SAN ANTONIO — UTSA head football coach Jeff Traylor has, on several occasions this season, emphasized that San Antonio stepping up to financially support the program is how it will survive in the current climate of college athletics—particularly with his sport.
San Antonio corporations have stepped up this season more than ever, with the likes of Ancira and the PM Group chipping in, among others. But much more is needed, the conference-winning coach says, to stay competitive on the field.
Traylor on Monday tweeted directly at NCAA officials his concerns about larger-conference programs "who are trying to poach our young talent."
Traylor said he didn't look at the responses from the tweet, which has since garnered more than 12,000 likes and hundreds of shares. But he said he heard from his wife that some of the feedback wasn't positive.
Wednesday marked National Signing Day, the start of the early period when Traylor can bolster his program's ranks for the future. Beyond commenting on the 22 new Roadrunners that were enlisted, Traylor continued the conversation surrounding his social media post to start the week.
"If the State of Texas can regulate over 1,600 high schools, why can't we get an organization that can oversee 131 Division 1 schools?" Traylor asked. "What are the rules? Somebody tell me the rules. I know what the rules are. The rules are you can't tamper, so what do the guys do that have been cheating forever? They go third-party and you can't catch them."
"I'm not against NIL (which allows players to profit off their name, image and likeness). I hope everybody hears me on that. I'm for these kids making their money. I just don't see me developing them and then someone else coming in and just taking them for us when my kids on my team don't really wanna go. If we can get my assistant coaches paid up to where it needs to be, and our NIL money where it needs to be, I will retire here and we will win lots of ballgames here. If we don't get those two things I can't keep up."
UTSA will play its first competitive football season in the American Athletic Conference in the fall of 2023, after securing back-to-back Conference USA titles and emerging as a new Texas football powerhouse.
