the biggest thing to me, you have to have the energy
to stay in your sport. The unique things they face
are the incredibly physical demands. So it’s a time
management issue but also an energy management
issue.”
For football players, the hours can be
exhausting. A typical day might include two hours
of lifting weights, immediately followed by a quick
shower and then three classes back to back. Then
there’s team practice later in the day, which can last
between two or three hours, and team meetings to
plan out the strategy for the next game.
“That can really put people through the
wringer,” Howlett said. “It’s about focus. You have
to have the right amount of rest to be a student. You
have to live a certain way to be this kind of student
physically.”
But it is possible, and UTSA’s student-athlete
stats are impressive, he said. Having almost a
dozen football players who have been recognized
academically means the coaches are recruiting the
right students, he added.
“We’re recruiting people who have the right atti-
tude about academics,” he said. “Hopefully we will
be able to maintain the level of accomplishment
that we have right now.”
The entire athletics department is something to
be proud of, said Lynn Hickey, athletics director.
“This past school year was an outstanding one
for our athletic teams,” she said. “Overall our 17
sports averaged a 3.0 GPA and we are graduating
more student-athletes in a timely manner each year.
I am proud of our coaching staff and the quality
of students they are recruiting. I am proud of our
academic staff for the outstanding programming
and resources they support our students with. And
I am very proud of the dedication and responsi-
bility our student-athletes show in handling their
academics.”
“Overall our
17 sports
averaged a
3.0 GPA
and we are
graduating
more student-
athletes in
a timely
manner
each year.”
Lynn Hickey,
ATHLETICS DIRECTOR
Brains and Brawn
Student-athletes must juggle sports and academics
BY LETY LAUREL
Being
Rowdy
BY LETY LAUREL
R
owdy might not have the wingspan of
other birds, but he’s not jealous. In fact,
if you ask him, he’ll tell you it doesn’t
take long wings to be “totally awesome.”
The blue and orange roadrunner is more bird
than any of the other ones. And the self-professed
drama king knows it, too.
Rowdy, who says he studied awesomeness at
UTSA, is 33 years old, though you’d never know it—
there’s not a streak of white in his royal blue feathers.
And, though he’s been at UTSA his entire life, he has
no intentions of ever leaving.
A lover of riddles and pranks, Rowdy uses
unique ways to communicate since he doesn’t talk.
He has his own Facebook page (facebook.com/
RowdyRoadrunner) and he somehow manages to text
and type with his bulky
wings. We don’t know how he does it, but
the enigma adds to his mystique.
We may not know much about him—
where he lives, what his full name is, what
he does all day. But, we do know one simple thing:
Rowdy is UTSA.
HIS IDOL
Rowdy idolizes Ricky Bobby, the dimwitted “fastest
man on four wheels” from
Talladega Nights, the
Ballad of Ricky Bobby
.
Because, in the profound
words of Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”
WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?
Rowdy was born Dec. 9, 1977, already clad in his first
jersey. He’s a true Sagittarian too, loving long-distance
running and hiking. He’s joyful and outgoing at times,
but sulks when he feels his wings have been clipped.
Interesting note: Warner Bros. Entertainment let UTSA
borrow the image of their famed roadrunner before
Rowdy was officially born. Consider this his sonogram
picture.
FAVORITE
EXPRESSION
Whether at an exciting ball
game or walking down the
corridors of UTSA, Rowdy
is always smiling.
“Why not smile? It confuses
people,” he said. “What’s not
to be happy about?
I’m a Roadrunner, baby.”
NEAR MISS
Rowdy was almost an armadillo. Mere
weeks before his birth, students voted
to make their new mascot an armadillo,
symbolic of the Texas hill country. But the
election was made void and after a conten-
tious campaign, the roadrunner won in a
final election. The rest is history.
HIS GROOVE
Nothing makes Rowdy move
more than Hank Williams Jr.’s
song “All My Rowdy Friends.”
7
UTSA.EDU/Sombrilla
Ricky BoBBy
STUDENT-ATHLETES ON
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE’S
ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL IN SPRING 2011
303
TOTAL NUMBER OF
STUDENT-ATHLETES
in spring 2011
21
STUDENT-ATHLETES
who made a 4.0
in spring 2011
# BY THE NUMBERS #
OUT OF
88
The Southland Conference Honor Roll recognizes students
who maintained a 3.0 GPA during the semester of their
competition season.
