Here’s how much UTSA is getting to play Texas football as part of a five-game guaranteed contract

UTEP athletic director Lisa Campos was always asked the same question when she first took the job in San Antonio in 2017.

“Why haven’t we played UT?” Campos told the San Antonio Express-News in 2021. “That’s something I have heard, very clear.”

In 2021, Campos found $8.52 million reasons to have the Roadrunners play the Longhorns a bunch of times. That’s how much the flagship school in the UT System will pay its sister member down Interstate 35 for a five-game series that stretches out through 2030.

The first matchup came in 2022 with the Longhorns winning 41-20. They’ll meet again Saturday, and future games are scheduled for 2026, 2028 and 2030. Texas started with a $1 million guaranteed payout and it escalates over time, maxing out to $8.52 million over the life of the deal.

Related: This former UTSA Roadrunner is making an impact after transferring to the Texas Longhorns

“First of all, it's good for the state,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Wednesday on the SEC coaches’ teleconference. “I think it’s great that we do play teams in our own state. I think it’s great for their brand. I think it’s good for our brand. I think it creates a really good environment at DKR.”

Regardless of whether the SEC settles on an eight- or nine-game conference format, Texas still has to plug schedule holes. The Longhorns are content to fill those games with members of the UT System. In addition to playing UTSA, Texas has committed to playing UTEP in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031.

The only games currently scheduled out beyond that is a home-and-home series against Arizona State in 2032-33.

Why not Texas Tech, Baylor or SMU? UT athletic director Chris Del Conte has said numerous times he’s open to conversations about playing those teams as long as they’ll come to Royal-Memorial Stadium.

UTSA was more than happy to play Texas. Coach Jeff Traylor had an veteran team that was itching to prove itself to the big school. The Roadrunners had a terrific accounting of themselves before ultimately running out of gas.

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This year, it’s dramatically different. UTSA is in rebuild mode after going 9-4 last season and losing multiple transfers. One of those, defensive end Trey Moore, now plays for the Longhorns.

The Longhorns were a different team in 2022 as well. That team would go on to finish 8-5 in quarterback Quinn Ewers’ first year as a starter. Now, Ewers is a Heisman favorite leading a stacked team that is currently ranked second in the AP Top 25 poll.

“They’re a dangerous football team,” Sarkisian said. “They’ve won a bunch of games. They know how to win. They believe in their style and the way they play the game.

“So these are always challenging games, right? Because of the psyche of a player,” Sarkisian said. “If you start to prepare based on the helmet or the uniform the other team wears, that’s how you get beat. You've got to prepare to our standard within our organization, not to what you think of the opponent one way or the other.”