"Iron Rowdy"
Overlooking the heart of campus is a 6-foot-tall, 11-foot-long, 1,000-pound iron statue of the school's mascot.
The dream to have a Rowdy statue on campus began with UTSA students. In 2010, several UTSA student organizations came together for a fundraising campaign, looking for a way to boost student spirit by creating a new tradition.
Then, in 2011, Jim Goodman, UTSA associate athletic director, saw Lubbock sculptor and blacksmith R.G. Box on TV's "Texas Country Reporter," saying he hoped to sculpt a large, iron roadrunner. It occurred to Goodman that Box might be the one to make a Rowdy statue, since he already had completed dozens of metal sculptures. R.G.took on the task, studying native roadrunners roaming his property as inspiration.
Finally in September 2013, the completed Rowdy sculpture arrived on campus, thanks to a student-led donor campaign called 'Bring Rowdy Home'.
Fun Fact: Each of Rowdy's 1,000 feathers is hand sculpted.