H
a
n
k
W
i
l
l
i
a
m
s
,
J
r
.
Football
without
tailgating?
Nah.
College football without tailgate parties and pregame
activities that bring students, alumni and the commu-
nity together on fall Saturdays would be like having
Thanksgiving turkey without the dressing.
The game, like the turkey, is and always will be the
main attraction. But there’s no doubt that tailgating,
whether it’s grilling in a parking lot or taking part in an
impromptu pep rally, adds flavor to the game-day experi-
ence that makes college football one of America’s favorite
sports.
Since the Alamodome opened in 1993, fans of other
universities have partied outside the 65,000-seat facility
before Alamo Bowls, Big 12 title games and an assortment
of other college football matchups. Even Notre Dame
played at the dome in 2009. >>
BY DAVID FLORES
9
UTSA.EDU/SOMBRILLA
ailgating is such an integral part of college
football’s tradition, pageantry and culture that
it’s dicult to imagine game day without fans
partying outside the stadium, hours before kicko.
11
UTSA.EDU/SOMBRILLA
Starting this year, UTSA students and alumni finally will get
their chance to join the fun. After years of anticipation, the
Roadrunners open their inaugural season Sept. 3 against
Northeastern (Okla.) State at the Alamodome. All six UTSA home
games this season start at 1 p.m.
“This is something that I’ve wanted for our students for the
past 10 years, to have a major college experience,” said John
Kaulfus, associate dean of students. “From the time they wake up
on Saturday until they go to bed, I want them to be thinking of
UTSA and major college football. It’s going to be so much fun for
our students to have the chance to experience this.
“For years, we were a commuter school, but we have become
a traditional residential campus. Having a traditional football
game day is another step toward becoming a Tier One research
university. Football is really going to bring our students and the
San Antonio community together.”
UTSA, which has an enrollment of about 31,000, will provide
park-and-ride shuttle bus service to the Alamodome for UTSA
students at a discounted price.
Kaulfus, a Seguin native who graduated from
the University of Texas at Austin in 1992, heads a
committee that’s spent a good part of the past 18
months planning UTSA’s pregame festivities.
“I’ve never seen the students more excited than
they’ve been about football,” Kaulfus said. “There’s definitely a
buzz on campus. You can feel it.”
Athletics Director Lynn Hickey said UTSA officials have a
responsibility to provide a fun atmosphere before games. “We
want to provide different opportunities and allow fans to choose
what they want to do,” she said. “We have classy fans and want
to provide classy pre-game opportunities—just like those expe-
rienced at the Alamo Bowl games and other games played at the
Alamodome.”
Hickey said UTSA will work closely with restaurants down-
town to promote business on Friday and Saturday nights.
“We want our games to drive some value downtown,” Hickey
said.
The north plaza outside the Alamodome—which will be
called Rowdy Town—will be the epicenter of pregame fun.
Rowdy Town will open three hours before kickoff and offer free
entertainment for young and old. There will be play areas for chil-
dren, complete with inflatables, and live music. Food and drinks
will be sold at concession booths.
“As Lynn Hickey says, ‘San Antonio doesn’t throw a party; it
throws a fiesta,’” said Jim Goodman, associate athletics director
for marketing. “We want that whole area to be a place where
people will mingle, get something to eat, drink and listen to music
before going into the Alamodome. Included in this will be the
Bud Light Stage with various bands.”
Roadrunner Station, located just north of the Alamodome
at historic Sunset Station, also will have live music and a family-
friendly atmosphere.
“We’ve tried to create an environment where there will be
something for everyone—students, alumni, children, families
and the general public,” said Barry McKinney, director of student
activities. “If you’ve got a family, [Roadrunner Station] is going to
be affordable. You can take your family and make a day of it.”
The highlight of pregame activities at Roadrunner Station
will be when the UTSA band and football team walk through the
venue en route to the Alamodome, said Jim Mickey, associate
vice president of alumni programs and marketing.
