UTRGV student body approves Athletics Fee increase: FCS Division 1 football on the way

In the largest turnout for a UTRGV election, the student body voted 3,497 to 2,287, to pass the Athletics Fee Referendum, which will establish a football program, women’s swimming and diving teams, two marching bands and two spirit programs.

UTRGV Student Life and Dean of Students announced the results in a campuswide email sent Thursday afternoon.

Beginning in Fall 2022, the Intercollegiate Athletics Fee will increase by $11.25 per credit hour, capped at 12 hours. Currently, the fee is $15 per credit hour. With the rate increase, it will total $26.25 per credit hour. 

The increase will affect only new incoming students and students outside of UTRGV’s Guaranteed Tuition and Fees program. Current students who remain within the program will not have to pay the increase.

Voting on the referendum began at 8 a.m. Nov. 8 and closed at 11:59 p.m. last Wednesday. 

This was the largest voter turnout the university has seen since legacy institution UTPA, Student Government Association President Jose Pablo Rojas said before a news conference held last Thursday at the UTRGV Visitors Center on the Edinburg campus, where UTRGV leaders spoke on the outcome of the referendum. 

“I was told that this turnout did not exist,” Rojas said. “So, it’s amazing that the student population actually rallied together and made themselves heard and were loud about it.”

A campuswide email sent by Maggie Hinojosa, senior vice president for Strategic Enrollment and Student Affairs, said “This was, by far, the largest turnout for a student body election at UTRGV.”

Chasse Conque, vice president and director of Athletics, was a sponsor of the referendum and expressed his pride in the student body’s choice at the conference. He said the SGA coordinated and carried out the vote with transparency.

“Over 5,700 students came out to vote in this referendum,” Conque said. “That is incredible. And the president,  [Guy Bailey,] articulated that very, very well. And then to have nearly 61%, believe in the proposal that we put in front of them, believed in what our institution can be, believed in the vibrant campus life that is so important to the collegiate experience. This was much more than just about athletics.”

The passing of the referendum will create 500 new student opportunities.

The Rider asked Conque if the Division 1 football program will focus on recruiting local talent.

“We’ve got about 260 to 275 student athletes that are part of our 16 programs now,” Conque replied. “About 25% are from the Rio Grande Valley. … Our commitment is to always start at home and our coaches are committed to that. So now, fast forward and look at the potential of another 130 to 140 opportunities between those two sports, [football and swimming and diving]. We will start at home and recruit our student athletes locally first, and then work our way out.”

Conque said this gives high school students in the Valley a chance to see themselves wearing a Vaqueros jersey.

UTRGV President Guy Bailey focused on the swimming and diving programs, saying he is excited to see local talent thrive where it was brought up rather than have students seek opportunities elsewhere. 

The president also touched on concerns students raised during previous town halls stating that the art facilities at the university need attention.

“The space that art has in Brownsville is very poor, very poor quality,” Bailey said. “We’re aware of it and it’s sometimes not very central. We can’t simply pass a fee to have to have a new art space. … But we think we do have a solution that we’ll be announcing soon.”

While university leaders expressed excitement for the referendum’s passing, others at the university expressed different sentiments after the announcement.

“It’s unfortunate and, you know, I’m not going to say I’m surprised,” said Juan Almaguer, a graphic and web design senior, after the results were posted. “I always had a feeling that regardless of whatever efforts I and other students had in advocating against it, that it was ultimately going to pass.”

Almaguer said he advocated for denial of the referendum throughout the week and was disappointed to see how he was silenced by members of the SGA and a students group on Facebook.

He said at a town hall he was interrupted multiple times and said his posts in opposition of the referendum were removed from the UTRGV student Facebook page followed by the page’s administrator blocking him. 

“So it’s also very contradicting because a lot of UTRGV’s thing is that, you know, is that students have a voice,” Almaguer said. “But that’s not really true.”

The graphic and web design senior said the next step for students should be to advocate for an audit of the vote. 

“Because as far as I’m concerned, SGA is not to be trusted,” Almaguer said.

The next step in the Athletics Fee increase is to present it to the UT System Board of Regents in 2022 for approval. 

—Verilu Infante, Omar E. Zapata, Natalie Lapsley and Valeria Henderson contributed to this report.