WAC expansion

A UTRGV football team could be on the horizon

Karina Rodriguez | THE RIDER

The Western Athletic Conference announced last Thursday that five universities have been added to the conference, and that might also pave the way for a football program at UTRGV, officials say.

The new additions to the WAC will be effective tentatively by July 1, 2022. The new universities are Abilene Christian University, Lamar University, Sam Houston State University, Stephen F. Austin University and Southern Utah University. 

Along with the announcement, Commissioner Jeff Hurd also said the WAC will reinstate football at the subdivision level by the 2022 season. 

The additions open up new paths that UTRGV can take to further the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. 

UTRGV President Guy Bailey wrote in a letter to the community last Thursday that the addition of universities to the WAC allows for conversations to begin about adding a football program to the university. 

“The expansion also opens opportunities for UTRGV that have not previously existed,” Bailey wrote. “Among the new opportunities is the possibility of new athletic programs, including additional women’s sports and football.” 

While a UTRGV football team may be a possibility, there are still conversations to be had and work to be done to make it happen. 

UTRGV Basketball Head Coach Lew Hill said there are benefits to expanding the department.

“I’m excited to have all these Texas teams come in,” Hill stated in a news release issued last Thursday by Athletics. “I think it helps us tremendously with recruiting. We were the only team from the WAC in Texas for a long time and, this year, one of two. Half of our student athletes are from Texas, and now, their families will have more chances to see them play. Playing all these Texas opponents helps to expand our recruiting base as well. The great teams that are coming in just made this conference even better and more competitive from top to bottom.”

UTRGV Volleyball Coach Todd Lowery sees the benefit the expansion could have on the community. 

“Locally, people will see the names of teams that they identify with a little more,” Lowery was quoted as saying in the news release. “And I think that’s going to increase the excitement in the community. We’re going to be way more visible throughout the state while developing rivalries with these new Texas opponents.”