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Looks like that is what they are doing. What a shame. Considering all the work Coker put into starting that program, UTSA needs to pay up what he is owed. Very sad. http://blog.mysanantonio.com/utsa/2016/0...rry-coker/ SAN ANTONIO — The Larry Coker story has taken a few odd twists in the last several hours. Here is the latest: UTSA’s former football coach said in an interview earlier this week that he is due a buyout after being fired, noting succinctly, “They let me go.” He also said his exit from the university fell under a “termination without cause” section of his contract, which would trigger the payments. “I had a buyout,” Coker said. “They had to pay me to make a change. Just whatever my contract said, that’s what they had to pay me. It was only fair. They knew that when they let me go.” UTSA isn’t commenting on Coker’s assertion that he is scheduled to receive the payments. But university officials are disputing an Express-News calculation, based on language in the coach’s contract, that his buyout could reach $1.56 million over three years. Here is a give-and-take that between the E-N and spokesman Joe Izbrand Friday afternoon: Izbrand: “What you’re reporting is not accurate.” E-N: “What specifically is wrong with it?” Izbrand: “The numbers that you are quoting as a payout to coach Coker.” At this point, Izbrand side-stepped a question about what the payout numbers are. He suggested that the newspaper file an open records request to get the information.

read more: http://www.expressnews.com/sports/college_sports/utsa/article/UTSA-facing-huge-challenge-in-attracting-head-6738949.php

SAN ANTONIO — UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey dodged a question Thursday night about whether she believes the university needs to pay its next football coach as much as Texas State will be paying newly-hired coach Everett Withers. “I’ve got to hire a coach first,” Hickey said. “I’ve got to hire a coach first and then we’ll see what we can do.” Withers was introduced to the media in San Marcos earlier Thursday afternoon. At the news conference, Bobcats athletic director Larry Teis said Withers will be paid $650,000 in the first year of a five-year deal, with $25,000 raises each year. UTSA hopes to hire a replacement for Larry Coker within the next 10 days. Coker stepped down Tuesday after seven years, including the first five seasons for the Roadrunners’ football program. Coker was making $425,000, the same as the previous Texas State coach, Dennis Franchione, whose retirement was announced on Dec. 22. The UTSA contract for Coker was scheduled to pay $450,000 next year, $475,000 in 2017 and $500,000 in 2018. UTSA plays in Conference USA, and Texas State plays in the Sun Belt Conference. But the two once shared a long rivalry in the Southland Conference in sports other than football. Since UTSA started playing football in 2011, the teams have played once, with the Roadrunners beating the Bobcats 38-31 in the 2012 season finale at the Alamodome. The two schools will start an eight-game series on Sept. 23, 2017, in San Marcos. They will play each year except for 2019 through the 2025 season. Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/utsa/2016/01/hickey-says-well-see-what-utsa-will-pay-its-next-coach/

Just days after losing defensive coordinator Neal Neathery to Eastern Michigan, another crucial member of the UTSA staff has left the program. Per the ever-dependable Football Scoop, Shane Elder will be leaving UTSA to join UNT's staff in a similar role. Losing an important program resource is tough. Having him leave to a conference rival for what may be a demotion (in title at least) is humbling. This move, when viewed in conjunction with Neathery's departure, screams of serious trouble. Those inside the program know how dire the situation is and have opted out of the struggle for lateral moves, likely due to a lack of faith in the program's leadership. Given the skeleton crew left running the program with three coaches and an associate AD gone, it's clear that the program is currently in shambles. As National Signing Day approaches, hires need to be made wisely and quickly lest more pieces of the puzzle leave for greener pastures. read more; http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/1/5/10716284/staff-exodus-continues-at-utsa-as-shane-elder-leaves-for-north-texas

