For more than a decade, the Battle for I-35 between Texas State and UTSA had a predictable rhythm on the football field: the Bobcats would show up, the Roadrunners would win, and San Antonio would keep the bragging rights for another year. Five straight football meetings, five UTSA victories. Some were blowouts, some were heartbreakers — the 2020 double-overtime thriller in San Marcos ended 51-48 after a missed Bobcat field goal on fourth down — but the result was always the same.
Then 2024 happened.
From Doormat to Dominant
Texas State didn’t just beat UTSA for the first time in program history on September 7, 2024. They demolished them, 49-10, at UFCU Stadium — the largest margin of victory in the rivalry’s history, in either direction.
A year later came the harder test. UTSA had never lost to Texas State at the Alamodome, and under Jeff Traylor the Roadrunners had built one of the nastiest home-field advantages in Texas — a 29-3 record in San Antonio entering the game. UTSA threw everything at it: an Orange Out, hopes of breaking the program’s all-time attendance record, and a running back in Robert Henry Jr. fresh off gashing a ranked Texas A&M defense for 177 yards. Didn’t matter. The Bobcats fell behind early, then outscored UTSA 41-22 over the middle quarters and held on, 43-36, for their first-ever win in the dome.
UTSA still leads the all-time football series 5-2, but the momentum has swung completely. The team that couldn’t buy a win in this matchup now owns a two-game streak, the two most recent memories, and a road win in the one building where they’d never gotten it done.
Why This Rivalry Hits Different
On paper, it’s a young football rivalry — the first game was only played in 2012, when both schools briefly shared the Western Athletic Conference. But the roots go back to 1991, when UTSA joined Texas State (then Southwest Texas State) in the Southland Conference. Two emerging universities, less than 60 miles apart on the same interstate, competing for the same recruits, the same fans, and the same claim to Central Texas.
That proximity is the fuel. San Marcos and San Antonio are about an hour apart, which means both fan bases travel, and the atmosphere shows it. The inaugural 2012 game drew over 39,000 to the Alamodome — the biggest crowd either team saw that season. The 2017 meeting set a then-record of more than 31,000 in San Marcos. The 2023 game drew over 49,000 in San Antonio, the second-largest home crowd in UTSA history. Coaches on both sides have talked openly about how many players in the series were recruited by the other school — this is a rivalry where the rosters literally overlap.
It’s Not Just Football
The schools compete for the I-35 Series Trophy across football, basketball, and the full slate of Olympic sports, a points-based competition formalized in 2007 — and the balance of power looks very different depending on which field you’re standing on.
On the hardwood, UTSA holds a commanding 37-27 edge in men’s basketball dating back to 1985 — though Texas State has taken the last two meetings there too, including an 80-69 win in San Marcos this past November.
On the diamond, it’s the opposite story: the Bobcats own baseball, leading the all-time series 64-43 since 1992, including a 10-game win streak from 2009 to 2012. But that front has gotten heated lately. UTSA has won six of the last ten baseball meetings, capped by a 19-4 demolition of the Bobcats in San Antonio this past May — hanging 16 runs in the first three innings — a game that reportedly boiled over into a postgame shoving match between the two coaching staffs. Yes, really. That’s where this rivalry is right now.
Softball is Bobcat country too, and emphatically so: Texas State leads 38-17 all-time, rode an 11-game win streak from 2020 to 2025, and swept all three 2026 meetings. The April shutout in San Marcos even doubled as a milestone — career win number 900 for longtime Bobcat coach Ricci Woodard, earned at UTSA’s expense. Volleyball might be the most lopsided front of all: Texas State leads 26-7 since 2004, has won six straight, and is a staggering 13-1 against the Roadrunners in San Marcos. Women’s soccer leans maroon as well, with Texas State holding a 6-4-2 series edge after a 1-0 win in the most recent meeting.
Translation: no matter the season, somebody along I-35 has a score to settle — and lately, tempers to match.
The New Era
Here’s where it gets interesting. The rivalry has already survived one conference breakup — the schools split after a single season together in the WAC, with Texas State heading to the Sun Belt and UTSA eventually landing in the American Conference. Rather than let the series die, the athletic departments signed a home-and-home agreement in 2014 and later extended it through 2031.
Now comes the biggest shakeup yet: Texas State is officially a Pac-12 program as of 2026. A rivalry that started between two Southland Conference schools trying to get noticed will now feature a power-conference Bobcat squad — one coming off back-to-back bowl wins, no less.
Circle the Date
The next football chapter arrives September 12, 2026, in San Marcos, and the stakes have never been juicier. UTSA wants to stop the bleeding and reassert a decade of dominance. Texas State wants to prove the last two years weren’t a fluke — and that the balance of power along I-35 has permanently shifted 60 miles north. Five days later, the volleyball teams renew hostilities in San Antonio on September 17 — because in this rivalry, there’s always another game right around the corner.
Either way, somebody’s fan base is making a very loud drive home on the interstate that gave this rivalry its name. Think you know who? Lock in your prediction for Texas State vs. UTSA before kickoff.
Football: UTSA leads 5-2 (TXST won last 2) • Men’s basketball: UTSA leads 37-27 (TXST won last 2) • Baseball: TXST leads 64-43 (UTSA won last 1) • Softball: TXST leads 38-17 (TXST won last 3) • Volleyball: TXST leads 26-7 (TXST won last 6) • Women’s soccer: TXST leads 6-4-2 • Next football meeting: September 12, 2026
