UT-San Antonio Planning to Shake-Up College Athletics
(AP) San Antonio, TX
The University of Texas at San Antonio on Monday announced major planned facilities including an on-campus football stadium, on-campus basketball arena and practice facility, and a new softball field. The announcement was made Monday at the school’s convocation center by Associate Director of Athletics Lisa Casas.
“We have arrived”, Casas proclaimed to begin the announcement, joined by academic deans and local business leaders. “When fans look at Top 25 rankings and conference titles, they will look at San Antonio” she added.
Among the plans unveiled Monday, the crown jewel is a new on-campus football stadium. The team currently plays in the Alamodome. “Having an on-campus stadium improves recruiting, improves the fan experience, engages students, and certainly brings Wins!”, Casas stated. The preliminary drawings are for a designed 52,000 seat stadium that will have one endzone left without seating to allow for tunnel access, and allows for future concerts and events at the stadium”. “It is a traditional bowl concept”, architect Jason Haddad added. UT-San Antonio officials have gathered naming rights for the new stadium, expected to be completed by 2023. “Foundation Universe National came through big-time”, Casas added. “What a perfect name, the “Fun Bowl”, it embodies what San Antonio is all about”. “As fans drive up Fun Bowl Drive, they will be impressed”.
To support coaches offices, locker rooms, and weight training facilities, the Barry J. Durham center will be built alongside the north boundary of the stadium. “Barry will forever be immortalized with the naming of this complex”, Casas said. Durham, a businessman from Tulsa, donated $5 million to support the complex.
Not satisfied with a new football stadium, UT-San Antonio officials also discussed plans for an on-campus basketball arena. The new structure will be on the northwest end of campus to be built on unused land, and will is expected to seat 12,222 fans. The seats will all be orange, and officials and developers said the arena will be located on Glory Boulevard. Also, the school decided to name the arena after legendary Western Kentucky and Minnesota basketball coach, Clem Haskins. “The Haskins Center, as it will be called, will be the toughest venue in Conference USA”, said local booster Mike deWetter. Haskins helped integrate the Western Kentucky basketball program in 1963. “Kentucky and Texas will forever have a special bond when it comes to basketball”, “I can’t think of a more legendary coach who affected racial equality than Clem Haskins”, Casas said.
Adjacent to the Haskins Center will be a state of the art basketball practice facility, which will be named after 2 famous entertainers. Casas added, “Who better than Jodie Foster and Cat Stevens to embody being a roadrunner”, “The Foster Stevens facility will be the envy of Texas”.
Finally, a new softball complex was announced as well. The new $1.8 million facility will also be launched by 2023. “we are naming the softball complex after Helen Donnolly our biggest donor”, “as you know Helen is originally from Detroit so the complex will be the ‘Helen Detroit Softball Complex’”, Casas boldly stated.
Relatedly, school officials announced last week that they were looking at updating the school’s color scheme to a more refreshed look. Expected changes are a lighter shade of blue in next year’s uniforms.
When asked about the tremendous similarities between UT-San Antonio and similar facilities at the University of Texas at El Paso (“UTEP”), Casas was dumbfounded. A local reporter asked “Lisa, UT-Antonio uses the same color scheme as UTEP, the same hand gesture, a similar 4-letter acronym, heck even your AD came from there, can it be safe to say UT-San Antonio secretly wishes to be like UTEP, is it a little sibling syndrome?”.
To which Casas replied, “I really don’t know what you are referring to”.
After the announcement, local fans were given free breakfast coupons at local restaurant, "G&G Car Wash", known for the famous breakfasts.
The writer can be reached at dlopez@expressnewssa.com
(AP) San Antonio, TX
The University of Texas at San Antonio on Monday announced major planned facilities including an on-campus football stadium, on-campus basketball arena and practice facility, and a new softball field. The announcement was made Monday at the school’s convocation center by Associate Director of Athletics Lisa Casas.
“We have arrived”, Casas proclaimed to begin the announcement, joined by academic deans and local business leaders. “When fans look at Top 25 rankings and conference titles, they will look at San Antonio” she added.
Among the plans unveiled Monday, the crown jewel is a new on-campus football stadium. The team currently plays in the Alamodome. “Having an on-campus stadium improves recruiting, improves the fan experience, engages students, and certainly brings Wins!”, Casas stated. The preliminary drawings are for a designed 52,000 seat stadium that will have one endzone left without seating to allow for tunnel access, and allows for future concerts and events at the stadium”. “It is a traditional bowl concept”, architect Jason Haddad added. UT-San Antonio officials have gathered naming rights for the new stadium, expected to be completed by 2023. “Foundation Universe National came through big-time”, Casas added. “What a perfect name, the “Fun Bowl”, it embodies what San Antonio is all about”. “As fans drive up Fun Bowl Drive, they will be impressed”.
To support coaches offices, locker rooms, and weight training facilities, the Barry J. Durham center will be built alongside the north boundary of the stadium. “Barry will forever be immortalized with the naming of this complex”, Casas said. Durham, a businessman from Tulsa, donated $5 million to support the complex.
Not satisfied with a new football stadium, UT-San Antonio officials also discussed plans for an on-campus basketball arena. The new structure will be on the northwest end of campus to be built on unused land, and will is expected to seat 12,222 fans. The seats will all be orange, and officials and developers said the arena will be located on Glory Boulevard. Also, the school decided to name the arena after legendary Western Kentucky and Minnesota basketball coach, Clem Haskins. “The Haskins Center, as it will be called, will be the toughest venue in Conference USA”, said local booster Mike deWetter. Haskins helped integrate the Western Kentucky basketball program in 1963. “Kentucky and Texas will forever have a special bond when it comes to basketball”, “I can’t think of a more legendary coach who affected racial equality than Clem Haskins”, Casas said.
Adjacent to the Haskins Center will be a state of the art basketball practice facility, which will be named after 2 famous entertainers. Casas added, “Who better than Jodie Foster and Cat Stevens to embody being a roadrunner”, “The Foster Stevens facility will be the envy of Texas”.
Finally, a new softball complex was announced as well. The new $1.8 million facility will also be launched by 2023. “we are naming the softball complex after Helen Donnolly our biggest donor”, “as you know Helen is originally from Detroit so the complex will be the ‘Helen Detroit Softball Complex’”, Casas boldly stated.
Relatedly, school officials announced last week that they were looking at updating the school’s color scheme to a more refreshed look. Expected changes are a lighter shade of blue in next year’s uniforms.
When asked about the tremendous similarities between UT-San Antonio and similar facilities at the University of Texas at El Paso (“UTEP”), Casas was dumbfounded. A local reporter asked “Lisa, UT-Antonio uses the same color scheme as UTEP, the same hand gesture, a similar 4-letter acronym, heck even your AD came from there, can it be safe to say UT-San Antonio secretly wishes to be like UTEP, is it a little sibling syndrome?”.
To which Casas replied, “I really don’t know what you are referring to”.
After the announcement, local fans were given free breakfast coupons at local restaurant, "G&G Car Wash", known for the famous breakfasts.
The writer can be reached at dlopez@expressnewssa.com