SAN ANTONIO — Brushing off mounting adversities both on and off the field, Larry Coker on Monday said that he would return next season as coach of the UTSA Roadrunners. “I want to see it through,” said Coker, who is under contract through the 2018 season. “I’m not going anywhere.” A difficult year for UTSA has grown steadily worse over the past 10 days. First, lowly North Texas beat UTSA 30-23 on Oct. 31 in Denton for its first victory of the season. Next, UTSA released a document to media outlets last Wednesday night acknowledging that Coker and offensive coordinator Kevin Brown had been cleared in an internal probe by the university. A third painful episode unfolded last Saturday night at the Alamodome, as UTSA gave up a fourth-quarter lead and lost 36-31 to Old Dominion, a team that had lost five of its previous six. Meeting with the media Monday morning, Coker said he expects UTSA (1-8, 1-4) will play well on the road at Charlotte (2-7, 0-6) on Saturday. Nevertheless, the coach said recent events have been tough to handle, particularly the release of the EOS report that cleared him and offensive coordinator Kevin Brown of allegations that they discriminated against black players. “It’s very painful,” Coker said. “It’s a thing you don’t like. (We had a) thorough investigation (and) the investigation said there was no basis to the rumors. So that put a close to that. That’s what was written.” read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/utsa/2015/11/facing-adversity-coker-says-he-plans-to-coach-utsa-next-season/

Sounds like LB Drew Douglass apologized for his penalty and ejection. https://www.periscope.tv/w/1MYGNbVAQrRGw

UTSA: Athletic director Lynn Hickey has denied reports that a coaching change could be in the works and maintains that head coach Larry Coker will continue to lead the program through the 2018 season. Back in August of 2015 UTSA and Coker agreed to a five-year contract extension going through the 2018 season. The Roadrunners are currently 1-5. read more: http://footballscoop.com/the-scoop/

SAN ANTONIO — The “Original 18,” as they’re called, still get discussed with reverence around here. They were the ones who signed on to play for the University of Texas at San Antonio before there were even uniforms or facilities or a schedule. They were the ones who did nothing but practice for an entire year before playing the program’s first game in 2011. And they were the ones who guided UTSA from unlikely start-up to a team that was beating the likes of Houston in last fall’s season opener and nearly upsetting Arizona. But they were also, in reality, overachievers who largely wouldn’t have projected to be Football Bowl Subdivision players under normal circumstances. And now, they are gone, which is both the good news and bad news at UTSA. The departure of 36 seniors — the Original 18 and the class that came in behind them to field UTSA’s inaugural team — has given way to a new group that signed on to be part of a real Division I program, not a start-up. They are bigger, faster and more talented. They are also completely unproven, leaving UTSA as one of the nation’s youngest teams just a year after they were the most experienced team in FBS. “We moved up with guys that were recruited to play Division II and Division III,” senior cornerback Bennett Okotcha said. “They were great guys and they played well for us, but now we’re recruiting D-1 athletes to come play D-1 football and they’re doing a great job. Our talent keeps getting better. Sometimes it’s good especially for young guys to come in and play with no expectations. I feel like we’re really talented and we’re going to shock a lot of people.” Since UTSA football came into existence, almost everything has been a new experience, including the high expectations going into last season and the disappointment of going 4-8 after such a promising start. But this, in many ways, is a familiar spot for coach Larry Coker, who certainly wasn’t oblivious to the notion that he would essentially have to start over for a second time once his first group of recruits cycled out of the program. Just like back then, when UTSA announced its presence with an 8-4 record in its first year as an FBS member, there’s pretty much a clean slate and a big-time underdog vibe. Read more: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/utsa-football-original-18-coach-larry-coker

UTSA is in a rebuilding mode after losing 36 seniors, including 18 players who had been in the program since the Roadrunners' first workout in 2010. "It's kind of the computer term – reboot," UTSA coach Larry Coker said. "We're going to reboot. We've got some young guys coming in. We lost a lot of guys, but I like our talent. I like our energy. I like our coaching staff. We've got a lot of work to do. We're a work in progress, but I like where we are. "It is a fresh start, guys trying to prove themselves and earn positions, guys trying to earn positions, guys trying to earn playing time. There's no entitlement this year. We've got to earn everything we can get." Redshirt freshman Blake Bogenschutz, who missed most of last season with a broken hand, will start preseason workouts as the Roadrunners' No. 1 quarterback. Senior Russell Bellomy, a transfer from Michigan, and sophomore letterman Austin Robinson, who started four of eight games he played in last year, are listed as the team's No. 2 and No. 3 quarterbacks, respectively, in the team's first depth chart of the preseason. "I like all those guys," Coker said. "Russell coming in is going to add some competition. I'm excited about our competition at quarterback." read more: http://www.kens5.com/story/opinion/contributors/david-flores/2015/08/02/coker-utsa--reboot-after-losing-season-last-year/31040201/ Hmm that is interesting...

