Aquatic investment: City of Pharr donates $5K to UTRGV

The City of Pharr has donated $5,000 to kick-start the UTRGV Women’s Swimming and Diving program, which Vice President and Athletic Director Chasse Conque said will be student-athlete-centric.

The donation, which was given to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics during the Pharr State of the City event held Jan. 21 at the new City of Pharr UTRGV Natatorium, came as a surprise, according to Conque.

“It was a pleasant surprise to be brought on stage and presented a check by Mayor [Ambrosio] Hernandez as well as the [Pharr] City Council,” he said.

Hernandez told The Rider the donation was made due to the interest of aquatics in the area, the hope of having a Division 1 swimming and diving program and believing that athletics does more than just keep people healthy.

“It teaches a lot of life skills,” said Hernandez, who is an advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgeon. “How to be a team player or be, you know, concerned with your fellow colleagues, how to be a true champion. All those qualities come into play and if the university is looking to expand and build upon a strong foundation they already have, we want to be sure that we’re there to be at the inception, to get things going.

“To give [UTRGV]  a little jump-start, because we believe in always promoting our youth, and making sure that whatever sport they may be playing, we know later in life, it’ll reap the rewards on many levels.”

The athletic director said UTRGV will make good use of the donation and it will be student-athlete-centric.

“We’ll make sure that we use it on our young ladies within that program,” Conque said.

He said the City of Pharr’s commitment to the hope of starting a Division 1 swimming and diving team means a great deal and shows the excitement that it has for the new natatorium.

“This is not about just the institution,” Conque said. “But, this also includes the entire Rio Grande Valley, our alumni in the cities and communities that we serve. And so, this is just another piece of that puzzle that has to come together for this to be successful. And so, we’ve seen that through swimming and diving, clearly, with the City of Pharr and their commitment. … It’s really neat to see it all come together and I really believe this is just the beginning.”

Hernandez said of the many projects the city is working on, the natatorium and supporting UTRGV establishing the swimming and diving program is one of its highest priorities.

“We expect and we want [UTRGV] to be in all areas, including aquatics, to be the No. 1 in the nation,” the mayor said. “And we know it starts somewhere and we want to be there to get [UTRGV] going and be sure they get where they need to be by providing support and not just saying it in words but actually providing support.”

Conque said attending the groundbreaking in 2019 with UTRGV President Guy Bailey, there was always an interest in starting a program.

“We didn’t know the timing at that point and how this would evolve, but now, fast forward, you know, two years or so later, to see this facility completed and to know we have a potential to compete in there, it’s exciting for all of us,” he said.

The $26 million natatorium opened its doors last Saturday and Conque described it as incredible, with new technology, an Olympic/NCAA-size pool, diving boards, showers and locker rooms.

“When you walk in, it’s got a tremendous ‘wow’ factor,” he said. “Setup is perfect, not only for competition for those student athletes competing but [ it also] has some 1,500 seats for spectators.”

Hernandez said completion of the facility is “surreal.”

“It’s one thing to talk about it and plan it and think about it but then, to actually see it, touch it and that it’s here, it’s open,” he said. “And you’re truly going to make an impact not only for the UTRGV students, but also to our county and our Rio Grande Valley students that will be coming here for years to come. It’s really exciting. It makes us feel nice and warm inside, the fact that we’re making a difference for a lot of families.”

Last semester, the UTRGV student body approved a referendum to increase the Intercollegiate Athletics fee by $11.25 by a vote of 3,497 to 2,287 in order to fund the creation of a football program, women’s swimming and diving team, spirit teams and marching bands. The next step in the process will be to present the referendum results to the University of Texas System Board of Regents, which is scheduled to meet Feb. 23 and 24 in Austin.

Conque said the Intercollegiate Athletics department will continue raising money for both football and swimming and diving, but has to wait for approval from the board of regents.

“The timeline, assuming the board approval, we will hire a head swimming and diving coach in 2023,” he said. “So, we’ll make sure, obviously, this resource will be available to the new coach, but it will be used to benefit our student athletes.”