USFL Welcomes Texas Outlaws, Adds Portland, Oregon.

Austin Statesman, June 12, 1987

San Marcos, Texas—At a joint press conference of the USFL and Texas State University, the Texas Outlaws were revealed as the newest USFL franchise. New in that the team represents the merger of the Oklahoma Outlaws and the San Antonio Gunslingers. The USFL had announced last month that the two franchises, each with their own issues surrounding ownership, location, and profitability, would merge to create a new 19th franchise for the spring football league. Today, the league, new Head Coach Woody Widenhofer, and new principal owner of the franchise William Tatham, made the details known.

The newly combined franchise would be known as the Outlaws and have opted to be known as the Texas Outlaws due to two significant changes in their home field. The first and most significant change is that the franchise will call Texas State University’s Bobcat Stadium home for 7 of the team’s annual 8 home games. Bobcat stadium, while not considerably larger than the Gunslingers’ former home at San Antonio’s Alamo Stadium, is a new facility, built in 1981 at TSU’s San Marcos campus. With additional temporary seating, the stadium is expected to hold up to 27,000 for Outlaws games each spring while retaining its lower capacity for the Bobcats fall season. The stadium also possesses significant modern amenities, including an enclosed press box, which Alamo Stadium, built in 1940, cannot provide. Bobcat Stadium is expected to serve as the Outlaws’ home on a limited basis, with the franchise relocating permanently to San Antonio upon completion of the Alamo Dome, slated to open in time for a 1991 spring football season.

Until the dome is available, the Texas Outlaws will play 7 games a year in San Marcos, halfway between San Antonio and the state capital, Austin. It is hoped that the combined populations of San Marcos, Austin and San Antonio will make for a significant fan base for the team. Additionally, the league has announced that they will expand upon the regional nature of the team through a unique endeavor related to the 8th home game of each of the next 3 seasons. The Outlaws will truly call the entire state of Texas home, with three games over three years scheduled for stadiums across the state. In their inaugural season, 1988, the Outlaws will play one game at TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium in Forth Worth. In 1989 they head across the state to play at UTEP’s Sun Bowl, and in their final year before relocating to the Alamo Dome, they will play one regular season game in Austin, at the University of Texas’s Memorial Stadium. The league has not determined if the statewide travel game will continue once the team is located permanently in the Alamo Dome in San Antonio.

In addition to the name and stadium information, the franchise has revealed their new logos and uniforms. The squad attempts to blend the black & red outlaw of the Oklahoma Outlaws with the Kelly, Royal and Silver of the Gunslingers. The result is a black-hatted outlaw, with a green kerchief, shown against a blue, silver, and black lone star. It is a logo fitting for a team named after the state, although the use of a blue and silver star as part of the logo certainly brought a few snickers and immediate references up to Dallas for those in attendance. The uniforms will look very similar to those of the former San Antonio Gunslingers, although the silver pants are now replaced by a white set and a blue set. The helmet will remain Kelly green, now with white, black, and royal blue stripes. The home jersey is royal blue, with white, silver, and green stripes. Overall, it is a solid look that will allow those with Gunslingers apparel to fit in with new fans wearing Outlaws gear.

With Texas representing a merger between two of the 1987 USFL expansion teams, a gap was left in the league’s roster. Commissioner Chet Simmons addressed this as part of his discussion of how the roster of the Outlaws will be built from the two feeder clubs. In discussing the upcoming roster draft, in which Texas and the league’s 20th franchise would pull players from the Oklahoma and San Antonio rosters, Mr. Simmons announced that the league has selected the ownership group and site for the 20th franchise. Of the three 1987 bids which were not approved for a squad this past season, the Portland bid, led by Nike sportswear CEO Phil Knight, has been approved as the 20th franchise, to begin play in 1988. While details were not forthcoming about the new team, it was confirmed that an agreement with Portland’s Civic Stadium is in place, and that the team identity would be announced within a few weeks.

The roster draft will precede the 1988 USFL Territorial and Open Draft in December, with an expectation that it may occur as early as September so that each club could also sign free agents and prepare for their collegiate draft strategy.

Tickets for the new Texas Outlaws will become available beginning August 1st. Fans in the Austin-San Antonio corridor can opt to purchase full 7-game packages or one of two “short stack” packages, one with 3 games, with the guarantee of the annual game against the Houston Gamblers, and one for 4 games, including matchups against two divisional foes. Each package will also include two non-division games, with the final divisional game being the non-San Marcos game. In 1988 this is likely to be New Orleans @ Texas.