SAN ANTONIO -- There are home runs and then there are grand slams. UTSA hit the latter in 2009 when it hired Larry Coker, who guided Miami to the 2001 BCS national championship and came within a controversial call of leading the Hurricanes to another title the next year, as its first football coach. The Roadrunners have gone 19-15 in three seasons under Coker and came within one victory of advancing to the Conference USA championship game last year. On Thursday, the University of Texas System Board of Regents rewarded Coker with a new five-contract and raise that will run through the 2018 season. The new contract, effective Sept. 1, guarantees Coker $2.25 million over the next five years. He will be paid a base salary of $400,000 this year, with a $25,000 increase each subsequent year. Read more: http://www.kens5.com/story/opinion/contributors/david-flores/2014/08/22/coker-contract-extension/14432683/

To improve on last year's 7-5 finish, including a 6-2 record in conference, the Roadrunners must keep their top players healthy. On that front, they welcomed back three starters to the first fall practice who had missed all of spring camp with injuries. Starting center Nate Leonard (foot), defensive tackle Ashaad Mabry (hernia) and safety Brian King (shoulder) opened camp on the top line of the depth chart at their respective positions. All are expected to take part in the grind of late-summer practices leading into the Aug. 29 season opener at Houston. Never shy about expressing an opinion, Leonard said UTSA plans to win the conference and even suggested that the team could make a run into the Top 25. “I think that we will finish first (in C-USA),” he said. “I'm a little surprised that we weren't picked last, like every other year. But I do believe we will win conference.” Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_sports/utsa/article/Notoriety-doesn-t-change-ultimate-goal-for-UTSA-5665132.php?

A few schools have a head start in that regard. UTEP and Rice have been playing annually since 1996 when they were in the WAC together and both jumped to C-USA in 2005. Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss have some history that will now be enhanced with Southern Miss moving to the Western Division, while Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee were geographic rivals in the Sun Belt who are now reunited in C-USA. As one of the nation's newest programs, the fourth year team at UTSA doesn't have much history on its side, but can develop some quickly. "I'll say it will be Rice, North Texas," Roadrunner offensive lineman Scott Inskeep said. "It's all still fairly new competition, but we can all sense it coming. There's going to be rivalries with all the Texas schools. We're still all getting to know each other." "Not everybody can jump on a plane and fly; our fans can drive to Houston," UTSA coach Larry Coker said. "North Texas could be a good rivalry for us." Read more: http://www.elpasotimes.com/sports/ci_26203930/realignment-settling-c-usa-schools-can-finally-find

SAN ANTONIO — Decked out in hand casts, wrist tape and full pads, the UTSA Roadrunners summoned the type of enthusiasm Tuesday that has carried them through a long and successful season. Players sprinted from station to station. Coaches barked, ‘Let’s win a championship.’ Feeling the fever of the Conference USA title race, 65-year-old UTSA head coach Larry Coker executed a flying body bump with running back Evans Okotcha just after the team hit the practice field at 7:15 a.m. “The guys had good energy today,” Coker said. ”Of course, we had a shorter practice. The guys had a day off yesterday, which I think was good. I think our guys are going to be ready to play on Saturday.” Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/utsa/2013/11/utsa-feels-the-championship-fever-leading-into-north-texas/

UTSA is working to sign head football coach Larry Coker to a long-term contract extension, athletic director Lynn Hickey said Tuesday night. Coker’s contract runs through the 2015 football season. Hickey declined to comment on financial terms or the duration of the proposed deal. “Just say that we’re working on the details and that we need to move it to the (UT System) Board of Regents before we release any of those details,” she said. ”But we are working toward that and certainly want him to be with our program for several more years.” Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/utsa/2013/11/hickey-says-utsa-coker-in-contract-extension-talks/

