San Antonio welcomed the Saints temporarily to the Alamodome in 2005. What if the Saints had stayed in San Antonio? How would that affect a future UTSA football program?
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In the spring of 2005 the New Orleans Saints, owned by San Antonian Tom Benson, were looking at a future outside of the Crescent City. Benson and the State of Louisiana, owners of the Superdome, were arguing over money. Reports were that Benson was looking to move the team to either San Antonio, Albuquerque or Los Angeles.
San Antonio in the spring of 2005 had a ready made stadium, the Alamodome that at the time was only 12 years old. It was also a city without major football as UTSA was still two years away from the student vote of support and three years from board of regents approval to start football.
In August of 2005 Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans and heavily damaged the Superdome. The Saints were forced into a nomadic existence in 2005, playing four home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, one game in New York and three games in the Alamodome.
With the damage to New Orleans the Saints were looked on in a different light in Louisiana. Even though they averaged 62,665 fans in San Antonio it became apparent that the NFL wouldn't let the Saints leave New Orleans because of the hurricane.
By the start of the 2006 season the Saints were back in the Superdome. San Antonio would have to wait until 2011 to get big-time football in the Alamodome. But what if the Saints had already decided on the move before Katrina? How do the San Antonio Saints affect an at that time still non-existent UTSA football?
If the Saints stay in San Antonio does that mean UTSA doesn't get the use of the Alamodome?
When UTSA was starting football in the 2008-09 academic school year they were also looking for a home to play in. They were fortunate for a startup program in that there was a 65,000 seat stadium in downtown San Antonio looking for a permanent resident.
In 2011 the Roadrunners set up shop in the Alamodome with a one year lease. Before that first season is finished that lease grows into a 25-year lease through the 2035 season. The program sets records for attendance in that first year because they play for a city starved for football.
If, however, the Saints had set up shop in San Antonio permanently during or after the 2005 season the Roadrunners might find themselves without the use of the Alamodome.
In 2005 or 06 Tom Benson makes good on his threats and the Saints arrive in San Antonio. New Orleans had a near miss with Hurricane Katrina which turned more easterly at the last minute to cause heavy damage in Mississippi and Alabama. The Alamo City quickly embraces their new team and owing to the number of Missions and the city being named for a saint the team doesn't need to change its name. The Alamo City adds Black and Gold into its wardrobe of the Spurs Silver and Black and Fiesta colors.
Let us imagine that the San Antonio Saints make the same decisions they made in reality. Sean Payton and Drew Brees arrive in the Alamo City prior to the 2006 season. The people of San Antonio go wild for their Saints and are rewarded with a win in Super Bowl XLIV at the end of the 2009 season.
To reward the Saints on bringing a Lombardi trophy to town, the city decides to build a new 75,000-seat stadium for the Saints across I-37 from the Alamodome (The expansion of the Convention Center ties into the new stadium). The New Alamodome takes the place of the Institute of Texan Cultures which moves to another location.
In 2007 the students of UTSA still vote to approve a football program. In 2008 the board of regents approves the creation and UTSA Football conducts its coaching search as it did in real life. Now though the Roadrunners look for a big name coach because they want to get in on the football glory going on in the Alamo City. Larry Coker is announced as the new head coach. But now there is the issue of a new home for the Birds.
Is the Alamodome big enough for two tenants? Do the Saints welcome the Roadrunners or try and squash them?
With the Saints coming to San Antonio and finding immediate success the need for a new stadium is apparent. It is possible in this scenario that the Saints see the Roadrunners as another chance to put down roots in the Alamo City. They did share the Superdome with Tulane before they departed for San Antonio.
However with a new stadium in the works the Saints and Roadrunners living arrangements are short lived. When the New Alamodome is completed in 2014 the old one will be torn down. UTSA seeing how small the crowds were in the ALamodome during their first season work with the county to build an on campus stadium that can also be used to host track and field events.
The Roadrunners play three seasons in the Alamodome before opening a 30,000 seat stadium in what was once the Maverick Creek Subdivision between UTSA Boulevard and Hausman Road.
The first game in the new stadium is played in September 2014. The next week the Saints open the New Alamodome with a visit from the Dallas Cowboys. A few years ago the Cowboy fans outnumbered the Saints fans in San Antonio but by now the city has mostly changed their silver and blue in for black and gold. The site of the old Alamodome becomes Lot D for the New Alamodome.
UTSA football still joins the WAC in 2012 but in 2013 decide to try their luck in the Sun Belt. The Roadrunners still schedule a tough non-conference schedule and try to play one or two games a year at the New Alamodome when the opponent is big enough.
The San Antonio Saints go through the Bountygate scandal and entrench themselves even deeper into the city's hearts. San Antonio proves it can support more than the Spurs who still win their fifth NBA championship in 2014. Sean Payton and Gregg Popovich even team up to create a wine that sells out at all local HEB locations. Rumors are it pairs well with barbecue. Drew Brees and Tim Duncan star together in HEB commercials peddling Pop-Pay Wine.
In the spring of 2018 the San Antonio Saints trade up to the 14th pick and select a defensive end out of UTSA by the name of Marcus Davenport. Any doubts people had about San Antonio's football are laid to rest. Not just San Antonio but all of South Texas and even parts of Austin have fallen in love with the San Antonio Saints. Now though the SA Saints have a playoff problem. For three straight years they lose in the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion, including a missed pass interference call.
What might today's Roadrunner program look like if the Saints had marched in for a permanent stay?
In a world where San Antonio is home to the Saints the UTSA Roadrunners don't start out as the food to feed the football starved Alamo City because with the Saints the city would be well fed. UTSA likely still starts a football program but the Roadrunners will play third fiddle behind the Spurs and Saints.
The Saints in San Antonio also likely means the Alamo City never plays host to the Arena Football League's Talons between 2012 and 2014. It also likely means no AAF Commanders in 2019.
I think most San Antonians would trade both the Talons and the Commanders if it meant they got the Saints.
For UTSA the Saints in town though does make it hard to grow their fanbase. In reality the Roadrunners are already competing with established college teams like the Longhorns and Aggies. In this scenario they would be competing with the Saints for fans. However its possible that San Antonians could be both Saints and Roadrunner fans.
A New Alamodome would also likely lead to San Antonio hosting a Super Bowl and the NFL would get to see what the NCAA already knows, that San Antonio knows how to throw a party. The NFL would move quickly to host a future draft in San Antonio and it would make that year's Fiesta one that would be remembered for years to come.
The Saints drafting hometown kid Marcus Davenport in 2018 would definitely help UTSA's football program both locally and nationally. There would probably be a Sportscenter segment on the kid whose football career has played out in the same city and become the embodiment of the Saints succcess in San Antonio.
So if the Saints had come marching in it would have made things both tough and beneficial for UTSA football. A generation of San Antonio football players could grow up with the dream of playing in the New Alamodome for the Saints.
And San Antonio would have something to lord over both Dallas and Houston: a Vince Lombardi trophy in this millennium.
NEXT WEEK: What If...The early 2010s conference realignment and the Roadrunners
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