“We want to have a spirit line at Roadrunner Station and
create a tradition,” Mickey said. “We want Roadrunner Station to
be a fun place for people to congregate before Roadrunner games
and get excited talking about UTSA football.”
Mickey said the goal is to create different
events in multiple places, allowing people
to choose how to participate.
“Our pregame festivities
The north plaza will be called
Rowdy Town and will feature a fun
play area for kids and the official
tailgate party with live music.
1
2
ROADRUNNER STATION
Sunset Station will be renamed Roadrunner
Station for every game day and will be the central
meeting place for all Roadrunners. There will be
live music, activities, giveaways and concessions.
Roadrunner Station will be open from 8 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. Arrive by 11 a.m. to see the team and
band march into the Alamodome.
ROWDY TOWN
Located in the North Plaza outside of
the Alamodome, Rowdy Town opens
three hours prior to kickoff before each
home game. Rowdy Town will feature
a play area for kids, and an official
tailgate party with live music.
FANtastic!
Introducing Rowdy Town and Roadrunner Station
will almost be like a menu,” he said. “We just want people to
have fun. We don’t want to have cover charges because we know
people will want to move around from place to place. We want
our fans to have fun with us however they choose to.”
A 1978 UTSA graduate, Mickey said football has drawn alums
back to the university. UTSA has about 85,000 alumni, with about
55,000 living in the San Antonio area.
“There’s no doubt that our alumni are excited about UTSA
football,” Mickey said.
Goodman said the Roadrunners’ pregame festivities outside
the Alamodome will be a work in progress.
“We’re just trying to set up something for the fans, give them
some structure, but things probably will change from game to
game. It’s all going to evolve,” Goodman said. “The great thing, the
cool part, is that we get to start it. We get to put stuff out there and
see what stuff takes root.
The proximity of the Alamodome to the River Walk gives
UTSA fans another option for pregame revelry.
“When you ask 10 people what they mean by tailgating, you
might get eight different answers,” Goodman said. “We’re not
like other colleges. We’re playing in downtown San Antonio and
there’s an attraction, the River Walk, nearby. To some people,
tailgating is going to mean going to the River Walk
before a game.”
Since the Alamodome has only about 2,500 parking spaces,
slots for traditional tailgating will be limited in the facility’s
parking lot.
Football season ticket holders with Alamodome parking
passes may tailgate in lots B or C. Student organizations and
UTSA alumni will have designated tailgating areas in these same
lots.
“People will determine through experience how and where
they want to tailgate,” Hickey said.
Mickey said it’s important to remember that tailgating and
football are new for UTSA. “We don’t have a 100-year college
football history like some other Texas schools,” he said. “The neat
part about that is our students, alumni and the city of San Antonio
get to create new Roadrunner traditions. These traditions will
evolve from game to game in year one and over time as we build
our program to the top tier.”
UTSA, which added football to its athletic program in 2009,
will compete as an independent in the Football Championship
Subdivision, formerly NCAA Division I-AA, this season. The
Roadrunners will move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision,
formerly Division I-A, in 2012 when they start playing in the
Western Athletic Conference.
Larry Coker, who guided Miami to the 2001 BCS national
championship, was hired as UTSA’s head coach
in March 2009. Coker, his coaching staff and the
Roadrunners’ players drew a big ovation last
October when they were introduced at a pep rally
on campus.
“That excitement has never, ever left,”
McKinney said. “There’s a lot of anticipation
in the air.”
Given that anticipation, the atmo-
sphere inside and outside the Alamodome
should rock on Sept. 3.
One highlight of pregame activities at Roadrunner Station
will be when the UTSA band and football team walk
through the venue en route to the Alamodome.
Web Extra
Scan here for more about UTSA
gameday activities, or go to
utsa.edu/gameday.
2
1
ROWDY TOWN
ROADRUNNER
STATION
ALAMODOME
Commerce St.
Market St.
Hoefgren Ave.
37
281
10
SOMBRILLA SUMMER 2011
(Sunset
Station)
12 13
SOMBRILLA SUMMER 2011 UTSA.EDU/SOMBRILLA
SPECIAL EDITION
Larry Coker
head coach
L
arry Coker was named the first
head coach in UTSA football
history on March 6, 2009.