"I stumbled onto the UNT forum and damn do they have a hard-on for UTSA or what? I can't believe how much hatred they have for UTSA already and we've never even played. I get the feeling they're scared at the rate at which UTSA has risen to competitiveness and, much like the Teachers College in San Marcos, see UTSA crushing them very soon in Texas recruiting and therefore, on the field. In 3 years when UTSA is playing on regional TV every weekend because of market size & a new winning tradition... UNT will simply be another mid-major trying to pick up UTSA's leftovers that no one outside of Denton will give a crap about... Oh wait, they've already achieved that part. No one in SA or South Texas gives a flying fart about UNT. We have our sights set way higher than that and yet the Weaner Green already have a huge chip on their shoulder about UTSA. If their forums are any indication, there are no bigger A-hole fans in Texas than in Denton. Either that or they seriously need to get laid." Read more: http://www.rowdytalk.com/showthread.php/4049-Congratz-on-the-win!-Huge-game-coming-in-Denton!/page4

UTSA running back David Glasco II hasn’t been ruled out for Saturday’s game at North Texas. But UTSA coach Larry Coker on Monday acknowledged concern over what he described as a case of plantar fasciitis in one of Glasco’s feet. The plantar fascia is the tissue that connects the heel to the toes. A strained plantar fascia can result in swelling in the tissue, which makes it hard to walk or run, according to information on webmd.com. Glasco, the team’s leading rusher, hurt the foot two days before UTSA’s Nov. 9 home game against Tulane. Because of the injury, he sat out the Tulane game, his first miss of the season. “He did a little bit yesterday (in practice),” Coker said. ”The rest of the guys are fine. (Running back) Evans (Okotcha) was fine. (Defensive end) William Ritter was good. Everyone was there. But David, I’m a little concerned about. He practiced, but he was not full speed.” Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/utsa/2013/11/utsas-coker-a-little-concerned-about-david-glasco-ii/

5. North Texas (7-3, 5-1, next game Saturday vs. UTSA) — Dan McCarney’s coaching job with the Mean Green has to rank among his most satisfying and best in his career. North Texas took Saturday off and can take care of the C-USA West Division title by winning out. They already have the tiebreaker over Rice and can take another step to the championship game when upstart UTSA visits. 9. UTSA (5-5, 4-2, next game Saturday @ North Texas) — The Roadrunners had the week off to prepare for a huge upcoming challenge at North Texas with a share of first place in the C-USA West Division at stake. Larry Coker no doubt spent a lot of time during his preparation telling his offense how to protect against UNT LB Zach Orr, who has become the conference’s top defender. Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/big12/2013/11/baylor-still-sitting-at-no-1-in-this-weeks-dirty-dozen/

IRVING — UTSA quarterback Eric Soza barely had time to check into his hotel room Tuesday afternoon when he was summoned to do a live radio interview with broadcasters from Louisiana covering the Conference USA media days. One of the first questions to him centered on how he felt about UTSA’s schedule, the toughest by far in the program’s existence. Soza answered by saying he’s excited to compete in C-USA and that he welcomed the opportunity to play the ”big dogs” of college football this fall. “One of the things that brought recruits to UTSA (initially) is that the administration told us we were going to play Division I football,” Soza said. “(Administrators told us) if we’re in a Division I conference or not, we’re going to play these guys. “I think that put a chip on our shoulders. We want to see how good we are . . . We want to play the big dogs.” Soza agreed that moving into Conference USA, in only the program’s third year, has been something of a whirlwind. “For sure, it’s a great problem to have, (moving) this fast into the FBS, into Division I,” the 6-foot senior from Beeville said. “I don’t think anyone at UTSA knew we were going to be doing it at this speed. It’s a great problem to have. We’re excited to get to work and (play) in this great conference.” UTSA played its inaugural season in 2011 as an FCS independent, posting a 4-6 record against a schedule dotted with opponents from the FCS, Division II and Division III. Last year, fielding a team consisting of only 67 scholarship athletes, the Roadrunners moved up a level into the FBS Western Athletic Conference. They executed dramatic internal improvement, finishing 8-4, including 4-4 against FBS programs with 85 scholarships. They finished fourth in the WAC at 3-3. Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/utsa/2013/07/utsas-soza-welcomes-chance-to-play-with-big-dogs-this-year/

