Thomas J. Henry Law has become a new jersey patch sponsor for UTSA's men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams, with the San Antonio personal injury firm's logo now stitched onto those uniforms. The firm has also landed a matching deal with UIW's men's basketball team, expanding its footprint across two San Antonio college sports programs in the same announcement.
According to WOAI, the UTSA sponsorship covers the entire 2026-27 season and extends beyond jerseys, including advertising at the Alamodome and Convocation Center, spots on radio broadcasts, and placements across UTSA Athletics' digital platforms. The San Antonio Express-News reports the agreement is valued at $250,000 for the single athletic year.
Per the Express-News, Thomas J. Henry Law's sponsorship rights extend across UTSA football, volleyball, and both basketball programs, though the football uniforms themselves stay patch-free. Instead, the firm's presence on the gridiron comes through Alamodome venue signage and advertising on head coach Jeff Traylor's official radio show, a workaround that still puts the brand in front of UTSA's biggest spectator sport.
Why the Timing Lines Up
The deal is possible because of a national rule change that only took effect a few weeks ago. The NCAA Division I Cabinet voted in January to allow commercial sponsor patches on student-athlete uniforms, apparel, and equipment, with the policy formally kicking in August 1, according to NCAA.org. It marked the first time in NCAA history that commercial logos were permitted on game uniforms during the regular season.
The shift was largely driven by athletic departments hunting for new revenue to help fund athlete revenue-sharing obligations created by the House v. NCAA settlement, which permits universities to pay up to nearly $21 million directly to student-athletes during the 2025-2026 school year, per CBS Sports. The patches themselves are tightly regulated: NCAA Division I rules allow up to two commercial logos of up to four square inches on uniforms and apparel, permit an additional uniform or apparel logo for conference championship events, and currently exclude official NCAA championship competitions.
UTSA is believed to be one of only four NCAA Division I programs nationwide, and just two in the American Athletic Conference, to secure corporate jersey patch sponsorships across multiple sports, the Express-News reports. It is not the university's first venture into this space; UTSA previously struck a patch deal between its women's soccer team and San Antonio-based restaurant chain Las Palapas before adding Thomas J. Henry Law across three more programs.
Design Details and Community Programs
The uniform design was built for visibility. The agreement specifies a white Thomas J. Henry logo on navy UTSA jerseys, with a navy version of the logo appearing on the orange and white jerseys worn by the volleyball and basketball teams, according to the same Express-News report.
The UIW side of the arrangement carries a community-service component alongside the branding. The partnership includes free basketball clinics for more than 350 underserved children, along with holiday initiatives and other community programs tied to UIW men's basketball. Whether Thomas J. Henry Law plans to extend direct name, image and likeness deals to individual athletes at either school, on top of these institutional sponsorships, remains an open question.
A Firm With a Long Sports-Sponsorship History
The State Bar of Texas lists Thomas J. Henry Law as a firm with more than 200 attorneys, according to the State Bar of Texas. The firm has a long track record of funding South Texas athletics facilities, including a $500,000 donation that helped build the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi in 2011, per Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Athletics.
The sponsorship rollout came shortly after UTSA's season opener against UT Rio Grande Valley, where running back AJ Wilson caught a touchdown pass.
Part of a National Wave
The Cincinnati Bearcats have a jersey-patch deal with Jeff Wyler, while other programs, including Ohio State, Hawaii and Kansas State, have also signed corporate jersey sponsors. UTSA's multi-sport approach, paired with UIW's community-focused basketball tie-in, places two San Antonio programs squarely in that national trend.