The Okemah, Okla., native came
to UTSA after spending two seasons
as a college football analyst for ESPN.
Prior to that, Coker arguably was
one of the nation’s top head coaches
from 2001 to 2006 at the University of
Miami.
He posted a 60–15 record (.800
winning percentage) in his six seasons,
including wins in his first 24 games,
and led the Hurricanes to the 2001
National Championship in his first
season, becoming just the second
coach in NCAA history to do so and
the first in 53 years.
Coker was a two-time National Coach
of the Year (2001–2002), American
Football Coaches Association Region
Coach of the Year (2001, 2005) and Big
East Coach of the Year (2001–2002)
honoree.
He led the Hurricanes to a pair of
Bowl Championship Series title game
appearances, three BCS bowl games,
a total of six bowl contests overall and
three consecutive Big East Conference
Championships from 2001 to 2003
during his tenure.
Coker has coached 26 first-team
All-Americans and 96 first-team
all-conference picks during his career
and also mentored 73 student-athletes
who earned academic all-conference
accolades. In fact, his 2005 team
graduated all 21 players, a total higher
than any other program in the country,
and the Hurricanes’ 84-percent
graduation rate a year earlier was far
higher than the national average. His
teams annually were honored for their
excellence in the classroom by the
AFCA.
Coker has been successful in every
stop of his 36-year coaching career,
including 22 seasons as an assistant
at the collegiate level. He has been on
college teams that have made a total of
18 bowl appearances and those squads
have been victorious 14 times.
He served as Miami’s offensive
coordinator and quarterbacks coach
from 1995 to 2000 and the Hurricanes
won all four of their bowl games during
that time.
Prior to his arrival at Miami,
Coker was an assistant at Ohio State
(1993–1994), Oklahoma (1990–1992),
Oklahoma State (1983–1989) and Tulsa
(1979–1983).
He graduated with a bachelor’s
degree in history from Northeastern
(Okla.) State University in 1970 and
earned his master’s in guidance
counseling and physical education
three years later from the same school.
Coker and his wife, Dianna, are the
parents of a daughter, Lara, and the
grandparents of twin boys, Daniel and
Dillon.
Neal Neathery
assistant coach (defensive coordinator/
linebackers)
A
17-year coaching veteran, Neal Neathery was hired in
March 2010 as UTSA’s defensive coordinator. He also
will tutor the program’s linebackers.
Neathery comes to UTSA from Drake, where he served as
assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers
coach from 2008 to 2009.
He was the associate head coach at Wabash College
from 2001 to 2007 and was named the American Football
Coaches Association NCAA Division III Assistant Coach of
the Year in 2007.
A 1993 graduate of Wheaton (Ill.) College, where he
was a four-year starter at defensive end from 1989 to 1993,
Neathery served as a captain his senior year. He earned the
James Parmalee Most Respected Player Award.
The Stillwater, Okla., native earned his bachelor’s
degree in business/economics and Bible and theology from
Wheaton in 1993. He earned a master’s degree in health and
human performances from Fort Hayes State in 1995.
He and his wife, Rebecca, have three children: Parker,
Michael and Hannah.
Travis Bush
assistant coach (offensive coordinator/
quarterbacks)
A
rising star in the offensive coaching ranks, Travis
Bush was hired in January 2010 as offensive coor-
dinator at UTSA. He also will tutor the program’s
quarterbacks.
Bush came to UTSA from Texas State, where he
completed his sixth season overall and third season as
the associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator and
quarterbacks coach at his alma mater in 2009.
Bush began his coaching career at San Marcos High
School where he tutored the Rattlers’ quarterbacks,
running backs and special teams.
From 2001 to 2003, Bush was a graduate assistant
coach at TCU, working with the Horned Frogs’ offensive
line.
Bush graduated from Gregory-Portland High School
in 1995, where he was a UIL 4A all-state quarterback. He
moved on to Texas State, lettering four seasons as a wide
receiver. He was also awarded the J.C. Kellam Award
in 1999, which honors Texas State’s most outstanding
senior football student-athlete.
Bush graduated from Texas State in 2000 with a
bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science and
holds teaching certificates in mathematics and physical
education. He earned a master’s degree in education
administration from TCU in 2003. He and his wife, Diana,
have two sons, Treyson and Tyler.
