UTSA has reached an agreement for its final five home football games to be broadcast on the Longhorn Network, multiple sources told the Express-News on Friday.

UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey and a spokesperson for the Longhorn Network declined comment.

The Roadrunners play their inaugural game at 1 p.m. today at the Alamodome against Northeastern State.

Their remaining five home games, all of which are slated for broadcast, are against McMurry on Sept. 10, Bacone College on Sept. 24, South Alabama on Oct. 8, Georgia State on Oct. 29 and Minot State on Nov. 19.

While not privy to the financial details of the agreement, one of the sources said the deal runs through this season, with an option for two more.

The controversial Longhorn Network launched in August.

ESPN signed Texas to a 20-year, $300 million deal for the rights to operate the channel around the clock, much to the chagrin of its Big 12 foes.

The lucrative agreement between UT and ESPN has been cited as the main reason why traditional rival Texas A&M will leave the conference, presumably for the SEC.

There have also been complaints that the network compromises ESPN's journalistic integrity.

Attempts to broadcast high school games on the Longhorn Network, which critics argued would have given an unfair advantage to a program already noted for its recruiting prowess, were blocked by the NCAA.

That ruling set the deal with UTSA in motion, one of the sources told the Express-News.

It likely didn't hurt that UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds has been one of Hickey's main professional mentors since their days together at Kansas State.

ESPN has struggled to find local partners for the network. Grande Communications signed on Friday, giving the network its largest regional carrier with 140,000 customers.

Though four million viewers will have access to today's UT-Rice game, major portions of the state won't be able to watch.

The Houston Chronicle reported that major carriers Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, AT&T Uverse, DirecTV and Dish Network remained unsigned as of Friday evening.