It’s time to go orange as UTRGV’s third annual Spirit Week approaches from Nov. 30 through Dec. 4 with a variety of events for the campus community to attend and participate virtually.
UTRGV Spirit Advisor Janet Peña explains the idea of Spirit Week was formed by The Herd, the official student section at UTRGV Athletics, to bring the students together in order to celebrate being a Vaquero.
Peña describes The Herd as a group of students who have pride in the university and help plan events for Spirit Week.
“Spirit Week was actually a legacy institution idea that came from The Herd…,” Peña said. “What better way than to celebrate being UTRGV; being a Vaquero… It’s not just about going to a basketball game… It’s more than that.”
Some of the events for Spirit Week include a dance competition in which students, faculty and staff can submit a video on VLink showing off UTRGV school pride; Comfortable Tuesday in which the campus community can upload a photo using the #UTRGVSpiritWeek of themselves in their favorite loungewear for the chance to win limited edition UTRGV merchandise; and the campus community will have the opportunity to also submit a photo of themselves with UTRGV merch to be featured in Vaquero of the Week.
Despite most events being virtual, students can attend a doubleheader at 4 and 7 p.m. on Dec. 2 at the Bert Ogden Arena as UTRGV men’s and women’s basketball will play against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Students can reserve one ticket by completing the reservation link that will be sent to their UTRGV email on Monday.
Director of Athletic Marketing and Digital Media Kara Lara explains how these games will play out.
“There will be limited capacity for safety reasons and students will have the opportunity to attend this game…tickets will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis and they will be assigned accordingly to ensure social distancing [in] the student section,” Lara said.
Hospitality and Tourism Management sophomore Keyxla Flores says Spirit Week plays a major part in the college experience and impact on students.
“It just brings everyone together. To have so much fun, just celebrate a week of our school spirit and just let everyone be themselves,” Flores said.
To learn more about Spirit Week events, visit the UTRGV Student Activities’ website.
This is Rodolfo Alvarado for Vaquero News.