Oct. 1
@ Sam
Houston State
University
Location: Huntsville,
Texas. Status: Public.
Enrollment: 17,000.
Nickname: Bearkats.
The nickname, spelled
with a K, comes from
a popular saying in the
1920s—“tough as a
bearkat.” The animal in
question is more myth
than real.
Mascot: Sammy
Bearkat.
Colors: Orange and
white. Founded: 1879.
Oct. 8
University of
South Alabama
Location: Mobile,
Ala. Status: Public.
Enrollment: 15,700.
Nickname: Jaguars.
Mascot: South Paw.
Colors: Red, white
and blue. Founded:
1963. First year
played football: 2009.
Cool tradition: Jag
Prowl, lead by the
USA marching band
and cheerleaders, is
the procession of the
Jaguars football team
prior to home games.
Players walk through
the student tailgating
section and enter the
stadium’s main gates to
their locker room. >>
Oct. 15
@ University
of California,
Davis
Location: Davis,
Calif. Status: Public.
Enrollment: 32,000.
Nickname: Aggies.
Colors: Yale blue and
gold. Founded: 1908.
Cool major: Viticulture
and Enology (the sciences
of cultivating grapes and
winemaking).
Cool tradition: The
school’s marching band,
called Aggie Band-
uh!, rings the hallowed
Tavernetti Bell once for
every point scored after
home victories.
Oct. 29
Georgia State
University
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
Status: Public.
Enrollment: 31,000.
Nickname: Panthers.
Colors: Blue and white.
Founded: 1913. First
year played college
football: 2010.
Cool (and very new)
tradition: The school’s
new fight song,
Fight,
Panthers
, is played by the
new marching band after
every score. >>
Meet the
Coaches
14 15
SOMBRILLA SUMMER 2011 UTSA.EDU/SOMBRILLA
SPECIAL EDITION
For the Love
of the Game
BY JAMES BENAVIDES
W
hen he was 13 years old, John Frederick
stood 4’11” and realized football was
nowhere in his future. But that didn’t stop
him from finding a way to take part in the
tradition, pageantry and the culture the game has created,
both on and off the field.
He joined the band.
“Sometimes, playing in the band got in the way of
watching the game,” said Frederick, now provost and vice
president for academic affairs at UTSA. “If we happened to
be playing a song and they resumed the game and our team
made a big play, the song kind of got disorganized toward the
end because of those of us who were watching the game.”
Frederick shares a common experience with other
members of the UTSA faculty and staff, as well as legions of
players, bandsmen, cheerleaders and fans who have taken to
the field to cheer on a football team. These memories were
captured in oral history interviews for a new exhibit at UTSA’s
Institute of Texan Cultures, “Texas Football: In Their Words.”
Told from the perspectives of 10 Texans, the exhibit was
designed to complement “Football: The Exhibit,” a traveling
exhibit organized by the Arkansas Museum of Discovery,
which studies the science behind the game. Both exhibits run
from May 14 to Sept. 18.
Nov. 12
@ McNeese
State
University
Location: Lake Charles,
La. Status: Public.
Enrollment: 9,000.
Nickname: Cowboys.
Colors: Blue and gold.
Founded: 1939.
Cool tradition:
Jolie
Blon,
sometimes called
the Cajun national
anthem, is the school’s
unofficial fight song.
It’s played before each
game and after every
touchdown as Cowboys
fans sway and clap.
Nov. 19
Minot State
University
Location: Minot,
N.D. Status: Public.
Enrollment: 3,850.
Nickname: Beavers.
Colors: Red, white and
green. Founded: 1913.
Blue Moon Chicken with grilled oranges and corn
ChiCken ingredients:
4 split chicken breasts
(preferably with skin on)
4 small oranges, quartered
4 teaspoons honey
Spice rub
rub ingredients:
1 teaspoon ground coriander
5 cloves (ground)
3 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons black pepper
(ground)
1 (12 ounce) can beer
(a Hefeweizen or wheat beer)
The Roadrunner
ChiCken direCtions:
1. Place chicken in large baking pan to marinate in beer for
25–45 minutes. Remove and pat dry.
