College Football Comes to University of Texas at San Antonio

San Antonio is the largest city in America not to have an NFL or Division I football team, but if Larry Coker has his way, that may not be the case forever.  Coker, the ex-Miami Hurricane's coach, has been hired to build and run the new football program at UTSA.

The Roadrunners will start playing in 2011, and plan on joining the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division 1-AA) in 2012.  There is no stadium at the campus, so UTSA will play in the Alamodome.

Coker seems like an excellent hire for the program, as he is a national championship winning coach, who helmed one of the most successful programs in the country over the last 30 years.  His tenure at Miami was mired in his final year by a nasty on-field brawl between his players and those of Florida International, but his record over the six years he was the Miami head coach was 60-15.

As far as making a splash hire, UTSA certainly could have done worse.  Coker brought some good talent into the Miami program, and of course, Texas is always teeming with great high school prospects.  UTSA is also about three times bigger than Miami, in regards to the student body, so interest and support in the program should be passionate and high.

Having a big-name coach coming in to start the program is a great call.  All college football fans know Coker's name and reputation, and he is not so far removed from the game that his national championship ring has lost much of its luster.