On Oct. 29, UTRGV’s vice president and director of athletics Chasse Conque was awarded the 2024 Edinburg Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year.
A UTRGV news release described this award as a “prestigious award [that] honors individuals whose remarkable achievements and significant contributions have made a lasting impact on the Edinburg community.”
Conque said he felt honored to receive such recognition.
“It speaks volumes about our team,” he said. “What we’ve all been working very hard for over the last several years and the village that is supporting us right now.”
Conque described the most rewarding part of being the vice president and director of athletics.
“The people I get to work with,” he said. “ Starting with our president Dr. Bailey getting to be part of his leadership team and working with someone like that is certainly special. The people that we have in our department right now. Our staff, our coaches, and then the special part is being able to lead and work with our student-athletes.”
Conque spoke about community support for the university.
“We have an incredible group of young people,” he said. “And then you kinda flip it and look into the community and see the people that are supporting us right now. Externally, our alums, our students here on campus. The bian from our university community has been tremendous, and then all the donors, the former leathermen, there are so many people right now.”
Conque named the challenges that the athletics department faces.
“If you look at the national landscape with the NCAA and all the changes that are happening, it’s something that we have to keep our eye on constantly,” he said. “ It’s evolving every day, and to make sure that we are best positioning UTRGV to be successful, it’s really important too.”
He explained how it’s a collective effort to motivate athletes and coaches to reach their full potential.
“It definitely starts with the support we’re receiving from the community,” Conque said. “That’s a huge motivator for us. We want to use athletics as a unifier for the Rio Grande Valley, for our institution, for alumni, and so all those things motivate us to do the best we can and to be great at what we do.”
He highlighted the goals he set for the athletics department.
“We’ve been very blessed that we have a core group of coaches and staff and administrators that have been together for several years,” Conque said. “It’s a big part of keeping that consistency, it’s important for our success. But yes, stick with the plan and keep pushing forward and keep doing everything that we can do to really create UTRGV athletics as a vehicle to tell a story, not just the university, but the entire Rio Grande Valley.”
Conque will be recognized at 6:30pm, Wednesday, Nov. 13. The ceremony will take place at the Memorial Event Center. Tickets and sponsorships can be purchased at Edinburg.com/Awards.