UTSA set an attendance record of 56,743 against Northeastern State, has averaged 35,521 for home games through two seasons and has a coach with a national championship on his resume. All of this in just two seasons. "It is almost like this was meant to be," said UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey. "All of it, from the first time we talked about football, has been the greatest experience. "This move up to FBS football (and into Conference USA) has been much faster than any of us expected. We are ahead of schedule. I don't know if we realize the magnitude of everything we've already accomplished." From no football to crowds that would make several dozen FBS schools jealous, including much of the current C-USA, UTSA's story is one of the most inspiring in college football. College football takes center stage on Monday when the Big 12 Conference media days, including Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, kick off a two-day press frenzy in Dallas. Conference USA, featuring defending champion Tulsa, will hold its media day on Wednesday in Dallas. The Roadrunners will play their first BCS home game when Oklahoma State goes to the Alamodome on Sept. 7. It is part of the toughest non-conference schedule any FBS team in Texas will play this fall. UTSA also plays Arizona and New Mexico before jumping into its first season in C-USA. Okemah native Larry Coker, hired to build UTSA football from the ground up, begins his third season there this fall. "To see where we are now and to remember where we were when Larry got to San Antonio are two different worlds," said Hickey. "It has been quite a ride. "Larry has coached a national championship team (at Miami) yet never complained once when he got here and his office was in a trailer. He's been great. He's worked so hard to make sure we've done everything the right way and he's gone to every event we've asked to try to build our fan base from nothing." It is apparently working. UTSA apparently has a very strong fan base and growing. Hickey, a native of Welch, Okla., said when she first went to UTSA as athletic director she was asked what she thought about the school adding football. "I told them at the time I thought it was very expensive and bad idea," said Welch. "I just thought it was cost prohibitive at the time for us to think about it. Obviously, I've changed my mind. Read more: http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/UTSA_not_just_another_school/20130722_203_B1_CUTLIN606551

When Lynn Hickey interviewed for the Texas-San Antonio athletic director job in 1999, UTSA President Ricardo Romo asked her if the school should consider adding football. Hickey told him no. “It was cost prohibitive,” Hickey said. She told Romo, “Be good at what you've got.” Hickey got the job. And a year later realized she had said the wrong thing. The top-selling T-shirt in the university bookstore proclaimed “UTSA football still undefeated.” The largely commuter school of 16,000-17,000 students had no identity and little campus life. On Sept. 7, Texas-San Antonio, in its third season of football and its second of Division I-A, hosts Oklahoma State in the Alamodome. Football is part of a Roadrunner success story. The Texas Legislature has declared UTSA an emerging Tier I university. Enrollment is up to 31,000, with many of those students now living on campus. The school has almost as many students from Harris County (Houston) as Bexar County (San Antonio). And UTSA football, while nowhere near undefeated, has drawn as many as 57,000 fans to the Alamodome for a game. “We didn't have any identity,” Hickey said. “Football has helped us change our persona. In Texas, kids grow up with football.” Hickey said UTSA once was a “but” school. As in, I go to UTSA, “but” I'm saving up to go somewhere else. And it was a bunch of Oklahomans who made the buts disappear. * * * When UTSA played its first game ever, Sept. 3, 2011, the city of San Antonio got quite emotional. Sports radio callers were moved to tears as they discussed the launch of the program. As Hickey walked through the pregame tailgating, she got marriage proposals. When UTSA's spanking-new marching band, 250 musicians strong, took the field, “people were blown away,” Hickey said. “It's been fun. It's a dream thing. How many people get a chance to build this? We've established a game experience for these students.” The Roadrunners won that inaugural game 31-3 over Tahlequah's Northeastern State, their coach's alma mater. Such symmetry seemed fitting. Hickey, 62, grew up in the Green Country town of Welch, where she was Lynn Sooter and scored 2,654 points in high school basketball. All four of her siblings were collegiate athletes, including brother Mark, who played basketball at OU. Hickey went to Ouachita Baptist, then got into coaching. She was on the OU women's staff in 1977-79, then Hickey became head coach at Kansas State (hired by DeLoss Dodds) and eventually Texas A&M (hired by John David Crow). Hickey became an associate athletic director at A&M. Hickey's Oklahoma ties are deep. When Hickey's mother was 19, she was a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Hitchita, halfway between Henryetta and Checotah in eastern Oklahoma. Among her students were Bill Self Sr., who became a longtime executive director of the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association and father of the Kansas basketball coach. Bill Sr.'s brother, Jeff, rented a pasture outside Hitchita from the family of Brad Parrott. Parrott grew up in Midwest City, went to then-Central State University and became a sports writer for the Oklahoma City Times. Parrott entered the corporate world, eventually made vice president at Southwestern Bell and retired from what is now AT&T, joining Hickey's staff as an associate athletic director for external affairs. Parrott spearheaded the fundraising and corporate/civic partnerships that made football possible at UTSA. When Parrott was with the Times, he once covered a Luther-Fairfax playoff game. Fairfax that night was coached by Larry Coker, who had grown up in Okemah, just down the road from Hitchita. Today, Coker is head coach at UTSA. His career has included stops as offensive coordinator at Tulsa U., OSU and OU, and six years as head coach at Miami, where his Hurricanes were 60-15 overall and 2001 national champions. Coker's defensive coordinator is Neal Neathery, who grew up in Stillwater and whose father was an OSU professor and Coker's Sunday school teacher during his Cowboy days. More OSU ties for UTSA: both Roadrunner basketball coaches are OSU graduates. Rae Rippetoe Blair was a Cowgirl player and assistant coach. Brooks Thompson was a star under Eddie Sutton. And Coker's defensive line coach, Eric Roark, played at OSU from 1979-82 for Jimmy Johnson. Read more: http://newsok.com/article/3864477

