UTSA an-nounced the decision Thursday. A news conference is scheduled for today.
UTSA plans to play its first season in 2011 in the Football Championship Subdivision. Coker was among three finalists for the job, along with Tulsa assistant Paul Randolph and Northwest Missouri State coach Mel Tjeerdsma.
A phone message left at Coker’s home in Florida on Thursday was not immediately returned.
Coker, who has been working for ESPN as a college football analyst, went 60-15 with the Hurricanes and led them to the 2001 national championship. He was fired in 2006 after a tumultuous season in which the team went 6-6.
That season was marred by problems off the field, including an infamous brawl during a game against Florida International that resulted in the suspension of 31 players. Coker has talked of returning to coaching since being fired, and his name has been linked to several openings.
Coker reached the pinnacle of college football in 2001, guiding Miami to a 12-0 record and a national championship in his rookie season as a head coach.
Now, the 60-year-old Oklahoma native will pilot a program just getting off the ground.
San Antonio is the largest city in the nation without an NFL or Division I-A football team. UTSA has about 28,000 students, and an overwhelming majority approved a referendum in 2007 that served as a major step in establishing a football program.
The Roadrunners plan to play in the Alamodome, a 65,000-seat downtown stadium built in 1993.
