UTRGV Athletics’ new series, Story Time with the Vaqueros, will be rebranding its name to UTRGV Story Time after expanding into a campus wide initiative.
The department introduced a new way to interact with the campus community from the comfort of their own home.
Story Time with the Vaqueros is a new series, which allows for the community to see a different side of their coaches, athletes and soon, the rest of UTRGV.
Now, Vaqueros from different departments will have the opportunity to read to kids from across the Rio Grande Valley.
Jonah Goldberg, Athletics associate director for communications, explained how the idea came to be.
“A bunch of us [Athletics Department] had a meeting together as a group to flesh out the idea as to how we can make it work and we actually reached out to a number of campus partners, and starting next week, we’re going to be rebranding it a little,” Goldberg said last week in a phone interview.
Goldberg said it will be called UTRGV Story Time instead of Story Time with the Vaqueros.
“There’ll be an umbrella brand and then beneath that, we’ll have more specific branding with Athletics with the Vaqueros, Patron of the Arts, School of Medicine,” he said. “And, we’re also inviting anybody else on campus who wants to read a book.”
The idea is to expand the program into a campus wide initiative.
Men’s Basketball Head Coach Lew Hill kicked off the series April 14 with “The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Backyard,” by B. G. Hennessey, accompanied by his daughter, Elle.
Last week, Track & Field and Cross-Country Head Coach Darren Flowers read, illustrated and acted Dr. Seuss’ “Ten Apples Up On Top!” along with his two children.
“Coach Flowers did some video editing. He added virtual apples on top of his head and he had numbers appearing on the screen. It’s really well done,” Goldberg said. “We’re learning new sides of our coaches.”
The next to read will be Women’s Soccer Head Coach Glad Bugariu.
“The next coach will be Coach Bugariu,” Goldberg said. “[However,] next week it might actually be somebody from outside of Athletics.”
“My goal is to have it last at least throughout the summer,” Goldberg said about the reading program. “Part of it will depend on how many videos we’re able to get in from faculty, staff, coaches and people around campus.”
Anyone can follow the series at goutrgv.com/storytime.
“We’re here for the community,” Goldberg said. “We want to rally the Valley and the best way to do that is to show that we’re a good campus and community partner and that we really care about everybody out there, and we want to help as much as possible.”