2. Drizzle 1 teaspoon honey on each chicken breast, skin side
only. Follow generously with rub, evenly distributed between
chicken.
3. Prepare grill for direct heat grilling.
4. Grill, skin side down, 3 minutes. Rotate chicken 90 degrees
to create marks, and grill additional 3 minutes on same side.
5. Place orange quarters on grill separate from highest heat.
Grill 2 minutes per side and remove. Set aside.
6. Flip chicken to non-skin side, grill 2 minutes. Rotate 90
degrees to create marks, and grill additional 2 minutes until
done.
7. Remove and serve each chicken breast with a grilled
orange wedge. Use the orange to squirt on chicken or enjoy
separately.
Parting Shots
Tailgate Recipes
1. Rub corn leaves inside with oil, push leaves back up, prepare grill for heat.
2. In a large bowl, stir to combine the mint, butter, feta and salt.
3. Grill corn, turning as necessary, until just cooked through and some grill
marks appear.
4. Toss the corn in the mint feta mixture to coat.
5. Cut corn cobs into 3 to 4 equal slices, depending on the number of people or
desired serving size.
ARUGULA, ORANGE AND BLEU SALAD
—Courtesy Ignacio Zak
INGREDIENTS
4 cups arugula
2 oranges, peeled and
sectioned
3 tablespoons extra virgin
olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
Bleu cheese
DIRECTIONS
Make a dressing by whisking together the oil, vinegar and salt.
Pour over the arugula and orange slices immediately before
serving. Sprinkle crumbled bleu cheese on the
salad, to taste.
ROADRUNNER FIRECRACKERS
—Courtesy Molly Kelley
INGREDIENTS
1 package (4 sleeves) saltine
crackers
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup olive oil
1 package ranch dressing mix
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
DIRECTIONS
Place crackers in an airtight plastic container. Combine
remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour over crackers, seal
with lid and turn container upside down. Turn every 30 minutes
at least four times.
“Texans do football better than anyone else on earth,”
said Rhett Rushing, oral history program coordinator
at the ITC and researcher for the new exhibit. “No one
on earth invests as much of their spirit, energy and even
self worth into football like Texans.”
Rushing laughed, recalling experiences of driving through
small Texas towns abandoned on Friday nights and getting
stuck behind convoys of busses and cars driving to rural foot-
ball stadiums.
“Football creates community in Texas,” he said. “It
brings people together in ways we cannot explain and don’t
try to. It defines us as dreamers, as hard workers, as the
best we can be.”
Robert Gracy, UTSA’s vice president for research, played
halfback for McKinney High School, in the north Texas city
of McKinney, in the 1950s. He said some of the skills he
learned through football have helped him well past his high
school days.
“You really appreciate people with different skills and
abilities working together on any kind of project,” he said.
“You gain a lot of appreciation for teamwork, cooperation and
partner ship.”
For more information about the two exhibits, call (210)
458-2300 or visit TexanCultures.com.
roasted Corn: Yields 6–8
8 large corn ears without silk, leaves pealed back
7 ounces feta, finely crumbled
1/4 cup finely chopped mint
1/2 stick unsalted butter, soft
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil, to rub corn
The chicken and corn
recipes were developed
for this issue of Sombrilla
by Steve Kudika, assistant
director of fitness and
wellness, and Graham
Haug, student cook, from
the Department of Campus
Recreation.
//
IN BRIEF //
We’re No. 1
The UTSA Athletics
Department was
crowned Southland
Conference Com-
missioner’s Cup
Champions in May.
It marks the Road-
runners’ second
title in the past four
years after finishing
runner-up the last
two seasons.
The Southland Com-
missioner’s Cup is
awarded to the uni-
versity compiling the
highest combined
total of men’s and
women’s all-sports
points. UTSA won
a school-record
five conference
titles this year. The
Roadrunners also
won their first-ever
NCAA postseason
contest on March
16 when the men’s
basketball team
defeated Alabama
State, 60–51, at the
First Four in Dayton,
Ohio.
What do your friends call you?
The roadrunner’s family is the cuckoo. It’s tech-
nically classified as Geococcyx californianus,
which means “Californian Earth-Cuckoo,” but
roadrunners are also known as Chaparral
Cocks. The roadrunner is actually the largest
North American cuckoo.
