Sports

Colombian Pop Star Locks UTSA Football Out Of Their Home Field Days Before Season Opener

#UTSA Roadrunners
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iStockphoto/USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect/Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports/Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

UTSA cannot practice at the Alamodome.


The UTSA football team will open its 2026 season in five days against UTRGV. It is not currently able to access its home field.

Head coach Jeff Traylor confirmed that the Roadrunners will not have a pregame walkthrough ahead of Game 1. They have not yet been able to practice in the Alamodome this offseason.

Scheduling conflicts have effectively locked the team out. A Karol G. concert on September 2nd is preventing UTSA from getting familiar with its home venue before kickoff.

UTSA has 40 new football players.

The Roadrunners have experienced great success under Traylor’s leadership, going 53-26 across six seasons. The head coach has never recorded a losing season. He’s won three straight bowl games. As a result, his team is annually raided in the transfer portal.

UTSA lost 23 players over the offseason to programs like Baylor, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. Others left through graduation. The voids have been filled with incoming high school recruits and transfer talent.

Jeff Traylor will have a new team this fall. One-third of the roster was not there in 2025. Many will make instant impacts in replacing former starters. Those 40 newcomers will step onto the Alamodome for the first time during the season opener, and it won’t be a cakewalk.

Despite this being a home game, the crowd is expected to be split. UTRGV is fresh off a nine-win season. Its fans are excited to make the three-hour trek to San Antonio. The school has already sold out its allotment of visiting tickets. It’s now looking to grab up UTSA seats.

The Vaqueros are 30-point underdogs. That has not dimmed anticipation for the opener.

Traylor spoke with a local radio crew earlier this week. He says that neither team can gain entry into the Alamodome before Saturday.

The Alamodome is booked.

Traylor’s comments can be heard around the 10-minute mark of the segment posted above.

“(UTRGV head coach) Travis (Bush) called me asking about that, wanting to know if I was pulling some shenanigans,” Traylor said. “For the first time ever, we’re not allowed to be in there. That’s never happened before…

“I’m sure it’s just one of those things in the schedule that happens. Obviously, we weren’t thrilled about it. We’ll figure out someplace else to practice. A little concerned, because I’ve got players who have never played in there before. We haven’t been able to practice in there yet either. It’s been tough but it is what it is.

“We’ll find somewhere to practice Friday and go play Saturday.”

Despite being the Roadrunners’ home field since 2011, it is owned and operated by the City of San Antonio. It hosts a variety of events to include concerts, sports contests, and shows.

On Wednesday, pop singer Karol G. is set to perform at the venue. It’s created conflict.

Karol G. is a Colombian singer and songwriter with eight Latin Grammys. She is currently in the midst of her Viajando por el Mundo Tropitour.

Getting the venue ready for football will take time after the Wednesday night show. Senior Vice President of Ticket Operations for the Atlanta Braves Anthony Esposito says it’s standard to have a two-day buffer built in on the back end of a concert before an upcoming game.

The concert breakdown will keep UTSA from accessing its football field on Thursday and Friday. It’s not typical or ideal, but as Traylor says, “It is what it is.”

New Roadrunners will finally get their first experience in the Alamodome on gameday.