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UTRGV Football: The Heart of the Valley
Introduction
Photo: UTRGV Athletics
“What would it take to start a Division I football program?”
Dr. Guy Bailey, President of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, which sits in just about the southernmost tip of Texas in the city of Edinburg, had been wondering that since he took the job in the spring of 2014.
There would be plenty of hurdles – Hidalgo County, where UTRGV is located, is one of the poorer counties in the country. Ninety percent of his students don’t pay tuition or fees. There would need to be broad buy-in from the community, the students, the Board of Regents, and countless other groups.
Dr. Bailey also knew the benefits, though. He could see a football program injecting life into the campus he so deeply loves, and making a meaningful, lasting impact on the community if it chose to embrace it.
So he chased the dream. Now it’s 10 years later and 10 months before the UTRGV Vaqueros are scheduled to kick off their inaugural season, and every single season ticket has been claimed and the waitlist keeps getting longer.
. . .
The National Football Foundation sat down with Dr. Bailey and UTRGV Athletic Director Chasse Conque this fall to discuss what it took to get to this point, and will share more of their story in upcoming publications of the Good in the Game newsletter.