The 2016 San Antonio FC season was the club's inaugural season. Including the San Antonio Thunder of the original NASL and the former San Antonio Scorpions of the modern NASL, this was the 7th season of professional soccer in San Antonio. The club played in the United Soccer League, the third tier of the United States soccer league system, and also participated in the U.S. Open Cup.
San Antonio was awarded the thirty-first USL franchise on January 7, 2016. The establishment of the club, along with the concurrent purchase of Toyota Field by the City of San Antonio and Bexar County, was part of a plan by local officials to obtain an expansion franchise in Major League Soccer. As a result, the San Antonio Scorpions franchise of the North American Soccer League was shut down. The club's first head coach, announced on January 7, 2016, was former Elon University men's soccer coach and Orlando City SC ProAcademy director, Darren Powell. On February 2, 2016, Carlos Alvarez became the club's first player signing.
The league expanded from 24 to 29 teams where San Antonio competed in the Western Conference of the USL.