Well, you know what? Coker said. It's probably a good place to be, and I sure can understand that. I think we were picked last in the WAC last year. I saw where we're picked seventh (in the C-USA West) and Oklahoma State was picked in one poll to win the Big 12. So, we've got our work cut out for us. UTSA opens on Aug. 31 at New Mexico and returns home the next week to play Oklahoma State, its first game in history against a Big 12 opponent. A brutal month continues with a road game the following week at Arizona, followed by its C-USA opener at UTEP and a home game against Houston. One message Coker likely will send to his players in training camp, which opens Aug. 6, will center on how they shouldn't allow other coaches or commentators to author the narrative for their season. Hey, don't let people label us, the coach said. If we're seventh, we're seventh. But let's decide that, how we play and who we play. I know that's coach speak. But that's how we're going to approach it. For the Roadrunners, who finished 8-4 last year, the season's opening weeks could be revealing. You know, the first five games are going to tell a lot about us, Coker said. But I just think we'll be better than people think we're supposed to be. The closing stretch all in conference includes Marshall, Rice, UAB, Tulsa, Tulane, North Texas and Louisiana Tech. Marshall, Tulsa and North Texas are on the road. Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_sports/local_colleges/article/Coker-brushes-off-C-USA-poll-snub-4675549.php

UTSA football coach Larry Coker and athletic director Lynn Hickey both share optimism about the promise of a strong Conference USA in coming seasons. But Coker on Wednesday lamented the announced departure of defending C-USA football champion Tulsa in the latest wave of realignment. “Well, I guess it's not surprising,” the coach told reporters after practice at Farris Stadium. “You guys have probably followed it more closely than I have. But I am disappointed in losing Tulsa.” A day after C-USA accepted Western Kentucky into the fold, Tulsa on Tuesday announced that it would be leaving for the conference formally known as the Big East. The changes will take place on July 1, 2014. UTSA moves into C-USA in all sports on July 1. The Roadrunners will play in the C-USA West Division in football this fall along with Tulsa, Tulane, Louisiana Tech, Rice, North Texas and UTEP. In Coker's perfect world, he wouldn't mind if Houston and SMU could be added to that mix. Of course, that's nothing more than wishful thinking, as both will open play this fall in a group that includes a mix of FBS programs from the old Big East and recent C-USA defectors. “I like the regional makeup of our league,” Coker said. “I'd love to see Houston and SMU come back this way. Who knows what's going to happen?” Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_sports/local_colleges/article/Coker-laments-Tulsa-s-departure-from-C-USA-4407476.php#ixzz2PReZFegg

UTSA officials on Tuesday expressed surprise that both Tulane and East Carolina from Conference USA have accepted invitations to join the Big East. “The soap opera continues,” UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey said. UTSA will be affected by the moves because it is joining Conference USA in 2013. Tulane and East Carolina are both headed for the Big East in 2014. Tulane is moving in all sports. East Carolina is moving in football only. “I was very surprised,” Hickey said. “I had no idea anything was going on. But I have a lot of confidence in (C-USA commissioner) Britton (Banowsky). He’s great (thinking) on his feet.” UTSA coach Larry Coker said he thinks Conference USA will be fielding calls from schools seeking membership. Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/utsa/2012/11/utsa-officials-surprised-at-c-usa-defections/