UTSA Athletics Department Spotlight – Travel

This summer, UTSA Athletics will be profiling its numerous areas to provide an inside look into how each unit serves Roadrunners’ student-athletes. 

In this edition, we sat down with Carlie Heineman, Account Manager for Anthony Travel, who manages all of the UTSA athletics department travel arrangements. Heineman also was a standout UTSA women’s basketball letterwinner from 2014-2018, where she still ranks in the top-five all-time for career three-pointers made (192) and in the top-30 for scoring (768 points). 

Q: How does your department service UTSA Athletics? 

Carlie Heineman: “I like to think of myself as a one-stop shop for all things travel. Any staff member in the athletics department, the teams, coaches, anybody who is traveling anywhere – flights, hotels, busses – all runs through me. That’s my job.” 

Q: What makes UTSA a leader in your area? 

Carlie Heineman: “First and foremost, having a person who is on site that handles travel. Travel can be super unpredictable and things happen all the time. To be able to have somebody who is there to help in those situations and to be able to relieve a little bit of pressure, I think that’s important. Just in general, with Anthony Travel, the level of service is what we strive for. Me personally, being an alumna and just loving UTSA, I want to provide the best service that I can for our coaches and our staff members.” 

Q: Why did you choose to come to UTSA? 

Carlie Heineman: “I was born and raised in San Antonio. As an athlete, I really wanted to stay home and to be local so that my family and my friends could come to the games and watch me play. At the time, UTSA had just moved into Conference USA, so it was a bigger conference, I saw the upward trajectory and I wanted to be a part of that. It was similar coming back. After I got out of coaching, this job came available and I thought I would be the best person for the job. I had been at this school and they’re on the rise again, moving into The American. That really attracted me. The people that we have here – [Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics] Lisa [Campos] and [Senior Associate AD for Student-Athlete Welfare] Christine [Moeller] – they are people who were here when I was a student-athlete and I have a lot of love for them and what they’ve done for UTSA.” 

Q: How has your experience as a student-athlete and a coach been helpful in your current role? 

Carlie Heineman: “I think it helps tremendously, being able to not just relate to the coaches who are having to handle the travel, but just understanding the craziness and chaos that is athletics. I think it’s really hard to teach someone that if you haven’t been involved. Being involved in college like I was is super helpful, because that’s what I’m doing now. Just being able to have an understanding of athletics in general and then being able to relate to the coaches. We approach it as a team. I work with them, we get it done and it’s all for the betterment of the student-athletes, making sure that they have good travel experiences, and making things easy for the coaches.”  

Q: What are the most rewarding aspects of your role? 

Carlie Heineman: “So many things. I honestly love being able to work with so many different coaches and teams. As an athlete and a coach myself, I was just fully immersed in basketball, which was great. I still love basketball. However, I do get to work with so many other coaches and so many other sports. To get to work with them, see them have success and know that I helped them get to these places physically, that’s awesome. I love getting texts from them saying ‘there were no delays, we got where we needed to go, the hotel was great,” things like that. I want to help, in my role, to give them the best experience that I can and put them in a position to win. Every little piece of athletics is geared towards winning games and being successful, so I take my job seriously and I love that part of it.” 

Q: What is something about your role that people may not know? 

Carlie Heineman: “I think just the nature of travel. Things change so much. I think people have in their minds that if a flight is delayed, you can just move to another one. When you have 25-30 people on a team, it’s not that easy. I think that’s a testament to not only my own problem-solving abilities but also the coaches for being flexible. If something happens, then you adapt. And that’s part of athletics. I think there’s a lot of little details that people maybe don’t realize that the coaches and I have to deal with. No excuses, you just get it done. One way or another, find a solution.” 

Q: What has it been like for you to be back at UTSA having been a student-athlete here? 

Carlie Heineman: “This will be year two for me and I still don’t think it’s hit me that I’m actually back. I think part of it is that I work in the RACE building and, when I was a student-athlete, that didn’t exist. To be able to work in a building that was created with all of the support that UTSA Athletics has gotten over the years, I think that’s amazing, and to just see the growth of each program. The football program was doing well when I was here, but they’re doing even better now. Same thing with women’s basketball. I think Coach Karen Aston and her staff have done a fantastic job of elevating that program. Women’s soccer just won a conference championship a couple of years ago. We’ve got new coaching staffs. I think just the growth in general, moving to the new conference and doing well, that’s just really nice to see. I’m happy that I can be a part of that.” 

Q: What advice do you have for students or student-athletes who may be interested in going into your profession? 

Carlie Heineman: “I would say to be ready because it’s crazy, but if you’re already involved in athletics, it’s a fun crazy. It’s just not a normal type of job, but it’s so fun. I like a challenge; I like problem-solving. That is one of the reasons why I love my job so much. Also, just being able to communicate and work with a bunch of people and a bunch of different coaches could be very stressful, but it’s also super rewarding and fun. I feel so grateful to have a job that I love to come to every day and people that I love to work with.” 
 
Q: What type of educational background is required for your role? 

Carlie Heineman: “I graduated from UTSA with a bachelor’s in English. I started my master’s here and completed it at Lamar, also in English. I don’t know that that is the typical degree path that one would take for this job, but I do think that the communication that comes with an English degree is super helpful. In general, communication is huge in any job that you have. If you can communicate with people and solve problems, you’re doing to be successful in whatever you do. I don’t know that there is a specific degree path, but that is what I did and it has worked out well for me.”