The origin of Rowdy dates back to 1977, when the Roadrunner was chosen as the university's mascot by student election.

[11][12] On November 11, 2010, UTSA accepted an invitation for membership within the Western Athletic Conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

March 12, 1988, UTSA defeated Georgia Southern 76–69 in overtime sending the Roadrunners to their first NCAA post season appearance.

[18] The Roadrunners won their first ever Southland Conference Championship in 2008 defeating Lamar 65–56 at the Merrell Center.

This also marked the UTSA women's basketball team's first NCAA Tournament berth in school history.

UTSA earned an NCAA Tournament berth for a second consecutive season[19] with a 74–63 win over top seed UT Arlington in the State Farm Southland Conference Tournament Championship Game on Saturday, March 14, 2009, at the Merrell Center.

The UTSA softball team plays their home games at Roadrunner Field and initially competed in the Southland Conference since 1992.

UTSA shattered its own NCAA record in 2007, hitting 105 round-trippers in 51 contests for a 2.06 average, eclipsing the 1.87 mark set in 2004 (101/54).

In 2014 the Roadrunners sweep Tulsa to win the Conference USA Regular Season Championship in 2013.

[27] In 2014 the Roadrunners captured the Conference USA Regular Season Championship with a sweep of Rice (25–19, 25–21, 25–22).