Why a new $35 million basketball and volleyball training center is a 'game-changer' for UTSA

Speaking at the grand opening of UTSA’s new basketball and volleyball training facility Wednesday, Roadrunners athletics director Lisa Campos opened by highlighting a revelation that many other programs probably take for granted.  

For the first time in the history of UTSA athletics, the basketball and volleyball teams can hold practice simultaneously.  

After years of battling various campus activities and UTSA’s other teams for space in the Convocation Center, the Roadrunners are moving into a new $35-million, 53,000-square-foot facility with two full-sized practice courts, cutting the ribbon on their new home Wednesday.  

“We’ve had this vision, and to see it come to fruition today, to see all the supporters out here who made this happen, the county, the city, it’s just a wonderful day,” Campos said.  

Having heard about the facility since her days as a high school recruit, UTSA women’s basketball senior Idara Udo called the finished product a “dream come true.”  

The building also includes a locker room and a team lounge for each program, a weight room and an athletic training space with hydrotherapy and hyperbaric chambers. Space is also carved out for film rooms, coaches offices and conference rooms overlooking the courts, and the building even includes a creator lab with a podcast and editing studio. 

Sitting just across the sidewalk from the Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence, the new training center also provides smoother access to the support staff and other resources in UTSA’s primary athletics hub.  

For Udo, that means a more streamlined schedule rather than bouncing around campus. She also expects to sleep a bit better this season, hoping that greater court availability will lead to fewer 6 a.m. practices and more flexibility with class scheduling. 

“Basketball is a year-round sport, so we spend a lot of time together, and this building is a real game-changer,” Udo said. “Having somewhere to just chill after practice and regroup will be nice, and help bring us closer together.”  

UTSA men’s basketball coach Austin Claunch said the new facility is both a recruiting tool and a catalyst for more focused development, allowing players to move seamlessly between athletic training, strength and conditioning, the film room and on-court practice. For the first time, the Roadrunners can be confident they have somewhere to go for shooting practice at any hour of the night.  

After coaching at Clemson, Alabama and Nicholls State before arriving at UTSA, Claunch said the facility is “as nice as anywhere I’ve ever been,” with just a couple bells and whistles separating it from the training centers in the SEC.  

“I’d put it up there with anyone,” Claunch said. “You literally can’t ask for anything more. Zero, zero to complain about.”  

Part of the funding for the project came from $5 million in grants from Bexar County and another $5 million from the city of San Antonio that was approved by voters for the 2022-2027 bond program.

Bexar County Precinct 3 Commissioner Grant Moody and San Antonio District 8 City Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez spoke at Wednesday’s grand opening, while Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai delivered remarks in a recorded video.  

“When Bexar County invests in UT San Antonio, we’re investing in what will be their future 10, 20, 30 years from now,” Sakai said. “We want talented young people to come to this community, find opportunities here and decide that San Antonio and Bexar County is where they want to build their lives.” 

American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti was also on hand for the grand opening, calling the project another example of the potential the league envisioned when UTSA was invited to join the conference in 2021.  

Campos knew facilities improvements were necessary to keep pace in the American, and she said Wednesday that UTSA remains committed and “excited to continue to invest” in everything from coaching salaries to revenue sharing totals to stay competitive in the league.   

Pernetti declined to divulge numbers regarding revenue sharing figures around the conference, but he said UTSA remains on track.  

“I’m really happy with the momentum, because there really is great momentum,” Pernetti said. “They are on a trajectory. They’re biting it off in bigger bites every year as they go. … In general, we’re really thrilled with what they’re doing here.”  

UTSA president Taylor Eighmy provided an update on the Roadrunners’ planned baseball development center during his public comments Wednesday, putting the price tag at $20 million and targeting a December groundbreaking.  

Long slated as one of UTSA’s upcoming projects along with a softball development center, a nutrition center and a covered football practice pavilion, the baseball facility has “expanded a little bit” in recent months, Campos said. While the initial target was specifically a player development center, Campos said the project will now play out in multiple phases, with upgrades expected to dugouts and fan amenities.  

Eighmy said UTSA also still has “work to do” to improve the Alamodome and Convocation Center as Roadrunners athletics continues to grow.  

“This is just a step in our journey toward greatness,” Eighmy said, “and we have still a lot to do going forward.”  

Subscribe

There’s more to San Antonio with the Express-News. Subscribe today for just 25¢.

This article originally published at Why a new $35 million basketball and volleyball training center is a ‘game-changer’ for UTSA.