The I-35 Rivalry (officially the I-35 Maroon vs. Orange Rivalry Series) is a
college rivalry
Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a university or college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry, whic ...
between the
Texas State University
Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...
Bobcats
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus ''Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the con ...
(TXST) and the
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA or UT San Antonio) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Established in 1969,Roadrunners (UTSA). It is named for the
Interstate Highway
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...
that connects San Marcos, Texas, and San Antonio, Texas, the respective sites of both
universities
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
.
History
Series results
Start of a big rivalry (1991)
The rivalry dates back to 1991, when the
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA or UT San Antonio) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Established in 1969,Southland Conference
The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...
.
Southwest Texas State University
Texas State University (TXST) is a public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to be one of the largest univer ...
, which had jumped in the conference only four years prior, is located less than 60 miles from the UTSA main campus. Due to their proximity, conference membership, and status as emerging research universities, the rivalry began to develop. It was fostered by a desire to bring attention to collegiate athletics in
Central Texas
Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...
."I-35 Orange vs. Maroon Rivalry" . Texas State University Pride and Traditions. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
Eventually, a trophy was utilized in the mid-1990s to recognize the winner of the annual men's basketball game between the two universities.I-35 "Orange vs. Maroon Rivalry Series" goUTSA.com. Retrieved December 3, 2013. In 2007, the competition was expanded to all sports, with the new I-35 Series Trophy being awarded to the winner. Prior to this new moniker and point-based scheme, the rivalry's name was unofficial, with the term "I-35 rivalry" being used by other schools and teams to label their own athletic competitions.
In 2003, "Southwest Texas State University" became "Texas State University—San Marcos", a move designed to help propel the school from a regional institution to a recognized, tier one university, a similar direction that UTSA had envisioned for itself. In 2009, the University of Texas at San Antonio was designated as one of seven emerging tier one universities in the state. Texas State years after its rival, was upgraded to emerging tier one university status in January 2012 by the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is an agency of the U.S. state of Texas's government that oversees all public post-secondary education in the state. It is headquartered at 1801 North Congress Avenue in Austin.
THECB dete ...
. In 2013, "Texas State University—San Marcos" was renamed to simply "Texas State University", the school's seventh name in the history of its existence. The university's administration saw the new name both as a clarification due to its identity issues and a step away from local identity.
Western Athletic Conference (2012)
In 2012, big changes to the rivalry occurred. With the addition of both UTSA and Texas State to the
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington.
Due to ...
(WAC), the two schools met each other for the first time on a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
field. The game, which took place on November 24, 2012, was heavily promoted by both teams. 39,032 fans witnessed the rivalry's first-ever football game, the highest attendance of any game on both teams' schedules and the most-attended conference game in the WAC that year. Although the game remained close throughout its duration, UTSA emerged victorious, 38–31, in its home field at the
Alamodome
The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...
. The teams signed contracts with two different conferences that year, with UTSA heading to
Conference USA
Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
Mem ...
(C-USA) and Texas State going to the
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...
(SBC).
Future of the rivalry (2013–present)
With the Bobcats and Roadrunners parting ways to different conferences in 2013, the fate of the rivalry remained uncertain.
On May 23, 2014, both Texas State and UTSA both announced an eight-game football series starting in 2017 in San Marcos. "With the proximity and similarities that we have, this could develop into a special college football rivalry," stated by the Texas State head coach
Dennis Franchione
Dennis Wayne Franchione (born March 28, 1951) is an American former college football coach. He is the former head football coach at Texas State University–San Marcos, Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school ...
."Texas State, UTSA Schedule Eight-Game Football Series" FBSchedules. Retrieved May 23, 2014. On January 23, 2020, Texas State and UTSA announced a further extension of the football series to 2031. However, scheduling beyond 2022 is subject to change, as the SBC expanded to 14 members in 2022, and UTSA will move from C-USA to the
American Athletic Conference
The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...
in 2023, bringing that league to 14 football members.
Game results
Men's basketball
Football
Footnotes
See also
*
List of NCAA college football rivalry games
This is a list of List of sports rivalries, rivalry games in college football. The list also shows any trophy awarded to the winner of the rivalry between the teams.
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
...