Ivan Palacios | THE RIDER
The UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced the formation of its new Varsity Club Sept. 30. The Varsity Club will serve as the official organization for all former UTRGV and legacy institutions student athletes.
UTRGV Assistant Athletic Director for Development Rogelio Chanes oversaw the formation guided by the vision of UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque.
“What led to the creation was … Chasse,” Chanes said. “Chasse had this vision of putting together this letterman association. We spent late spring and most of the summer kind of working on how we were going to put this together in terms of the naming, the look, the branding of it and as well as the benefits that are going to entail for being a member.”
According to its website, the goal of the Varsity Club is “to keep former student-athletes engaged with UTRGV Athletics following their collegiate careers, provide an opportunity for current student-athletes to have mentoring and networking opportunities with former student-athletes, and host letter winners on campus throughout the year.”
Through this organization, UTRGV hopes to form and maintain a relationship with their current and former student athletes from legacy institutions the University of Texas-Pan American and the University of Texas at Brownsville well beyond their graduation.
“The Varsity Club supports all 16 sports as we continue to provide a first-class student-athlete experience while promoting excellence in the classroom as well as in competition,”Conque said in a Sept. 30 news release. “Our history is rich, and we are proud of those that dedicated their collegiate careers to UTRGV and our legacy institutions. Our former student-athletes have helped pave the way for the success we enjoy today and will experience in the years to come. We are looking forward to working with this prestigious group of former letter winners to ‘Rally The Valley’ in support of UTRGV Athletics.”
Student athletes will be offered options to join the Varsity Club upon graduation. Those signing up within one year of graduating may do so by paying a $12 annual membership fee. Those looking to sign up that are beyond one year of graduation may also do so at a $50 annual membership fee.
A final option for former student athletes looking to join the club is to become a lifetime member of the organization which will cost a one-time $500 membership fee and will also include an exclusive Varsity Club polo.
While the goal of the Varsity Club is to keep former student athletes engaged with the UTRGV community, becoming a member comes with benefits. Members of the club will also enjoy free tickets to select home games, a 15% discount at UTRGVGear.com, admission into Vaquero Village events, newsletter updates on UTRGV Athletics and more.
Current student athletes will also benefit from the new organization. Funds earned from the Varsity Club will go toward supporting the athletic programs at UTRGV, ranging from travel to academics to nutrition. Chanes also believes the benefits will extend beyond the field for current athletes.
“It gives our current student athletes with access to connect to him or her and just interact with what to do after athletics and what to do after they play sports,” he said. “Yes, we have a lot of student athletes that go on and play after they college, but those that are saying, ‘Hey I just want to get into the workforce,’ or ‘I want to pursue a career in a certain major or degree,’ this is an opportunity for those that are in those fields so they can connect. As we move forward and we progress, we’ll try and provide opportunities where our Varsity Club members can engage and interact with our student athletes.”
Registration for the Varsity Club is now available with eight members already signed up since its launch. Chanes knows with it being a new organization, growth will take time, but he remains optimistics of its future.
“In a perfect world, if all of our student athletes would join, that would be awesome,” he said. “I don’t think [any] institution has 100% participation. In a perfect world, yeah we would love to have them all. We’re going to try our best to get as many as we can.”For more information on the program or to sign up, student athletes can visit GoUTRGV.com/VarsityClub or contact Chanes at 665-4069 or email rogelio.chanes01@utrgv.edu.
