Traylor picks up the tab for UT Health students' tickets to UTSA-Colorado State

The Roadrunners coach will cover free admission for UT Health San Antonio students ahead of Saturday's 11 a.m. game at the Alamodome.

Facing a rare early kickoff that could thin the crowd, UTSA football coach Jeff Traylor decided to put his own money toward filling the Alamodome. He initially floated covering tickets for the first 100 UT Health San Antonio students, saying he would do whatever it took to protect the team's home-field edge against Colorado State.

The athletic department formalized the gesture within hours on Tuesday and expanded it: every UT Health San Antonio student can claim a free ticket to the 11 a.m. Saturday game, paid for by Traylor. The matchup, airing on ESPNU, is only the second home game of Traylor's tenure with a start time that early.

The two institutions merged last year, and a ticketing policy for health campus students took time to sort out. Tickets to the Sept. 5 season opener were made free for those students, while the remaining five home games were priced at the $11 student guest rate. UT Health's roughly 4,000 enrollees do not pay the athletics fee that UTSA students pay.

Early kickoffs have hurt attendance before. UTSA's last home game at 11 a.m. or earlier, a 44-36 win over Memphis on Nov. 2, 2024, drew an announced 17,198 fans, with 8,958 scanned entries, the program's lowest since 2021.

UTSA enters the game 2-1 after beating UTRGV and Texas State and losing to Texas. A win would give the Roadrunners their best start since 2021, and Traylor urged fans to recognize what a 3-1 nonconference finish could mean for the team's confidence heading into league play.