Kickoff to a brighter campus life

UTRGV officials discussed Tuesday how college football is a “vehicle” for engagement, an “engine” for economic growth and an opportunity to create new traditions.

The event, which was held at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, was hosted by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce as part of its Public Affairs series. Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. welcomed the attendees and thanked UTRGV, especially the Athletics Department, for “being one of the entities that has put Edinburg on the map.”

During the event, KRGV-TV anchor Sandra Rodriguez moderated a panel discussion that featured Maggie Hinojosa, UTRGV senior vice president for Strategic Enrollment and Student Affairs; Chasse Conque, vice president and director of Athletics; and Travis Bush, football head coach.

“Today, we have 16 Division I programs at UTRGV,” Conque replied when asked about the university’s sports expansions. “We are adding two new sports. We’re obviously adding Division I college football, but we’re also adding Division I women’s swimming and diving. 

“As we sit here today, we’re in the middle of a national search for our swim and dive head coach, and we’ll announce that position … in the next month or two. … Our students voted to change the course of their experience, not just because of football, but everything else that comes along with this.”

Conque said football is “a primary vehicle” to promote more engagement among students and alumni.

Bush said his goals for the football team are to help athletes get their degrees, promote personal growth and win championships.

“We want to graduate leaders and bosses and good husbands and good fathers,” he said. “I know the public may flip those. They want the championships as goal No. 1, but I think if we work on the top two and develop good men, good culture, then we can compete for championships.”

Rodriguez asked how UTRGV fosters a sense of community, to which Hinojosa replied that the university has “close to 200 student organizations” that provide opportunities for students to connect with UTRGV.

“We look at our students, all 32,000 of them, as individuals and just continue to provide numerous opportunities for them to engage,” she said, before explaining that an engaged student is a retained student.

Hinojosa said in an effort to promote a vibrant and secure student life, the university processes over $300 million in financial aid every year and “constantly” looks at ways to keep tuition and fees down.

Rodriguez asked how the sports additions would enhance the overall student athlete experience. 

Conque replied that Athletics is in the middle of $95 million in construction, a large part of which is the future Vaqueros Performance Center, where the football team “will live and work and practice” every day.

“By the time we get to [the football] kickoff, every program at UTRGV will either have a brand-new facility or a renovated facility,” he said. “We wanted football to be a vehicle, but wanted to elevate all of our current sports.”

Hinojosa added that improving and expanding the university’s ability to house students on campus is another way to promote engagement and improve student life.

“Students who live on campus have better GPAs,” she said. “They retain at a higher level and they graduate at a higher level. So, we’re looking at the expansion of our housing, our residents’ life, to complement what is happening in Athletics.”

Other plans include using traditions such as Homecoming Week to build community outreach and strengthen ties to local residents and businesses, according to Hinojosa.

“We know we still have a lot of work to do with our community and many of you are alums, right,” she said, addressing the crowd of over 100. “We want to make sure, and we really believe many of us have been at schools, went to schools, worked at schools with football programs and, as an enrollment manager, I will tell you that it is a catalyst to bring the community in and have a space where everybody can get together.”

Bush added that football games are events that involve not only the sport, but cheerleaders, drill teams and bands.

“Nothing brings people together like sports in America,” he said. “Nothing brings people together in Texas like football. … I can’t wait to, you know, pull up to the stadium and see the tailgates going on [and] kids running around playing football.”