What’s your favorite meal?
A roadrunner is quick enough to catch and eat
rattlesnakes. It snatches up the coiled snake by
its tail, cracks it like a whip and smashes the
snake’s head on the ground until it’s dead. It
then swallows the snake whole. Roadrunners
like to eat insects, small birds, lizards, snakes
and bobcats (just kidding)!
Walk or fly?
A roadrunner prefers walking or running to
flying and can attain speeds up to 17 mph
on the ground. Roadrunners get their name
because they have a habit of racing down
roads in front of moving vehicles,
darting to safety.
One feature of “Football:
The Exhibit” at the UTSA In-
stitute of Texan Cultures is this
running test. Participants race
against such wild animals as
turtles, sloths and bears.
Warning: You can’t beat a bear.
Reality sports documentary showcases inaugural season
T
he start of UTSA football is being chronicled in a
reality sports documentary series airing on FOX
Sports Southwest.
UTSA Football: The Birth of a Program
premiered in May and will continue through October with six
30-minute episodes that follow the Roadrunners to their inau-
gural season opener on Sept. 3 against Northeastern (Okla.)
State.
The series will reach more than 10 million cable and satel-
lite TV homes in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
In addition to FOX Sports Southwest, it also is airing on FOX
Sports Houston and FOX Sports Oklahoma.
The shows offer an all-access look at how the UTSA foot-
ball program was started from scratch two years ago by UTSA
President Ricardo Romo and Athletics Director Lynn Hickey,
the only female athletics director in Texas to oversee both
men’s and women’s sports.
Camera crews began following head football Coach Larry
Coker this spring as he readied the team for the inaugural
season. The final episode will feature the Roadrunners’ much-
anticipated inaugural game at the Alamodome.
“Putting a football program together from scratch is a
monumental task and I’m glad fans will have the opportunity
to see everything that goes into it,” Coker said.
To see the broadcast schedule, go to goutsa.com.
16 17
SOMBRILLA SUMMER 2011 UTSA.EDU/SOMBRILLA
SPECIAL EDITION
Hail UTSA
From our hills of oak
and cedar
To the Alamo,
Voices raised will echo
As, in song, our
praises flow.
Hail Alma Mater!
Through the years our
loyalty will grow.
The University of
Texas San Antonio.
Fight Song
Go, Roadrunners, Go!
On to victory with all
your might.
Fight, Roadrunners,
Fight!
For the Blue and the
Orange and the White.
We fight for U-T-S-A.
Alma Mater proud
and strong.
Win, Roadrunners,
Win!
And unite in our battle
song.
(Repeat for second
verse)
In fall 1998, students
competed to create the
lyrics for the new
UTSA
Fight Song.
On Nov. 8,
1998,
Go Roadunners
Go!
was selected as the
winner of the student
competition.
A Season of Fun
VISITORS
UTSA
ALAMODA OME
SAN ANT ONIO
Founders Level $1250 per seat
Premier Level $650 per seat
VIP Level $450 ($410 Fac/Sta ) per seat
Charter Level $270 ($230 Fac/Sta ) per seat
Luxury Suites
Reserved Seats $120 ($80 Fac/Sta) per seat
Students/Band
Visitors
SKYLINE CLUB
North
Season tickets are still available at prices ranging from $120
per seat to $1,250 per seat. Season ticket holder benefits
include having the same seat for every game and a commemo-
rative inaugural season ticket.
Founders Level and Premier Level season tickets include a
parking pass with the purchase of at least two seats. This is
the only way to still get parking at the Alamodome.
Individual game tickets are on sale online. Prices start as
low as $10.
Scan Here to
purcHaSe ticketS
or Learn more.
you can aLSo go
to goutSa.com or
caLL (210) 458-utSa
the university of texas
at san antonio
One UTSA Circle
San Antonio, Texas, 78249
Non-Profit Org
US Postage
PAID
San Antonio, TX
Permit No. 2474
NOW&THEN
In the 1980s, UTSA founded the city’s first NCAA Division I
athletics program. Today, that program has grown to include 17
men’s and women’s competitive sports, including football.
utsa.edu/sombrilla
