A member of the U.S. Air Force died from injuries sustained during a pregame ceremony at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) football game on Saturday. The service member was injured at the Alamodome stadium and later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The incident occurred before kickoff during a scheduled demonstration. According to witnesses and a photographer for KENS, the service member fell while rappelling from the ceiling of the stadium and landed near the center of the football field. The game between the UTSA Roadrunners and the Navy Midshipmen proceeded as scheduled following the incident.
Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs confirmed the death in a statement, identifying the individual as a member assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2. The Air Force has not yet released the name of the service member.
UTSA officials issued a statement expressing sadness over the event and offered support to the service member's family and colleagues. The university also announced it would activate wellbeing services for students, faculty, and staff.
The concrete day-to-day change for the UTSA campus community involves the immediate deployment of wellbeing and mental health services. For the U.S. military, what happens next is a formal notification of next of kin, followed by the release of the service member's name. The source does not specify the duration of any military review or if other planned ceremonies will be canceled.