Stay Mad because Madness is back

UTRGV’s signature event, Madness, is back and will be held at 9 p.m. Friday in the Fieldhouse on the Edinburg campus. Students, faculty and staff will be able to enjoy music, games, giveaways and much more.

Sara Hernández, associate athletics director for Marketing and Strategic Initiative, said Madness is UTRGV’s biggest event on campus every year.

“I would describe it as kind of like a big pep rally, but it’s not really a pep rally,” Hernández said. “This is the introduction of our basketball teams … but we also utilize it as an opportunity to really welcome our students into the Fieldhouse and celebrate the UTRGV spirit.”

Athletics and Student Activities are collaborating for the event.

Students will be able to enjoy music, games, giveaways and much more during the Pre-Madness Party. The first 700 UTRGV students will receive a special edition T-shirt.

“A lot of the stuff inside is by Athletics but we do have a Pre-Madness Party that Student Activities is helping us with,” Hernández said. “So [7 to 9 p.m.] is outside Vaquero Village, and then [9 to 11 p.m.], that’s Madness inside.” 

She said UTRGV Madness will also have prizes from their sponsors.

“We have about five big prizes that we are going to give out,” Hernandez said.

As part of Madness, Athletics is also going to host a dance competition.

“We have our student organization dance-off and this we do every year,” she said. “They give like a two-minute performance and we have some judges and it’s also a good opportunity for us to really showcase our student organizations.”

Hernández encourages students to attend the event.

“This is really the biggest event of the year when it comes to school spirit,” she said. “It’s a free event. It’s a Friday night so there’s no school on Saturday and I think it gives students an opportunity to really make some friends.”

Hernández said she hopes UTRGV Madness helps students engage with campus life.  

“I’m hoping that some of our students that came last year made some friends that night and that maybe that was the beginning of their journey as UTRGV students,” she said. “And how proud they are to wear orange and to really foster and to really embody what UTRGV and being a Vaquero means.”

There will be a shuttle for students to take from Brownsville to Edinburg.

“We haven’t finalized the number, but there will be about 40 spots,” Hernández said. “Everyone who rides the bus will get a guaranteed T-shirt.”

 The shuttle will depart at 5 p.m. from the Casa Bella Apartments on the Brownsville campus and return after Madness is over. Students can RSVP through V Link. The shuttle will only be available for UTRGV students.

The event will be open for the UTRGV and Rio Grande Valley community.

“We are expecting a full house, about 2,500 people,” Hernández said.

The clear bag policy will be enforced for the event. Clear bags may not exceed 12-by-6-by-12 inches. Exceptions will be made for diaper or medically necessary bags. For more information on the policy, visit goutrgv.com.

Carlos Alberto Acosta, a music sophomore, said he is excited to attend Madness.

“It was great, I got to meet a lot of new people,” he said when describing how his experience was attending the event last year. “It gave me an idea of what UTRGV culture is all about.”

Cassandra Castillo, an anthropology sophomore and UTRGV Pep Band member, said she is looking forward to attending UTRGV Madness for the first time.

“It’s my first year here so I haven’t [attended] that event yet,” she said. “I have to go for [the UTRGV] Pep Band and I’m pretty excited for it.”

Castillo said the event is a good opportunity to meet new people.

“I think it’s important because it gives us a chance to see who we are going to school with and to be able to socialize with people we have never seen,” she said.