Exciting Growth and Investment Taking Place at UTRGV
Exciting Growth and Investment Taking Place at UTRGV
New facilities, building a culture, and standing as one are part of building a culture at South Texas institution.
In the state of Texas, football rules all. For a school that is an outlier in the state with less hoopla than the local Edinburg Bobcats football team, adding football might be the key to putting a growing community and university on the map.
When it was announced on Nov. 18, 2022 that UTRGV would be adding football after a vote by the University of Texas Board of Regents and an approval by the UTRGV students to increase student fees for athletics, UTRGV became officially official.
Athletic director Chasse Conque hired Travis Bush to head the Vaqueros football program, which is set to begin competition in the UAC at the FCS level in 2025.
The Vaqueros took over H-E-B Park, which is home to the Rio Grande Valley FC. H-E-B Park might be one of the best facilities in the UAC…at least better than multiple schools in the conference.
A new Vaqueros Performance Center is in the works…right next to the Vaqueros football practice fields. If that isn’t enough, there is another 50-plus acres next to where the practice fields are being installed that is undeveloped and screaming for more growth at the South Texas campus.
So, it begins.
However, it’s not all about football.
“We couldn’t put football on a pedestal,” Conque said. “We had to make sure our other student-athletes knew that they were part of the team and that we had their best interests in mind, as well.”
On Wednesday, UTRGV cut the ribbon on a $10 million upgrade to the Track & Field and Soccer Facilities. Two individual buildings, specialized for the individual sports.
Track & Field has its own building with locker rooms, athletic training equipment including a lightweight treadmill that allows athletes to train without taking putting pressure on their legs. Coaches offices also grace the entrance to the building.
On the other side, soccer has its own building. Coaches offices, locker rooms and less of a walk to the pitch than all the way across the parking lot.
Game changers. An opportunity to keep a culture of togetherness and that ‘we are all in this together,’ according to Conque.
UTRGV is out on an island. Not quite literally but figuratively. The closest university to the Vaqueros is Texas A&M Corpus-Christi - a little over two hours to the East.
UTRGV is about 28 minutes or 20 miles to the Mexico border crossing in Hidalgo. That is the second closest to the Mexico border, right behind fellow University of Texas system school UTEP, which is 11.7 miles to the Mexico border at Ciudad Juarez.
Yes, UTRGV is at the very tip of the southern-most part of Texas. An hour and a half away from the Gulf of Mexico.
It is an outlier of greatest proportions.
But, that is where branching out, holding events all over Hidalgo County, all the way to South Padre Island and everything in between comes into play to help build a culture.
Basketball games are held at Bert Ogden Arena, home of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G-League.
There are camps in Brownsville, Mission and other cities around the southern-most part of Texas.
In another marketing coup, both of the UTRGV basketball teams were able to get the Texas Longhorns basketball teams to come to South Texas. On the men’s side, UTRGV didn’t play Texas in 2023-24.
The Vaqueros were the precursor to a doubleheader at Bert Ogden Arena.
On the women’s side, Lane Lord’s crew was able to play the Longhorns at Bert Ogden Arena, as well, in front of nearly 6,600 fans.
In April, 2022, UTRGV hosted No. 6 Texas at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. A single-game program record 6,418 people watched the Longhorns and Vaqueros play one another for the first time in South Texas in 51 years.
According to Conque and senior associate athletic director of communications Jonah Goldberg, there is a large contingent of Longhorn alumni and donors in the South Texas area so it just makes sense.
It is all part of bringing in the community, increasing the support and excitement, and developing a culture within the UTRGV athletic department.
It starts from the top down.
A president in Dr. Guy Bailey on the same page as his athletic director.
A collective effort from all departments to really put the outlier of a school on the map once again dating back to its days as University of Texas Pan American.
Have you noticed a change in the UTRGV logos/banners? Sure, there is still the traditional V with a star in the middle of it.
But, instead of it simply saying RGV through the state of Texas in the background, it now says ‘UTRGV’ with a star in the southern-most tip of the state of Texas to represent where the Vaqueros come from.
“When our teams went on the road, not a lot of people could make sense of the ‘V’ logo,” Conque said. “So, we made a change to make the logo pop as well as help people understand where we came from.”
Growth is the name of the game in South Texas. At UTRGV Baseball Stadium, work continues on upgrades to suites that are already sold out for the 2023-24 season. If you want seats in what is known as ‘The Corral’ at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium, you will have to wait a few years to move up.
There are the home plate seats, which include restaurant-like service for all your tasty requests. The plan is to install at least 25 more of these highly valued seats in the near future because “people are investing in UTRGV and want to be part of the growth," according to Goldberg.
In 2025, the UTRGV Fieldhouse will have a new Atrium.
There will be a new box office, team store, concession stand, Hall of Fame area, and restrooms.
There will also be the new Baseline Club, providing fans a unique way to watch a basketball game or volleyball match.
"We are excited to be moving into our next phase of enhancements for the UTRGV Fieldhouse and are very much looking forward to the coming impact this addition will have on the fan experience," UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque said in a release.
It is all part of an $85 million investment to the UTRGV Athletics facilities.
Notice that word…facilities. Not just football. Not just basketball. But, all facilities. An investment in the student-athletes who are investing their time and loyalty into the South Texas institution that people should keep an eye on.
The growth is phenomenal. The investment is there. Now, it is time for the wins to come.
“And they will,” Conque said.
As growth continues to take place, investment continues to increase, and excitement continues to build, the UTRGV brand will only increase and make its presence felt in more places than just South Texas.