1969年以前，圣安东尼奥没有公立的四年制高等教育机构. 寻求解决当地的高需求, 高质量的教育机会, 由墨西哥裔美国人社区活动人士组成, 圣 安东尼奥 business leaders and political champions came together to create a university of the community, 通过社区和为社区服务.
从第一届82名毕业生中选出, 到将近35岁,今天有000名学生入学, 世界杯官方app has grown into 圣 安东尼奥's university and serves as a symbol of the city's upward trajectory.
Much like the city of 圣 安东尼奥, 世界杯官方app has experienced tremendous growth over the years.
知道德克萨斯大学的下一个校区将在圣安东尼奥, university leadership looked for spacious sites that provided plenty of room for future growth. 他们考虑了圣安东尼奥各地的选址， 从城市的南侧到市中心. Eventually leaders chose a 600-acre site at what is now the intersection of Interstate 10 and Highway 1604. 最初被农田和田地包围，世界杯官方app的 主校区带动了城市经济向北发展的进程, and set the stage for other major developments to locate in the area including USAA's headquarters, 医疗中心和德州大学健康中心 安东尼奥.
1970年，校园初具规模. 首席建筑师O'Neil Ford设计了一个 校园设计基于一个古老的欧洲城市中心广场和庭院由“paseos”(广场和庭院)连接 供散步的走道. 帮助校园建筑与现有景观融为一体, 使用了“德克萨斯混凝土”, 建筑材料的一种变化，带有柔和的米色. 精心策划的 景观 包括在夏天为学生遮荫的活橡树和落叶的红橡树. By 1976, construction of 世界杯官方app's Main Campus was complete and Roadrunners had an official home.
校园初始规模
第一届毕业班的人数
初始教师人数
The first 教师, staff and 学生 helped shape 世界杯官方app and set the stage for its future. 包括早期教师 托马斯里韦拉他是一位墨西哥裔作家、诗人和行政官员，但他倡导社会流动性 教育; 哈辛托Quirarte他是最早关注奇卡诺艺术的艺术史学家之一; 交易量达到佩纳, a bilingual educator and founder of the National Association for Bilingual Education; and 理查德·亚当斯, an 专门研究中美洲和玛雅文明的考古学家.
托马斯里韦拉
哈辛托Quirarte
交易量达到佩纳
理查德·亚当斯
1968年被证明是圣安东尼奥市的一个重要里程碑, 因为它标志着1718年这座城市成立250周年. 为了庆祝，社区举办了世界博览会 六个月的经历被称为半球博览会. 这次活动带来了圣安东尼奥一些最熟悉的地标, 包括德克萨斯文化研究所(ITC), 这凸显了文化 传统、故事和历史构成了德克萨斯的文化. In 1973, ITC成为世界杯官方app的一部分, and the university is currently envisioning what the next 50 years holds for this important Texas resource.
世界杯官方app hosted an election to determine a school mascot in what was to be a major milestone for the university. 考虑了许多选择, 包括犰狳, 星星, 鹰, 捷豹, 走鹃, 彪马, Toro(公牛)和vaquero(牛仔). 犰狳队和明星队赢得了选举，击败了竞选者. However, a voided election forced a second vote, and the 走鹃 staged a surprising comeback. 1977年12月12日，路跑鸟正式成为世界杯官方app的吉祥物.
By the 1990's, 世界杯官方app had been serving 学生 and 更大的圣安东尼奥社区 for 25 years. 着眼于未来25年, 世界杯官方app turned its sights on expanding the resources that would accommodate its growing student population and research efforts.
In 1995, bulldozers started to roll across what would be one of 世界杯官方app's largest developments since its founding, 一个新的18英亩的市中心校区. The Downtown Campus began as a need to provide an advanced four-year public education institution situated in the heart of 圣 安东尼奥 for the multi-cultural communities of South Texas. The city wanted to offer its urban population an opportunity to fulfill their educational dreams without having to travel outside of Loop 410. 为了解决这种缺失， Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Enterprises, Inc. 购置及赠予物业 between West Durango Boulevard and Buena Vista Street for the construction of the downtown campus. 到1997年，市中心校区正式开放，拥有四栋教学楼.
其他设施的发展很快就出现了, “路跑者”的创新研究和教育成就也是如此. In 1996, the university's first two PhDs were awarded in biology with a specialty in neurobiology. 同年, 学生会完成了一次大规模的扩建, 其中包括一家书店, 学生活动综合体, 和雷塔玛礼堂.
世界杯官方app was founded with the intention to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved populations. 以这一承诺为基础, 世界杯官方app继续对西班牙裔学生进行定位, 员工和教职员工的成长, 领导力与成功. 1994年，世界杯官方app被美国国务院指定为.S. Department of Education as a 西班牙裔服务机构 and in 2020 received the Seal of Excelencia, a national certification recognizing leadership in advancing Latino student success.
多年来, one of the defining characteristics of the downtown campus has been its eye-catching architecture. This is no accident; building architect Humberto Saldaña & Associates developed a plan to functionally and aesthetically connect the campus design to 圣 安东尼奥's core. 建筑面料的选择为三栋建筑——原生石灰石, 红色花岗岩, 砖, 砂岩, and glazed tiles – is intended to reflect design elements of some of 圣 安东尼奥's most significant buildings and connect the campus to the diverse neighborhoods throughout the city.
The 2000's – leading up to present day – have been marked by 世界杯官方app leadership in research, 体育运动, 以及对未来的规划. In 2009, 德克萨斯州议会通过了第4号提案, designating 世界杯官方app as an emerging research university and paving the path toward attaining the prestigious Carnegie R1 classification in 2022. 在教室和实验室外面, 世界杯官方app的世界杯官方app继续发展, 为跑路者提供了新的机会. In 2011, 世界杯官方app 体育运动 took a major leap forward when the first Roadrunner football team took to the field, 一群身穿橙色衣服的球迷为他欢呼, 蓝色的, 和白色的.
One of the most recent series of leadership steps taken have revolved around plans for the Downtown Campus. In 2017, the campus celebrated its 20th anniversary in a ceremony overseen by the then newly appointed 世界杯官方app President Eighmy. 在这次活动中，艾美宣布了一项计划 对市中心校区未来的新愿景, imagining it as a model urban-serving university and discussing plans to broaden the 世界杯官方app Downtown Campus' footprint. 为了支持这项倡议， 格雷厄姆·韦斯顿捐赠了1500万美元 for construction of a new School of Data Science and National Security Collaboration Center. These facilities now serve as a major connector between the university and the local community.
